Integration of photorealistic digital twin with virtual reality and its use in structural inspection

One Digital twin technology has gained significant momentum in recent years and has become increasingly popular for a variety of purposes. Digital twin is the process of creating a virtual representation of a physical object for a variety of purposes, including animation, monitoring, and predictive maintenance. One of the primary challenges associated with the creation of a digital twin is the accurate and timely acquisition of 3D data about the physical object in question. The most applicable method for the collection of 3D data, including the acquisition of real textural information about the physical object in question, is photogrammetry. Digital twins generated from photorealistic 3D models using photogrammetry can be employed to ascertain optimal solutions. In particular, the utilisation of photorealistic digital twins in structural inspections in lieu of costly on-site inspections represents an alternative methodology. The incorporation of digital twins derived from this methodology with virtual reality technologies facilitates interactive inspections and analyses, particularly within a virtual environment. In this manner, digital twins can be utilized in a more efficacious manner, and physical objects can be examined in a more interactive and detailed way. This thesis presents a methodology for integrating digital twins, which are created by integrating photorealistic 3D models with other structural information about physical objects, with virtual reality technologies. This integration allows for the presentation of different inspection perspectives. These methods, which are more rapid and efficient than traditional inspection methods, are particularly valuable for damage analysis in structural inspections. The proposed methodology was subjected to testing on a variety of structural types. Consequently, a refined digital twin (3D model + crack) representing damage is generated by combining the photogrammetric 3D model and automatically detected cracks. Furthermore, a monitoring and inspection study utilising thermal images by UAV was conducted to provide an alternative perspective on structural inspections. The digital twins were then conveyed to disparate users in a virtual reality setting, thereby facilitating interactive online inspections and offering an alternative to on-site structural inspections.