A Deep-Learning-Based Bridge Damaged Object Automatic Detection Model Using a Bridge Member Model Combination Framework

Abstract

More bridges today require maintenance with age, owing to increasing structural loads from traffic and natural disasters. Routine inspection for damages, including in the aftermath of special events, is conducted by experts. To address the limitations of human inspection, deep-learning-based analysis of bridge damage is being actively conducted. However, such models exhibit deteriorated performance in classifying multiple classes. Most existing algorithms do not use in situ images. Hence, the results of the model training do not accurately reflect the actual damage. This study utilizes an extant method and proposes a new model of combination training by bridge member. By integrating the two approaches, we propose a bridge damaged-object-detection deep-combination framework (BDODC-F). To ensure variety in the type of damaged objects and enhanced model performance, a deep-learning-based super-resolution module is employed. For performance improvement and optimization, a deep-learning combination model based on individual training by bridge member is proposed. The BDODC-F improved the mean average precision by 191.6% and 112.21% in the combination model. We expect the framework to aid engineers in the automated detection and identification of bridge damage.