3D Bridge Maintenance System Using Damage Photographs and Point Cloud Data

In Japan, approximately 730,000 bridges were constructed during its period of rapid economic growth, and by 2030 about 55% of them will be at least 50 years old. Japan’s revised Highway Law stipulates that bridges must be inspected every five years. Periodic inspections are based on close visual inspection of the structure, and the inspection results must be stored in a standardized format. To assess the progress of damage since the previous inspection, photographs must be taken from the same position and angle, and the progress of damage is determined by comparing the photographs taken at two different times. However, in current periodic inspections, damage locations are sketched by hand, and it is difficult to identify the location of damage photographs taken at the previous inspection and then take photographs from the same location and angle. In this study, we propose a system that visualizes the positions and angles of damage photographs taken during periodic bridge inspections, including switching viewpoints, by arranging the photographs in a three-dimensional space.