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Indian-origin professor receives $500k grant for research
Hoskere's project, titled "Development of Digital Twins for Texas Bridges," commenced in September.
This is Hoskere's first project with TxDOT. / Image - University of Houston
An assistant professor at the University of Houston's Cullen College of Engineering has been awarded a grant of $505,286 from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for three years of research.
The grant will fund his advance research on digitizing bridges using robots, data, and artificial intelligence (AI) to address complex issues related to highway bridge safety.
“Texas is home to 55,000 bridges, more than twice as many as any other state in the country,” said Vedhus Hoskere, assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.
“These bridges must be inspected every two years, but traditional inspection procedures of bridges are not always effective in making sure bridges are safe. Our project with the Texas Department of Transportation is about figuring out how to best leverage technology like drones, cameras, sensors, and AI to gather a lot of data about bridges, and then use that data to make high-quality decisions,” he added.
Hoskere's project, titled "Development of Digital Twins for Texas Bridges," commenced in September 2023 and is scheduled to continue through August 2026. This is also his first project with TxDOT.
Additionally, Hoskere chairs a sub-task group of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) that focuses on AI methodologies for identifying typical pathologies and degradation for remote inspection of bridges.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, Texas is in relatively good condition compared to other states, with less than two percent of its bridges considered to be in poor condition. However, the state is grappling with significant mobility demands due to a rapidly growing population.
Hoskere's ultimate goal is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Texas' bridge maintenance programs through the digitization and application of advanced technologies.
“To put this data in context, we create a 3D digital representation of these bridges, called digital twins. Then, we use artificial intelligence methods to help us find and quantify problems to be concerned about, “ he explained adding that the researchers were particularly focused on identifying any structural problems.
Hoskere holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, an M.S. in Computer Science, and an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Additionally, he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from BMS College of Engineering in Bangalore, India.
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