Computer vision applications in construction material and structural health monitoring: A scoping review

The concept of computer vision is as old as six decades. A spurt of remarkable magnitude on real-world applications of computer vision techniques in the realm of civil engineering is coming up since just one -and-a-half decade. A huge literature survey by the authors has revealed that, the applications are predominantly seen in allied domains of civil engineering such as, structural health monitoring, construction safety monitoring, infrastructure inspection, surveillance, data collection, and object detection. Being interdisciplinary, the emerging technologies from other engineering fields are getting integrated and making inroads to allied civil engineering projects in general, and construction industry related projects in particular. As the existing review publications provide a focused or context specific applications of computer vision in civil engineering, a deep review of literature will certainly provide a systematic and a lucid approach to gain an in-depth understanding. In this context this paper makes a vivid presentation of the reported and documented applications of computer vison in structural damage detection, health monitoring, vibration assessment, data anomaly detection, video surveillance applications, and investigation of serviceability conditions. It also provides a deeper insight into the current and futuristic foreseeable trends. The intent of this review is three-fold. Firstly, to garner a deep understanding of possible research area and open problems for exploration. Secondly, to assess the role of computer vision as an AI based technique for aiding smart construction and for the increased quality in construction. Finally, to bring awareness and to provide futuristic ideas to the prospective research scholars, project students, teachers, and professionals. To an extent this review will also guide the practitioners to arrive at informed decisions.