Evaluation of Classical Operators and Fuzzy Logic Algorithms for Edge Detection of Panels at Exterior Cladding of Buildings

Abstract

The automated process of construction defect detection using non-contact methods provides vital information for quality control and updating building information modelling. The external cladding in modular construction should be regularly controlled in terms of the quality of panels and proper installation because its appearance is very important for clients. However, there are limited computational methods for examining the installation issues of external cladding remotely in an automated manner. These issues could be the incorrect sitting of a panel, unequal joints in an elevation, scratches or cracks on the face of a panel or dimensions of different elements of external cladding. This paper aims to present seven algorithms to detect panel edges and statistically compare their performance through application on two scenarios of buildings in construction sites. Two different scenarios are selected, where the building façades are available to the public, and a sample of 100 images is taken using a state-of-the-art 3D camera for edge detection analysis. The experimentation results are validated by using a series of computational error and accuracy analyses and statistical methods including Mean Square Error, Peak Signal to Noise Ratio and Structural Similarity Index. The performance of an image processing algorithm depends on the quality of images and the algorithm utilised. The results show better performance of the fuzzy logic algorithm because it detects clear edges for installed panels. The applications of classical operators including Sobel, Canny, LoG, Prewitt and Roberts algorithms give similar results and show similarities in terms of the average of errors and accuracy. In addition, the results show that the minor difference of the average of the error and accuracy indices for Sobel, Canny, LoG, Prewitt and Roberts methods between both scenarios are not statistically significant, while the difference in the average of the error and accuracy indices for RGB-Sobel and Fuzzy methods between both scenarios are statistically significant. The accuracy of the algorithms can be improved by removing unwanted items such as vegetation and clouds in the sky. The evaluated algorithms assist practitioners to analyse their images collected day to day from construction sites, and to update building information modelling and the project digital drawings. Future work may need to focus on the combination of the evaluated algorithms using new data sets including colour edge detection for automatic defect identification using RGB and 360-degree images.

Big Data and Its Applications in Smart Real Estate and the Disaster Management Life Cycle: A Systematic Analysis

“…Munawar et al [19] captured multispectral aerial images using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the target site. Significant landmark objects like bridges, roads, and buildings were extracted from these images using edge detection [167], Hough transform, and isotropic surround suppression techniques [168,169]. The resultant images were used to train an SVM classifier to identify the occurrence of flood in a new test image.…”

Introductory Chapter: Intelligence, Sustainable and Post-COVID-19 Resilience Built Environment: An Agenda for Future

“…• Remote operation, particularly in transportation or construction sites, is difficult, but it is demanding. Robotics, 3D Printing [3, 26,27], autonomous systems, computer vision, and detection algorithms [28], monitoring and sensing technologies [29][30][31], the internet of things (IoT), geospatial intelligence, and analytic systems [28,32,33], intelligent contract administration [34], smart city technologies [35,36] and cybersecurity tools should be further developed for different tasks. The role of Internet Of Things, drones, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and 5G technologies for pandemic management in healthcare was reviewed recently by Chamola et al [37].…”

Deploying Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing in Construction

“…Architects and engineers typically do not specify tolerances in their drawings and use chain dimensioning, in which all dimensions are connected head-to-tail as chains without any tolerance [23]. It is known that tolerance problems mainly occur in the connections between the structural frame and non-structural components (e.g., cladding, panelling units, pipework, lift wells, and stairwells) [6]. Designers sometimes use the term 'HOLD' or the plus/minus sign (±), as a prefix or suffix to distinguish between important and less important dimensions in connections between structural and non-structural components [24].…”