There are more than 3,000 road bridges and tunnels in Upper Austria. Maintaining and renovating them is not only a question of safety, but also of cost.
The new research project “SanTub” in the Building Innovation Cluster of the Business Upper Austria location agency is working on a system to calculate these costs and the work required. Road bridges and tunnels are the lifeblood of a functioning infrastructure. The structures are exposed to wear and tear from weather, flooding, vibrations and other factors. They are regularly inspected for damage. The costs of renovation are usually high, and it is often not possible to predict exactly when work will be necessary. In addition, this involves extensive planning, not only with regard to closures and diversions, but also with regard to the road maintenance company’s budget.
Many factors are measured
This is where the “SanTub” project comes in. Intelligent sensors, machine learning and software with the support of artificial intelligence are used. The monitoring data is measured at characteristic points on the tunnel or bridge structure. Combined with other data from inspection reports, a database is created with information on the condition of the structure.
“We developed the sensors specifically for measurements far away from the regular public power grid. They are battery-operated,” explains Rocket-NG managing director Peter Huber. The company from Korneuburg specializes in monitoring road bridges and does this together with Davorin Kolic from Paschinger Neuron Consult.
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Source: Nachrichten
