As part of the FFG research project TUNSPEKT (Innovative road tunnel inspection using AI approaches, Link), a workshop was held on July 9 and 10, 2025, at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in Freiburg im Breisgau.
The hybrid event for Work Package 4, “Sensors and Robotics,” was divided into two program days:
- Day 1 was devoted to laboratory experiments with various sensor systems for tunnel assessment.
- Day 2 was dedicated to theoretical exchanges with project partners. Colleagues from Dibit and Joanneum Research were present on site, while experts from ILF and Pro²Future joined online.
Day 1 – Laboratory experiments
Concrete test specimens were examined in the IPM laboratory using various sensors, including:
- “LASERBEAT” – for detecting cavities (Link)
- “Multispectral laser scanner” – for detecting damp spots (Link)
- “Dibit high-speed 3D measuring system” with laser scanner, RGB cameras, and thermal cameras – for detecting cracks >= 0.3 mm and temperature anomalies, for example (Link)
- Dibit handheld scanner (Link) and a photo drone for supplementary data collection
To create a defined measurement environment and to co-register the different sensor data, the entire test scenario was additionally captured with a high-resolution laser scanner.
Day 2 – Workshop
The workshop focused on the fusion and co-registration of raw sensor data, including:
- RGB images
- infrared images
- laser scan data from various systems
In addition, robotics concepts were discussed that would enable the measurement of small-diameter tunnel structures that are difficult to access.
The aim of work package 4 in the TUNSPEKT project is to define suitable sensor technology for the demonstrator, develop functional interfaces between the measurement components from Dibit and Fraunhofer IPM, and design initial routines for processing and integrating the various data formats.
Many thanks to Prof. Alexander Reiterer and Valentin Vierhub-Lorenz from IPM for the warm welcome in Freiburg and the perfect organization of the workshop.
