Welcome to the third RESIST Newsletter!

 

 

In order to realize contact width measurements of crack surface opening, a high-resolution measurement system based on ultrasonic waves and a Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensor have been designed and developed to be integrated on the aerial robot.  The permanent vibration module (installed by the drone on the civil infrastructure) has been also designed to be extremely light, able to measure vibrations with high resolution and assure transmission with low power consumption (Fig. 3-4).

Fig. 3 Design (left) ad prototype (right) of the crack width measurement electronic readout

Fig. 4 First vibration module prototype

  Time-dependent corrosion degradation models have been developed for concrete reinforcing steel bars (rebars) and steel members. These models are based on measurements by the aerial inspection robot and determine the loss of metallic section due to corrosion as a function of time. They provide the required input on the available metallic section in the structural models.

 

Additionally, the design and first prototype of the stereo camera hardware module has been developed, the first versions of the image-based 3D reconstruction software, the laser system and reflector have been integrated in the designs, the cognitive computer vision system as well as the ground control station have been developed with the integration already considered in the design of all components in mind (Fig. 5-6).

Fig. 5 Screenshot of the web-based pointcloud viewer with annotated 3D model 

   

Fig. 6 Pilot GCS on the left figure

The network architecture designed by the consortium was done so in a way to allow for the forwarding of critical messages to operators on the field, to civilians, to first responders and in general with the mind to interconnect the control station of the road operator with all the parties involved on an incident. Additional to the above, the RESIST communication scheme involves a number of redundant communication channels which, with the utilization of REDCOM, can be available under the most unfavourable conditions.

A visit to the Greek pilot site (T9/T11 Ravine bridge of Egnatia Motorway) was organized during the 3rd plenary meeting in order to elaborate on technical details with regards the RPAS inspection fights and communication on the field.

 

With regards to security, a detailed cyber security analysis has been carried out for the RESIST and pilot assets based on the architecture as well as information received from the pilot owners. The identified threats and risks of this assessment have been collected and mitigation/prevention techniques have been defined. A security assurance model is being developed (development have been started with in the reporting period and is still in progress) to exploited in the RESIST assurance platform. The assurance platform leveraged by event captors, will provide real-time security assurance to evaluate continually the security posture of RESIST.

 

To guarantee the security of RESIST, a variety of security controls are currently under development and will be deployed, such as encryption to protect the communication between UAV with Ground Control Station, authentication and authorization mechanisms throughout all RESIST actors assisted with a hardware-key solution and anomaly detection.

 

During this period, partners have been working on the development of the module on Assessment of the Highway Users' Behaviour Under Stress that will provide input to the mobility continuity module and the control centre. The module will include psychological and behavioural dimensions of safety and their impact on the effective operational capacity and communication of the control centre with the users. In addition, lots of work has been done on the development of the mobility continuity module which includes a two-part system. The back end of the system includes the trip scheduler, the traffic simulator, the event management and finally the user management component. The system has been designed with open interfaces so it is fast and easy to be integrated with any RESIST modules.

 

In the first period the basic definitions of the project aims were set based on a state of the art analysis on road infrastructure resilience. The technical and functional specifications in relation with a system architecture were established based on the requirements gathered/proposed from an extended end user group through questionnaires and dedicated workshop. End users of the projects then started to prepare pilot cases considering the project specifications, as well as the real needs of the selected infrastructure assets (bridges, tunnels).

 

For the integration of all the components of RESIST, a first prototype of the RESIST Integration Environment was developed, a web desktop application to provide a single point of access for all applications of RESIST, including also capabilities like application and user management. Also, in terms of data integration, a platform and an API were developed to gather and store data collected during inspection or shared between the components of the project. An integration architecture was also defined based on the collected hardware and software requirements, and will guide the deployment in the pilots' sites. Finally, two process flow scenarios were presented (one for quick inspection when a quick assessment is required, and one for detailed inspection when a thorough analysis is needed); these scenarios will be also used for the validation during pilots (Fig. 7).

Fig. 7 RESIST Integration Environment

An early business plan has been already presented in the first period of the project, which identifies the market size and opportunities, proposes an initial business model based on the business model canvas methodology, presents two indicative business model examples (one considering the entire RESIST solution as a turnkey product, and the second considering it as a customized service), and finally identifies the innovation results and the potential key exploitable results of the project as they have been identified until the middle of the project. Finally, several standardisation activities have been performed regarding the new European UAS regulation defined by EC.

For practical, security and privacy reasons, it is not possible to work directly on the information system of the highway control centre; therefore it was necessary to start developing a brand new copy with some fundamental variants: the new replica system will receive real data from sensors and cameras, while it will be able to send both real or simulated information, depending on the forthcoming demonstration and other requirements.

Moreover, following requirements of ISO 27001 and Privacy regulations, real names, vehicle plates and other sensitive data must not be published, causing rather long times to developers in order to accomplish this issue. Specifications to exchange data between A32 Motorway Control Centre and the Resist web platform are still in analysis phase.

When an earthquake, or a structural failure, will be simulated in the Italian Pilot, will be necessary to transmit current traffic conditions data to allow the best possible management of emergency and rescue operations. Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) for Inspection will also be tested in a tunnel in absence of GPS signal, while security of communication will be secured by RedComm infrastructure and Wi-fi network (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8 St. Petronilla Tunnel of the A32 Highway, Italy (in case of emergency)

The 3rd RESIST Plenary Meeting

The third Plenary Meeting of the RESIST project was held on 18-21st February 2020 in Thessaloniki, Greece. The meeting was hosted by Egnatia Odos. During the two full days, project partners worked on the preparation of the pilot cases in order to demonstrate and test the RESIST platform for enhancing resilience of road infrastructures, bridges and tunnels. Also, partners had a technical visit on T9/T11 Ravine bridge of Egnatia Motorway (Fig. 9). More info...

Fig. 9 3rd Plenary Meeting in Thessaloniki

D1.1 Quality and risk management plan

D1.2 Internal project server

D1.3 Data management plan

D1.4 Innovation management plan

D2.1 State of the art regarding physical/ cyber damage detection/ prevention/ response/ mitigation technologies and risk analyses in the land transport sector

D2.2 End-User requirements and Proceedings of the Workshop in Month N° 4

D10.1 Website of the project

D10.2 Project flyer

D10.3 Dissemination and Communication plan

D12.1 H - Requirement No. 1

D12.2 POPD - Requirement No. 2

D12.3 EPQ - Requirement No. 3