AI image analysis technologies for efficient water pipeline inspection

Abstract

Inspection of water pipelines with cameras under pressure is attracting attention. The inspection can be performed without digging the ground and water interruption by inserting a camera into aging water pipes while the water is flowing. However, the inspection has two problems: (1) a long-time visual check by expert engineers is required and (2) variations in the evaluation standards. To solve these problems, we have developed an AI image analysis system for automatically judging the state of degradation of water pipelines by using images captured from the in-pipe endoscope cameras. This report describes the developed technology and software to support the inspection work.