US 9,235,902 B2 · Image-based crack quantification

Abstract

Contact-less remote-sensing crack detection and/quantification methodologies are described, which are based on three-dimensional (3D) scene reconstruction, image processing, and pattern recognition. The systems and methodologies can utilize depth perception for detecting and/or quantifying cracks. These methodologies can provide the ability to analyze images captured from any distance and using any focal length or resolution. This adaptive feature may be especially useful for incorporation into mobile systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or mobile autonomous or semi-autonomous robotic systems such as wheel-based or track-based radio controlled robots, as utilizing such structural inspection methods onto those mobile platforms may allow inaccessible regions to be properly inspected for cracks.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A system for crack quantification, the system comprising:

a storage device;
a processing system connected to the storage device;
and
a program stored in the storage device, wherein execution of the program by the processor configures the system to perform functions, including functions to:
(i) extract, from a binary crack map, a centerline of an extracted crack using a morphological thinning operation;
(ii) determine a minimum area orientation as being equal to an orientational strip kernel having a width and a minimum correlation value from among a set of a plurality of orientational strip kernels when each is correlated with the binary crack map, wherein the minimum correlation value is the area of the crack bounded between strip edges;
and
(iii) for each centerline pixel, determine a measured thickness as the minimum correlation value divided by the width of the corresponding strip kernel.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Image-based crack quantification

Life of this patent

Image-based crack quantification

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims16