Augmented Reality Enhancing the Inspections of Transportation Infrastructure: Research, Education, and Industry Implementation

Transportation infrastructure needs continuous monitoring that is conducted by field inspectors regularly in the field. Currently, infrastructure inspectors climb, measure, and photograph structures annually to inform repair needs and prioritize decisions. In order to promote and accelerate early learner\u27s expertise in decision-making capabilities during infrastructure inspections, this research project developed various software applications using augmented reality (AR) as an inspection tool for bridges and bridge management, more specifically. By objectively quantifying infrastructure field inspections, inspectors can make more accurate field assessments and managers can make better-informed decisions. This project collaborated with stakeholders, national laboratories, DOT agencies such as NCHRP and NMDOT, and local owners like the City of Albuquerque, to inform the needs of AR for field inspections. The results of this study summarized the current limitations of visual inspections from the perspective of the various owners, as well as pilot developments of AR applications and their benchmarked accuracy in comparison with visual methods. The education and training aspect of this project included teaching and exposing AR to high school students, community college students, undergraduate students, and graduate students, as well as industry (bridge inspectors). This research project’s outcome includes a webinar free to access in the NCHRP national website on this topic. The conclusion of this research is that AR can be an effective tool and that industry is interested in specific programming of AR software that matches their bridge management needs