Kitchener company can find 'even the smallest crack' in bridges and roads using AI technology
Even if crack doesn't need an immediate repair, 'we at least now have it tracked,' company CEO says
A Kitchener, Ont., tech startup is using drones and artificial intelligence technology to inspect bridges and roads and offer solutions for repairing them.
Albert Mansour, the CEO and co-founder of ConeLabs technology, says his company's technology will highlight visual defects and catch problems with a structure that can hopefully be fixed before the problem gets too serious.
"We look for any clues. We look for cracks, spalls [breaks], things that give us indications of the condition of the structure," Mansour said.
"Our AI finds it all. So now we have a complete understanding of where even the smallest crack is. Even if that crack doesn't warrant any action today, we at least now have it tracked, identified."
Mansour says their technology is meant to help the job done by human inspectors who oversee the 53,000 bridges in Canada and about 620,000 located in the United States.
How they collect the data
ConeLabs uses drones to scan thousands of images of a bridge or road then software helps them reconstruct an accurate photogrammetric 3D model in high resolution to detect any issues.
"We can get sufficient coverage, resolution, get close enough to the surface to get the right imagery. So drones come out, they capture images and then we reconstruct that into a 3D model," Mansour said.
"Then our AI within the 3D data finds these cracks, finds the defects, finds spalls and rust and processes that. So, it's a much richer understanding of where each crack is versus just a zoomed in picture. And if there are, the spatial positioning of one defect to another because that might give us clues as to a deeper issue that's happening."
Monsour says the information they gather will allow a municipality to save time and act early to fix any issues with the structure they have tested and eliminate or avoid "long drawn out repairs that happen during summer construction."
The ConeLabs co-founder hopes to one day expand their inspections to also include other larger structures including buildings, farm silos as well as runways and railways.
Mansour hopes to expand its inspection work to include more than bridges and roads.
"Anything that needs constant inspection, we can train our AI to inspect that asset," said Mansour.
"Buildings, runways, and other large [structures] like silos, power lines and railways. The opportunity is vast and abundant."
Company part of Pitch Kitchener initiative
ConeLabs was selected to collaborate with the city during a Pitch Kitchener imitative. Three companies were selected to pilot their technologies to allow staff to assess their potential for permanent use by the city.
That announcement was in March and at the time, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said the $100,000 in funding for the three companies was a way for the city to help "grow and support locally-grown technology companies."
"Through efforts like Pitch Kitchener and the recently launched Support Local campaign, we are ensuring that our local economy remains strong and future-ready," Vrbanovic said in a release.
"ConeLabs Technology is demonstrating the incredible potential of homegrown innovation right here in our city.Their cutting-edge AI and drone technology is making our roads and bridges safer while streamlining the inspection process."
The other two companies chosen as part of the initiative were Real Life Robotics and TextGenetic.
Real Life Robotics will use senors and AI-driven machine learning to analyze the operations at Doon Valley Golf Course. TextGenetic will use an AI platform to flag potential issues with the city's fleet of vehicles early with an aim of lowering overall maintenance costs.
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