Fujitsu Announces Sensor Data Technology to Estimate Degree of Internal Damage to Bridge Infrastructure

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. have announced the development of sensor data analysis technology. It can aggregate vibration data with sensors attached to the surface of a bridge, and then estimate the degree of the bridge’s internal damage by applying “Fujitsu Human Centric AI Zinrai Technology”.

The technology has been validated by using data obtained from verification tests of fatigue degradation of bridges carried out by the Research Association for Infrastructure Monitoring System (RAIMS). It’s a mutual aid organization that carries out joint research into technologies used in industrial activities.

Usually, the inspection task for bridges are performed visually to check the structure for damage. However, the issue with relying merely on the gathered information gathered visually is that inspectors can only identify abnormalities or anomalies appearing on the surface whereas the degree of internal damage cannot be measured.

Fujitsu Announces Sensor Data Technology to Estimate Degree of Internal Damage to Bridge Infrastructure

(Image Courtesy: Fujitsu)

Now with the help of Fujitsu’s deep learning AI technology for time-series data, the laboratory has developed a technology that can detect the occurrence of abnormalities in numerical terms. The geometric characteristics are extracted from the complex time-series vibration data collected by sensors equipped on IoT devices. This enables users to estimate the sate of degradation in a variety of infrastructure or machinery.

After the application of the technology, the results show that the geometric characteristics appear in a single cluster when the bridge was intact but in case of an internal damage, the shape changed. Detecting the occurrence of internal stress using this technology allows to estimate damage in its early stage, thereby contributing in timely countermeasures.

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 155,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries.

About Fujitsu Laboratories

Founded in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. is one of the premier research centers in the world. With a global network of laboratories in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, the organization conducts a wide range of basic and applied research in the areas of Next-generation Services, Computer Servers, Networks, Electronic Devices and Advanced Materials.