In order to solve the problems of low efficiency and accuracy in the traditional detection of tunnel cracks, this paper proposes a tunnel crack detection method based on a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) equipped with a high-speed camera and a crack recognition algorithm using the improved multi-scale Retinex (MSR) algorithm and the Prewitt–Otsu algorithm, aiming to improve the accuracy and efficiency of detection. The tunnel crack detection method, based on a UAV equipped with a high-speed camera to acquire tunnel surface images, significantly improves the detection efficiency. The recognition method employs an improved multi-scale Retinex algorithm to process the acquired images, enhancing the details of the crack images and improving the contrast between cracks and the background. The enhanced images are input to the Prewitt–Otsu algorithm, which segments the crack image by combining Prewitt edge detection and Otsu thresholding. Finally, the pseudo-crack and isolated edges are removed by the minimum bounding rectangle principle. Using the UAV-collected tunnel surface images as targets, the tunnel crack recognition algorithm proposed in this paper is compared with other existing methods. The experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper improves the recognition ability of the small-texture features of the tunnel’s surface, and the overall crack recognition accuracy is higher than the existing methods. The proposed method not only enhances the efficiency of tunnel crack detection but also significantly improves the recognition accuracy, demonstrating substantial practical significance for tunnel maintenance and safety management.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    A Tunnel Crack Detection Method Based on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Equipped with a High-Speed Camera and Crack Recognition Algorithm Using Improved Multi-Scale Retinex and Prewitt–Otsu


    Contributors:
    Wei Sun (author) / Xiaohu Liu (author) / Zhiyong Lei (author)


    Publication date :

    2025




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown




    UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH CAMERA

    NAM GWANG WOO | European Patent Office | 2017

    Free access

    UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE EQUIPPED WITH CAMERA

    European Patent Office | 2023

    Free access

    Road Crack Detection using Support Vector Machine (SVM) and OTSU Algorithm

    Sari, Yuslena / Prakoso, Puguh Budi / Baskara, Andreyan Rezky | IEEE | 2019


    The Method of the Road Surface Crack Detection by the Improved Otsu Threshold

    Quan, Yuwen / Sun, Jie / Zhang, Yang et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2019


    Crack detection unmanned aerial vehicle based on visual image

    KIM TAE-MIN / WANG ZHIYUAN | European Patent Office | 2024

    Free access