Critical Analysis about Emerging Technologies for Building’s Façade Inspection

Abstract

The diagnosis of the building’s façades pathology is extremely important to support rational and technically informed decisions regarding maintenance and rehabilitation actions. With a reliable diagnosis, the probable causes of the anomalies can be correctly identified, and the correction measures adopted can be more compatible with the existing elements, promoting the durability of the façades. Visual inspection is the most common approach to identify anomalies in a building’s façade and, in many cases, this technique is sufficient to support the decision to intervene. However, the pathological phenomenon is complex, and the anomalies observed may indicate the presence of other defects, or some anomalies may not be visible in a simple visual observation. This study intends to discuss the application of emerging technologies on the diagnosis and anamneses of building’s façade, in order to automatise the collection of reliable on-site data and, thus, reduce the uncertainty of the diagnosis. The use of these techniques can help existing inspection methodologies, already tested, based mainly on the visual assessment of the buildings’ elements degradation condition.

Learning-based classification of multispectral images for deterioration mapping of historic structures

“…The need for more efficient inspection [44] and intelligent identification of conservation needs [45] has led to the adoption of image processing approaches to generate the thematic data needed for deterioration mapping. Digital image processing (DIP) refers to the manipulation of the digital images to extract features and recognize patterns, which, after having acquired the suitable base-maps, can be performed with techniques as simple as thresholding, edge detection, or information reduction to obtain the required results [33,[46][47][48].…”

Impact of Environmental Exposure on the Service Life of Façade Claddings—A Statistical Analysis

“…The prevalence of façades of this height is stressed by the mean, mode, and median (Table 2). The visual inspection of tall façades can be challenging, due to the loss of naked-eye precision associated with the upper part of the building, caused by increased distance and distorted perspective from the street level [18][19][20]. The assessment of the severity of degradation is likely to be directly proportional to the precision of the visual inspection.…”

Research and TLS (LiDAR) Construction Diagnostics of Clay Brick Masonry Arched Stairs

“…The TLS (terrestrial laser scanning) measurements using 3D scanners are starting to be used for structural diagnosis. Three-dimensional LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanners have revolutionized the capability and accuracy of geometry measurements in construction, shipbuilding and other areas of science and technology [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. TLS can be used to measure damage to the surface layers of materials, including bricks and mortar, as well as to track moisture in structures [33,[41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49].…”

“…Three-dimensional LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanners have revolutionized the capability and accuracy of geometry measurements in construction, shipbuilding and other areas of science and technology [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. TLS can be used to measure damage to the surface layers of materials, including bricks and mortar, as well as to track moisture in structures [33,[41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. TLS in structural analysis is primarily used to measure strain and deflections, as well as deformations, of structural elements [25,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50].…”

“…TLS can be used to measure damage to the surface layers of materials, including bricks and mortar, as well as to track moisture in structures [33,[41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. TLS in structural analysis is primarily used to measure strain and deflections, as well as deformations, of structural elements [25,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. This technique can also be used for control measurements at the stage of constructing [51].…”