Satellite Images Could Help Predict Bridge Collapsing In the Future

Ever since the Sputnik was launched, humanity has found quite a lot of uses for satellites. But most important to the majority of the world’s population would be their ability to capture high definition snapshots of the world, making our commute considerably easier with apps like Google Maps.

But researchers are always in the search of new applications and a joint project between NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and U.K.’s University of Bath has found yet another that could prove useful. By utilizing high-quality satellite imageries, it is possible for researchers to analyze the structures of bridges for minuscule movements that could signify structural weaknesses and potential failures or collapses.

The Problem

Since infrastructural projects can make or break a city’s economy, cities often conduct regular inspections, maintenance, and execute preventative measures to keep them in working order. But keeping such an operation requires a lot from the city’s available manpower and resources, even then, it is not rare for failures to occur in spite of the preventative measures.

It is not until recently that the task is made a little bit easier. With the widespread application of cellular and wireless data networks as well as the proliferation of cheap computer hardware, it is not difficult to install sensors that can report the ‘health’ of the bridge to operators. While this can cut down manpower and resources greatly, it still proves tricky. Sensors only report information at the sites they were specifically installed at. And just filling up a bridge with these sensors isn’t something that is financially feasible.

An Overhead Solution

And that’s where satellite imageries come in. By replicating 3D images of a bridge gathered by overhead satellites over a long period of time, researchers were able to build an accurate model of the bridge down to a millimeter of difference in comparison to the real thing. Researchers then utilize a custom algorithm they developed to take into account all of the undesirable movements expressed by the bridge over that period of time as well as complex movements such as warping and deformation. The great thing about this is, obviously, it doesn’t require a bridge jam-packed with sensors.

Go For Practical Applications

Last year in August, a portion of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy collapsed, resulting in the death of 43 people. Using this event as a reference, the researchers collected 15 years of data about the bridge, ran them all through the algorithm and found that signs of weaknesses, warping, and deformation was apparent several months prior to the ultimate tragedy. Perhaps if the tech had been fielded sooner, the accident wouldn’t have happened.

Positive results from this experiment showed that the tech can be utilized in the real world. Though the tech came far too late to be able to prevent the Morandi Bridge’s collapse, it could potentially be the protective shield from now on preventing similar tragedies from happening.

The tech relies mostly on automated software for data analyzation, and furthermore, satellite imageries are quite accessible making it easier for cities to integrate the tech into the current surveillance and maintenance workflows of bridge operators. Appropriate authorities can be alerted automatically when the algorithm detects irregular patterns that could suggest a failure before it could become serious, providing valuable time for physical assessments and remediation.

Not only for bridges, the researchers suggest that the tech could also be applied for construction projects and existing buildings that could be weakened by construction equipment. For underground projects, the tech can aid in monitoring the health of surface constructions, preventing them from collapsing as construction occurs beneath.