Building pose detection for the characterization of reinforced concrete buildings

SummaryThe automated identification of building characteristics for seismic vulnerability remains a challenge for governments due to the high number of buildings in cities. The diverse architectural styles of these buildings complicate the automated identification of building information (e.g., number of stories, structural system, and material type). Deep learning techniques lose accuracy as they generalize information, while the visual contents of a building exhibit a considerable range and diversity. This study leverages the pose detection technique to tackle such issues by focusing on a common construction style: reinforced concrete buildings representing columns, beams, or floors on the façade. With an aim to enable the assessment of seismic vulnerability, the technique developed herein is conceived for buildings with up to six stories that are more likely to be moment‐frame buildings. The AI‐enabled proposed framework starts with collecting building images and categorizing those containing this specific building type. A bounding box detector is then used to isolate building facades, for the subsequent identification of the structural frame with the High‐Resolution Network (HR‐Net). For demonstration, we illustrate this technique by identifying the structural frame on concrete buildings with a sample dataset developed based on buildings found in Mexico City in a pre‐earthquake event state.