Research on automation of tunneling method using AI

Details of research

You are likely aware that water pipes, gas pipes, and communication cables are buried underground. With the growing interest in offshore wind power, there is also a need to lay cables beneath the seabed for transmission to the surface. In urban areas, there are plans to bury electrical cables underground to eliminate utility poles. These installations use a drilling technique known as the thrusting method. As the geological structures are complex in Japan, advanced skills are required to operate drilling machines in accordance with the specific situation. Currently, excavation relies on the experience and intuition of skilled operators, but for global expansion and projects overseas, automating the thrusting method is essential.

In our laboratory, we have initiated research on automating the thrusting method in collaboration with Exeo Group, which has extensive experience in domestic installations. Specifically, we are developing a method that involves real-time monitoring of excavational conditions such as thrust force and bentonite pressure by analyzing the operations of skilled operators through image analysis. By using AI to analyze the relationship between these excavation conditions and geological structures, we aim to estimate excavational conditions in real-time according to geological conditions. Additionally, we are developing a method to rapidly measure the three-dimensional shape of excavated tunnels through image analysis and to evaluate the excavation accuracy of thrusting method.