Advanced Infrastructure Systems
(AIS) Laboratory

Lab Director: Jim Garrett
Email: garrett@cmu.edu

AIS Overview:
Stewards of civil infrastructure are often limited by financial resources made available for maintenance and by the information they need to make important decisions regarding operation, maintenance, repair and replacement.

Inspection and testing methods are available for evaluating the condition of infrastructure elements, they are typically employed infrequently because of the expense and difficulty of application. Many of these methods permit only surface measurements that may not be representative of the bulk of a structure. If structures cannot be inspected adequately, repairs may be executed prematurely, leading to unnecessary expense, or belatedly, leading to devastating and costly failure.

AIS Vision:
To address information poverty problems associated with civil infrastructure, AIS researchers will investigate opportunities for, and challenges to, applying various forms of ubiquitous computing technology. Ubiquitous computing means that information resources: are available when and where they are needed; are mobile, embedded, or robotically transported; intelligently support a user's specific activity; and provide interfaces considerate of the field context in which they are used (e.g., uses speech and visual interfaces that are appropriate for use in the field).

AIS Mission:
Researchers in AIS will explore several ubiquitous computing technologies that are critical for supporting civil infrastructure operation and maintenance, such as: (1) embedded, wireless MEMS-based sensors, (2) speech-controlled mobile computing; and (3) small, flexibly configured micro-robotic systems. The AIS lab will:

AIS Lab Research Prior Poster Presentations