This project focuses on applying artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance existing non-destructive testing (NDT) methods in civil engineering, an emerging area of application with significant potential for improving infrastructure safety. NDT techniques such as ultrasonic testing and digital radiography are widely used to inspect buildings, bridges, and other structures without causing any damage. By integrating AI, these established methods can be made faster, more accurate, and easier to interpret, particularly in urgent situations where reliable assessments are critical for disaster preparedness and response.
The project will deliver AI-enhanced NDT tools that improve the detection of cracks, corrosion, and other hidden flaws in structural materials, even when inspection data is noisy, incomplete, or difficult to analyze. It will also provide approaches for combining information from multiple inspection techniques into a single, comprehensive evaluation of structural integrity. These outputs will support engineers and decision-makers with clearer, more reliable insights that can guide timely maintenance, repair, and recovery actions.
The outcomes will be safer and more resilient infrastructure, strengthened disaster risk management, and faster recovery from natural and human-made hazards. By reducing uncertainty in inspections and ensuring that results are actionable, the project will help protect lives, reduce economic losses, and reinforce community resilience, while demonstrating the value of AI as an enabler of civil engineering applications.