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This paper proposes a visual inspection methodology for the ceiling element of a gymnasium utilizing a blimp robot with a Wi-Fi camera. In the proposed methodology, the blimp robot with the Wi-Fi camera inspects the damage location and captures the photographic image of the damage condition. The inspection blimp robots will be able to estimate the damage condition without any process of engineers’ on-site-inspection involved. To demonstrate the capabilities of such blimp robots, the visual inspections for the ceiling of a gymnasium and the actual bridge deck has been conducted. The results of the application to real structures indicate that the Wi-Fi camera on the blimp robot can estimate the damages from the captured image, and the proposed methodology will provide valuable information for the repair and maintenance decision making of damaged elements located on high attitude.

This paper proposes a damage assessment methodology for the non-structural elements, especially ceiling elements of a building, utilizing an inspection robot. The developed inspection robot equipped with a wireless camera and data processing function has a capability of providing valuable information for the repair and maintenance decision making of a damaged structure. The inspection robots will be able to estimate the damage condition without any process of engineers on-site-inspection involved. The robots also can gather the static data of the nonstructural elements from the sensor, which are distributed on the nonstructural elements. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the inspection robot, the robot is utilized to estimate the ceiling of a real structure damaged by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. And conceptual experiment is also conducted for the purpose of evaluating the proposed damage assessment methodology in cooperation with the smart sensor and the inspection robot. The proposed methodology will provide useful information to the maintenance and repair planning of a damaged structure.

In this paper, oscillatory properties of two school gymnasiums are investigated based on microtremor observation, forced vibration tests and seismic observation. The roof forms of the gymnasiums are different, one is a hip roof and the other is a gable roof. At each gymnasium, influences of the roof forms on the natural frequency or damping ratio, etc. are investigated. And using the observation and tests results, the validity of the dynamic analysis model is discussed.

This paper presents the basic concept of a damage assessment methodology for ceiling elements with the aid of smart sensor board and inspection robot. In this proposed system, the distributed smart sensor boards firstly detect the fact of damage occurrence. Next, the robot inspects the damage location and captures the photographic image of damage condition. The smart sensor board for the proposed system mainly consists of microcontroller, strain gage and LAN module. The inspection robot integrated into the proposed system has a wireless camera and wireless LAN device for receiving signal to manipulate itself. At fi rst, the effectiveness of the smart sensor board and inspection robot is tested by experiments of a full-scale suspended ceiling utilizing shaking table facilities. The model ceiling is subjected to several levels of excitations and thus various levels of damages are caused. Next, this robot inspection scheme is applied to the ceiling of a real structure damaged by the 2011 off the pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. The obtained results indicate that the proposed system can detect the location and condition of the damage. Keywords: Damage assessment, Ceiling elemen t, Smart sensor, Inspection robot