Automatic detection of tunnel lining using image processing supported by terrestrial laser scanning technology

Tunnel lining plays an important role in designing, constructing and monitoring concrete tunnel. However, several limitations are found in current tunnel detection techniques. These are work-intensive, prone to human error, and they often require the use of expensive inspection means. In this scope, the development of automatic methods based on image processing and laser scanning to detect tunnel lining has significant advantages. The goal of this paper is to develop an automatic method for detecting bare-lining, based on the combination of image processing and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) technology. The images captured by Control Network surveyed by TLS, solving one of the major drawbacks of applying image processing for lining detection on tunnel. The proposed method was implemented on a concrete highway tunnel monitoring project at G25 road, in Jiangsu Province, China, and proved itself to offer advantages, including detailed description and improved surveying automations and data processing efficiencies.