Social issue oriented technology development : Maintenance, and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation through Creation of Resilient Social Infrastructure
Maintenance, and Disaster Prevention and Mitigation through Creation of Resilient Social Infrastructure
- The author's affiliation name is as of the time of publication.
- The information contained in IHI ENGINEERING REVIEW is as of the time of publication.Please note that development and product manufacturing may have been terminated.
Bridge Maintenance
IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. conducts seismic strengthening works for preventing bridges, which are important lifelines, from collapsing even in the event of a huge earthquake, and inspection, investigation and diagnosis, and repair works to extend the service life of the social infrastructure.
As for old infrastructure, such as 30-or-more-year-old suspension bridges and Metropolitan Expressway with over 300 km network, there are concerns for decrease in durability caused by heavy usage environment and aging. Therefore, we are conducting repairment, reinforcement, or reconstruction of damaged parts to extend service life and maintain soundness.
Moreover, we are planning to include technologies relating to maintenance and repair to bridge construction at the early stage of the design with the aim of conducting maintenance together with the client.
Weather Disaster Prevention
IHI has been developing its original high-precision mid-to-long term weather forecast technology with active use of satellite data, and AI and IoT technologies.
With this forecast technology, we aim to provide information for expanding business chances affected by weather conditions and for avoiding business risks caused by the weather.
For example, POTEKA®, the ultra high density weather observation system developed by MEISEI ELECTRIC CO., LTD., a company in the IHI Group, contributes to disaster prevention and mitigation of the installed area by providing pinpoint weather information in a real-time manner.
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- Journal of IHI technologies Vol.60 No.1 ( 2020 ) Medium- and Long-Term Weather Forecast Service Utilizing AI (in Japanese)
- IHI ENGINEERING REVIEW Vol.47 No.2 ( 2015 ) Protecting Life and Society with Street-Corner Weather Stations The POTEKA Project: local disaster protection using a dense network of compact weather stations(1.1MB)
3D Laser Radar
A 3D laser radar is a device for measuring the position and speed of an object in a real-time manner with the aim of accident prevention. The radar is advantageous in severe environment such as during night-time, under bad weather conditions including rain and snow, and in dusty environment.
IHI applied 3D laser radars into the fields of road traffic and railways and put them to practical use as devices for measuring vehicles and people. In addition, with the aim of their practical use in autonomous driving, we have conducted demonstration experiments at intersections in Japan and Singapore. For example, in a demonstration experiment at public roads in Yokohama in 2021, 3D laser radars assisted a medium-sized autonomous driving bus to turn right in left-hand traffic by detecting oncoming vehicles.
Related articles
- IHI ENGINEERING REVIEW Vol.41 No.2 ( 2009 ) 3-D Laser Radar Level Crossing Obstacle Detection System(585.3KB)
- Journal of IHI technologies Vol.51 No.4 ( 2011 ) Realization of a Society with Safer Traffic Through 3D Laser Radar (in Japanese)
- IHI ENGINEERING REVIEW Vol.49 No.2 ( 2016 ) Monitoring Intersections to Alert Drivers Practical application of 3D laser radar is close at hand in playing a central role in the Intelligent Transport Systems(1.1MB)
Remote Operation in Harsh Environment
With the aim of the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, various investigation and technology development are underway to understand conditions around nuclear reactors.
IHI focused on the underwater environment and has developed an underwater swimming type remotely operated robot system, which can reach an object in human-inaccessible harsh environment.
Decontamination operation under high radiation environment is desirable to be remotely conducted in order to avoid workers’ exposure to radiation. IHI has developed a remotely operated laser decontamination system based on Laserclear®, which is an existing laser cleaning device developed by IHI Inspection & Instrumentation Co., Ltd. This system can control generation of secondary waste and provide superior remote operability.
Seismic Isolation
The IHI Group has been developing various types of seismic isolation equipment.
For example, we have developed and delivered seismic isolation equipment for cargo-handling machinery in case of level 2 earthquake motion, which is believed to have intensity of the greatest level in the area within the foreseeable future.
In addition, we have developed and delivered a seismic isolation floor system to allow a computer system in a socially essential organization such as a bank to keep on functioning normally even after huge earthquakes.
Related articles
- Journal of IHI technologies Vol.51 No.4 ( 2011 ) Seismic Isolation Equipment of Cargo-Handling Machinery for Port Subjected to Level 2 Earthquake Motion (in Japanese)(1.6MB)
- Journal of IHI technologies Vol.53 No.1 ( 2013 ) Recent Application of Seismic Isolation Floor System for Computer System and a Trial for Longer Period System Realization (in Japanese)