Fusing infrastructure health monitoring data in point cloud

Abstract

This paper presents a unique approach to data fusion in the condition assessment of civil infrastructure systems. The approach fuses dynamic monitoring sensor data with the visual data collected from a bridge structure. Such a data fusion method, named ModeShapeFuser, enables the visualization of mode shapes of engineering structures in their point cloud, offering a higher spatial resolution model of the dynamic behaviors of existing structures. A bridge case study shows that utilizing this immersive data visualization technique can potentially provide a more intuitive and holistic understanding of the dynamic behavior characteristics of engineering structures. The outputs of ModeShapeFuser, the high spatial resolution models of the bridge, are also presented in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment through a head-mounted display and a VRTable, providing a virtual tour of the bridge in its real environment. The study presented herein is critical for an informed decision-making process in assessing infrastructure systems.