ROME, Nov. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new phase in the
field of road network security and infrastructure monitoring is
starting. ASPI Tech, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Fincantieri NexTech
announce that the new digital system for civil
infrastructure monitoring, based on IBM Maximo, is now in
operation. The system has been developed by Autostrade Tech,
the technology-focused subsidiary of Autostrade per l'Italia Group,
together with IBM and Fincantieri NexTech.
This is a very important stage for the digital
strategic development of Autostrade per l'Italia as
an integrated mobility manager. It represents a significant
investment in the digitization of assets and procedures,
sustainable mobility, management and the provisioning of innovative
services for civil infrastructure, road networks and
beyond.
The new monitoring platform will use IBM Artificial
Intelligence, drones, IoT (Internet of Things) and Fincantieri
NexTech 3D digital modeling to deliver innovation in the
surveillance and monitoring activities of the more than 4,500
structures managed by ASPI including bridges, viaducts, flyovers
and tunnels, obtaining improved efficiency and transparency in
these processes.
The collaboration signed between Autostrade Tech, IBM and
Fincantieri NexTech is expected to be made available to the
market both as a service and through on premises models.
The new system is intended to improve the process of conducting
civil infrastructure inspections in a number of core ways. Civil
engineers will be able to carry out inspections on the condition of
each structure and access key information in the field via a mobile
device that is updated in near real time, including calculations
and drawings of the original project and subsequent interventions;
scheduled checks and maintenance; investigations and tests on
materials; and the results and details of previous inspections.
This information is maintained in a digital repository, which
collects information classified by type and can be consulted
through an app for adequate usability in the field. Through the
same mobile device, the inspector can include details and photos
from an inspection, making them immediately available to the rest
of organization.
The new software also traces and manages the various steps
necessary for the care of each structure, from conducting
inspections, to the planning and implementation of maintenance or
activities according to the priority criteria developed with the
Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation (MIT). The system also introduces Fincantieri
NexTech advanced technologies never used before on Italian road
networks, i.e. the ability to analyze a structure through
three-dimensional "digital twins." These digital
twins reproduce a structure's features through the use of
drones equipped with topographic laser-scanners and high-resolution
cameras, which can then be analyzed by AI to assist in the
detection of imperfections. This visual defect detection model was
specifically developed to support technicians in the recognition
and classification of defects and in the planning of maintenance
activities.
The use of Digital Twins will help enable the implementation of
an innovative instrumental monitoring model, which
utilizes Fincantieri NexTech Industrial IoT sensors and
latest generation technological solutions and will allow
analysis of the trends of the static and dynamic structural
engineering parameters, as well as the development of algorithms to
evaluate a structure in use and during maintenance activities. By
2021, a new dynamic weighing system is expected to be introduced to
monitor the authorized weight limits for the road system as well as
the near real time behavior of infrastructure being used by heavy
vehicles.
The platform is in use today on 430 structures located on the
two trunk roads of Cassino and Bari in Italy and is expected to be further extended
by the end of the year to all 1,943 bridges and 2,000 overpasses
across the Autostrade per l'Italia network. Over the course of
2021, these capabilities are expected to be extended to all
bridges, overpasses, and to all 587 tunnels in the network
throughout the country.
The technologies put in place by Autostrade Tech, IBM
and Fincantieri NexTech will also allow experimentation at a
scientific level, which will further the development of new models,
algorithms and parameters for infrastructure security. To support
this ongoing effort, Autostrade Tech has set up a
Technical-Scientific Committee, with the participation of the
Polytechnic Universities of Trento, Turin, Rome,
Naples and Milan, with the task of coordinating these
experimental activities, and defining new operational procedures
that will be later agreed upon with the Ministry of Italian
Transportation. The first research project will be dedicated to the
use of modern sensors in monitoring of infrastructure's behavior
under certain conditions.
The total investment for the new system is more than
60 million euros, provided by
Autostrade per l'Italia.
"We are working hard and passionately to implement a radical
transformation at Autostrade per l'Italia that includes
technological innovation, infrastructure digitalization, the
enhancement of environmental sustainability and mobility services.
By connecting our networks territory-wide in compliance with local
guidelines we continue to advance our vision of becoming an
integrated mobility operator at the European level. The safety of
the infrastructure we manage continues to be our first and
fundamental objective. I would like to thank the Autostrade Tech
team for their work and IBM and Fincantieri for the support they
have given us. Together we expect to make the new platform
available to European and international markets," said Roberto Tomasi, CEO of Autostrade per
l'Italia.
"Technologies such as artificial intelligence, together with
renowned civil engineering expertise can help us face most of the
challenges we encounter during this transformation, assisting
operators in more efficient management of our civil
infrastructure. In particular, the project with Autostrade
Tech and Fincantieri NexTech aims to support operators and
professionals in making better, more effective and efficient
decisions. This innovation, based on IBM Maximo Application
Suite, will bring real benefits which the country needs today.
We will continue to work with IBM Research as well as strategic
partners who specialize in civil infrastructure engineering and
assessment on advancements to our tools. These civil engineering
tools will continue to become more and more powerful in the
detection of faults and helping to assess risk. We expect to
deliver additional advanced AI enhancements in the middle of 2021
and will continue to enhance them over time," said
Enrico Cereda, President and CEO of
IBM Italy.
Fincantieri's CEO Giuseppe
Bono commented: "This agreement confirms
Fincantieri's strategy of expanding our competencies, a path that
over time has allowed us to strengthen the Group, and to
always work together with leading partners, like Autostrade
and IBM. We have an extraordinary wealth of know-how in many areas,
gained through the management of very complex processes and
projects and we are therefore proud, through the high technological
level we express, to contribute to the goal of increasingly secure
networks." Bono concluded, "In this action we acknowledge the great
attention of the Government, specifically the Ministry of
Infrastructure and Transport, which follows very closely our action
and at the service of which we can achieve very important
objectives for the growth of the country."
About IBM Maximo
Powered by IBM's investments in
artificial intelligence, fueled by IoT data, and built for hybrid
cloud, The IBM Maximo Application Suite is extending its
leadership as one of the most trusted enterprise asset
management systems on the planet. And with new
investments in remote monitoring, computer vision and
AI-powered anomaly detection, it is poised to remain a leading
solution for tomorrow's asset management challenges, empowering
Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) leaders
with a comprehensive view into asset performance. For more
information please visit: www.ibm.com/products/maximo.
Media Contact:
Claudia Ruffini
IBM Italy
cla@it.ibm.com
+393356325093
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