FCC Construcción has started the national R&D&i ROBUST project, which focuses on the development of a georeferenced mapping system and automated monitoring for confined environments, mainly tunnels and ditches. To do this, it is intended to use a new monitoring technology that will require the development and deployment of autonomous aerial robots (drones), as well as the design and development of control systems and algorithms for communication with the robots.

With this new development, it will be possible to make, in an agile and effective way, precise representations of the interior of environments that are inaccessible or at high risk for workers who must carry out operation, maintenance or inspection tasks in said environments.

For the development of this project, the following specific technical objectives have been defined that will result in a system, software and hardware, capable of monitoring and mapping indoor environments in the construction and maintenance sector:

• Development of miniaturized electronics for robots. A series of robots with miniaturized components will be designed and developed to have easy access to confined areas in tunnel scenarios, and especially in trenches.
• Georeferenced 3D mapping in small environments, with low light and low contrast in textures. For the georeferencing of underground spaces, LiDAR technology, ToF (Time of Flight) distance sensors, smart tags and the development of intelligent SLAM algorithms will be used through machine learning processes.
• Sensory fusion of images and laser. Different image capture techniques will be merged to achieve a much more precise mapping in the generation of georeferenced point clouds to analyze the construction and maintenance process in tunnels.
• Develop a system that eliminates human risks. The ROBUST system aims to practically eliminate all human intervention in the process, making use of intelligent autonomous navigation without the need for visual contact with the robot, even in areas with low GPS and radio connectivity.

The ROBUST project presents a change in the philosophy of work on the use of drones as a data capture and mapping tool with great precision in environments that are difficult to access, specifically in tunnels and ditches, saving operating costs and guaranteeing safety in plays.

In addition, both HOVERING SOLUTIONS (project leader) and FCC Construcción develop this project with the aim of collecting information in small indoor spaces, where not only dimensions are the problem, but also light and GPS and radio connectivity are limited. or nonexistent.

Thanks to this project, an autonomous industrial-grade data acquisition vehicle, specifically UAV, will be developed as a unique and universal tool for automated data capture in civil works.

The objective is to achieve a very precise digital model with a high frequency of data collection to analyze the construction and maintenance process of the works where it can be applied, generally underground and hydraulic pipelines. In addition, it is intended to incorporate the flight of the drone to the activities of the tunnel cycle or trench operations so that it does not consume exclusive time in the processes.

With this, it will be possible to almost completely eliminate human intervention in the process, making use of intelligent navigation without the need to have visual contact with the robot and eliminating the safety and health risks of the operators. It should be emphasized that the fact of implementing BIM technology in civil engineering projects, related to the construction and maintenance of infrastructures, represents a synergy and a growth opportunity for the application of UAV technology.

The tests will be carried out in two FCC Construcción construction sites:
 

Tunnels of the Closure of the Insular Ring of Tenerife.

The work consists of the construction of a new section of road for the closure of the Insular Ring of Tenerife. This section will join the North and South corridors of the island of Tenerife with a route of 11.3 kilometers in length.

The most important action of the work is the construction of the Erjos Tunnel, where the validation tests of the ROBUST project will be carried out. It is an underground work, formed by two parallel tubes of 5.1 kilometers in length each.
 

Segarra-Garrigues System Irrigation Works, Lleida.

The work consists of the transformation into irrigation of some 108,000 gross hectares, located in the province of Lleida.

The validation tests of the ROBUST project will be carried out in the construction phases of the distribution network, from the main transport pipelines to the secondary and tertiary network.

Consortium:

Project approved and financed by: