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12 January 2023

New partnership gives companies access to innovative solutions that contribute to the green transition

As the result of a new partnership, Sund & Bælt and the Alexandra Institute are launching an innovative solution to ensure cheaper inspection and maintenance of concrete structures and prolong the lifetime of infrastructure.

Artificial Intelligence projects often fail because of the lack of data or because the data quality is inadequate. In the infrastructure and construction industry, however, an unprecedented wealth of image data is available. 3-D experts from the Alexandra Institute have expanded Sund & Bælt’s previous inspection solution so that it automatically identifies concrete damage in 3D by means of artificial intelligence. The new solution is now being sold to external customers so that they can obtain the same benefits.  

"The solution identifies different types of damage in 3D on concrete structures such as bridges, tunnels and dams, but the algorithm behind it makes it possible to deploy the solution in other areas where there is the same need for replacing manual inspections with a certain frequency and resource intensive procedures,” says Niels Husted Kjær, CEO, the Alexandra Institute.     

It will give other companies the opportunity to rapidly test the technology in a practical setting on their own infrastructure. The benefits to be had are immediate, also for smaller companies without the same resources as Sund & Bælt.  

“As a GTS institute with a focus on IT and digitalisation, Alexandra’s purpose is to ensure that the latest digital technologies create value for Danish companies and for our society,” says Niels Husted Kjær. 

 

Great perspectives for other sectors

The new solution was put into operation in 2022 and shows repeated savings on overall inspection costs of up to 50 per cent compared to previously. In addition to the direct savings, systematic inspections are expected to extend the service life of a bridge by 50-100 years, which carries both financial and environmental benefits as cement production emits large quantities of CO2.

"The collaboration is interesting from this perspective. We’re adding to our current solution in that more people can take advantage of AI for inspection purposes. It benefits the environment and the green transition when the service life of infrastructure can be extended through precise systematic inspection”, explains Bjarne Jørgensen, Asset Management Director, Sund & Bælt.

"There’s no doubt that the solution and its underlying technology can be transferred to other companies and sectors. The solution shows that there are significant gains to be made when AI is deployed correctly,” says  Niels Husted Kjær. 

Sund & Bælt has been a long-standing user of AI to digitalise manual inspections.  

"As a result of the collaboration with Alexandra, we have taken a significant step forward because we’re offering a system that can be used by everyone regardless of which system platform is used. The solution keeps track of the manual and often demanding, expensive and heavy process by using the 3D model,” says   Bjarne Jørgensen. 

Over the past 25 years, Sund & Bælt has accumulated extensive expertise in bridges and the maintenance of concrete structures. As a technology partner, Alexandra has been afforded the opportunity to develop a solution that draws on this expertise.  

 

Facts about the solution  

  • The new method can structure and annotate unstructured images through 3D reconstruction. Using the reconstruction, the position of the drone taking the images and its orientation in relation to the bridge pier can be accurately determined for each individual image. Every instance of damage, therefore, only needs to be identified once.
  • The solution allows for frequent systematic inspection. This also allows for the development of every instance of damage to be monitored over time, which makes it possible to avoid “over maintenance”.
  • The solution forms an integrated 3D model from thousands of drone photos, which facilitates communication with the contractors responsible for repairing the identified damage.
Language: English

Language: English