• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.287-301
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• 2022

The machine-vision based structural displacement measurement methods are widely used due to its flexible deployment and non-contact measurement characteristics. The accuracy of vision measurement is directly related to the image resolution. In the field of computer vision, super-resolution reconstruction is an emerging method to improve image resolution. Particularly, the deep-learning based image super-resolution methods have shown great potential for improving image resolution and thus the machine-vision based measurement. In this article, we firstly review the latest progress of several deep learning based super-resolution models, together with the public benchmark datasets and the performance evaluation index. Secondly, we construct a binocular visual measurement platform to measure the distances of the adjacent corners on a chessboard that is universally used as a target when measuring the structure displacement via machine-vision based approaches. And then, several typical deep learning based super resolution algorithms are employed to improve the visual measurement performance. Experimental results show that super-resolution reconstruction technology can improve the accuracy of distance measurement of adjacent corners. According to the experimental results, one can find that the measurement accuracy improvement of the super resolution algorithms is not consistent with the existing quantitative performance evaluation index. Lastly, the current challenges and future trends of super resolution algorithms for visual measurement applications are pointed out.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.935-956
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• 2016

With the help of advanced image acquisition and processing technology, the vision-based measurement methods have been broadly applied to implement the structural monitoring and condition identification of civil engineering structures. Many noncontact approaches enabled by different digital image processing algorithms are developed to overcome the problems in conventional structural dynamic displacement measurement. This paper presents three kinds of image processing algorithms for structural dynamic displacement measurement, i.e., the grayscale pattern matching (GPM) algorithm, the color pattern matching (CPM) algorithm, and the mean shift tracking (MST) algorithm. A vision-based system programmed with the three image processing algorithms is developed for multi-point structural dynamic displacement measurement. The dynamic displacement time histories of multiple vision points are simultaneously measured by the vision-based system and the magnetostrictive displacement sensor (MDS) during the laboratory shaking table tests of a three-story steel frame model. The comparative analysis results indicate that the developed vision-based system exhibits excellent performance in structural dynamic displacement measurement by use of the three different image processing algorithms. The field application experiments are also carried out on an arch bridge for the measurement of displacement influence lines during the loading tests to validate the effectiveness of the vision-based system.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.315-326
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• 2015

To overcome the drawbacks of the traditional contact-type sensor for structural displacement measurement, the vision-based technology with the aid of the digital image processing algorithm has received increasing concerns from the community of structural health monitoring (SHM). The advanced vision-based system has been widely used to measure the structural displacement of civil engineering structures due to its overwhelming merits of non-contact, long-distance, and high-resolution. However, seldom currently-available vision-based systems are capable of realizing the synchronous structural displacement measurement for multiple points on the investigated structure. In this paper, the method for vision-based multi-point structural displacement measurement is presented. A series of moving loading experiments on a scale arch bridge model are carried out to validate the accuracy and reliability of the vision-based system for multi-point structural displacement measurement. The structural displacements of five points on the bridge deck are measured by the vision-based system and compared with those obtained by the linear variable differential transformer (LVDT). The comparative study demonstrates that the vision-based system is deemed to be an effective and reliable means for multi-point structural displacement measurement.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.273-286
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• 2022

In recent years, vision-based monitoring has received great attention. However, structural identification using vision-based displacement measurements is far less established. Especially, simultaneous identification of structural systems and unknown excitation using vision-based displacement measurements is still a challenging task since the unknown excitations do not appear directly in the observation equations. Moreover, measurement accuracy deteriorates over a wider field of view by vision-based monitoring, so, only a portion of the structure is measured instead of targeting a whole structure when using monocular vision. In this paper, the identification of structural system and excitations using vision-based displacement measurements is investigated. It is based on substructure identification approach to treat of problem of limited field of view of vision-based monitoring. For the identification of a target substructure, substructure interaction forces are treated as unknown inputs. A smoothing extended Kalman filter with unknown inputs without direct feedthrough is proposed for the simultaneous identification of substructure and unknown inputs using vision-based displacement measurements. The smoothing makes the identification robust to measurement noises. The proposed algorithm is first validated by the identification of a three-span continuous beam bridge under an impact load. Then, it is investigated by the more difficult identification of a frame and unknown wind excitation. Both examples validate the good performances of the proposed method.

• 한국기계연구소 소보
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• s.19
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• pp.69-79
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• 1989

Cutting tool life monitoring is a critical element needed for designing unmanned machining systems. This paper describes a tool wear measurement system using computer vision which repeatedly measures flank and crater wear of a single point cutting tool. This direct tool wear measurement method is based on an interactive procedure utilizing a image processor and multi-vision sensors. A measurement software calcultes 7 parameters to characterize flank and crater wear. Performance test revealed that the computer vision technique provides precise, absolute tool-wear quantification and reduces human maesurement errors.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.343-352
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• 1996

One of the preferred methods that can be used to verify the results of finite element analysis is to measure surface strains of the deformed part for purpose of direct comparison with simulation results. Instead of using the usual manual method the vision-based measurement method is capable of determining surface geometry and strain from the deformed grid pattern automatically with the help of a computer. To obtain strain distribution over an area, the coordinates of such a surface grid are determined from the multiple video images by applying the photogrammetry principle. Methods to improve the overall accuracy of the vision-based strain measurement system are explored and the possible accuracies that can be attained by such a measurement method are discussed. A major emphasis is placed on the initial grid application method its accuracy and ease of subsequent image processing. Finite element analyses of limiting dome height(LDH) test are carried out and the results of them are compared with exsperimen-tal data.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.563-572
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• 2017

The safety of structures is closely associated with the structural out-of-plane behavior. In particular, long and slender beam structures have been increasingly used in the design and construction. Therefore, an evaluation of the lateral and torsional behavior of a structure is important for the safety of the structure during construction as well as under service conditions. The current contact measurement method using displacement meters cannot measure independent movements directly and also requires caution when installing the displacement meters. Therefore, in this study, a vision-based system was used to measure the in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of a structure. The image processing algorithm was based on reference objects, including multiple targets in Lab color space. The captured targets were synchronized using a load indicator connected wirelessly to a data logger system in the server. A laboratory beam test was carried out to compare the displacements and rotation obtained from the proposed vision-based measurement system with those from the current measurement method using string potentiometers. The test results showed that the proposed vision-based measurement system could be applied successfully and easily to evaluating both the in-plane and out-of-plane movements of a beam including twisting rotation.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.585-599
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• 2016

Steel cables serve as the key structural components in long-span bridges, and the force state of the steel cable is deemed to be one of the most important determinant factors representing the safety condition of bridge structures. The disadvantages of traditional cable force measurement methods have been envisaged and development of an effective alternative is still desired. In the last decade, the vision-based sensing technology has been rapidly developed and broadly applied in the field of structural health monitoring (SHM). With the aid of vision-based multi-point structural displacement measurement method, monitoring of the tensile force of the steel cable can be realized. In this paper, a novel cable force monitoring system integrated with a multi-point pattern matching algorithm is developed. The feasibility and accuracy of the developed vision-based force monitoring system has been validated by conducting the uniaxial tensile tests of steel bars, steel wire ropes, and parallel strand cables on a universal testing machine (UTM) as well as a series of moving loading experiments on a scale arch bridge model. The comparative study of the experimental outcomes indicates that the results obtained by the vision-based system are consistent with those measured by the traditional method for cable force measurement.

• Journal of Korea Society of Industrial Information Systems
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.41-52
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• 2014

In this paper, O-ring size measurement algorithm based on a small machine vision inspection equipment which can replace a expensive and large machine vision inspection equipment is presented. The small machine vision inspection equipment acquires a image from a CCD camera shooting a measurement plane which located on a back light and the proposed size measurement algorithm is apply to the image. For improvement of size measurement accuracy, camera lens distortion correction and perspective distortion correction are conducted by software technique. Consider O-ring's shape, ellipse fitting model is applied. In order to increase the reliability of ellipse fitting, RANSAC algorithm is applied.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.709-721
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• 2019

This paper investigates the framework of vision-based dense displacement and strain measurement of miter gates with the approach for the quantitative evaluation of the expected performance. The proposed framework consists of the following steps: (i) Estimation of 3D displacement and strain from images before and after deformation (water-fill event), (ii) evaluation of the expected performance of the measurement, and (iii) selection of measurement setting with the highest expected accuracy. The framework first estimates the full-field optical flow between the images before and after water-fill event, and project the flow to the finite element (FE) model to estimate the 3D displacement and strain. Then, the expected displacement/strain estimation accuracy is evaluated at each node/element of the FE model. Finally, methods and measurement settings with the highest expected accuracy are selected to achieve the best results from the field measurement. A physics-based graphics model (PBGM) of miter gates of the Greenup Lock and Dam with the updated texturing step is used to simulate the vision-based measurements in a photo-realistic environment and evaluate the expected performance of different measurement plans (camera properties, camera placement, post-processing algorithms). The framework investigated in this paper can be used to analyze and optimize the performance of the measurement with different camera placement and post-processing steps prior to the field test.