In collaboration with the Austrian Institute for Technology (AIT), viadonau has been carrying out an artificial intelligence (AI)-supported assessment of the condition of towpaths since 2022.
As a waterway operator in Austria, viadonau maintains around 400 km of asphalted riverside paths. The international Danube cycle path runs along approx. 260 km of these paths. A software-supported maintenance management system was already used in 2010 to record the condition in order to increase traffic safety and to plan and prioritise renovations in a targeted manner. This was still based on visual surveys, which were manually transferred to the software system and analysed there. The visual recording process tied up a lot of resources and only allowed a subjective assessment of the condition. In 2022, a new system was developed in which the condition data is recorded annually using measurement technology or analysed using AI. In addition, a web-based management system was set up with which the path infrastructure can be managed and specifically repaired and renewed.
Following a comprehensive test in 2022, the AI-supported condition survey of the towpaths was carried out jointly for the first time in 2023, making a significant contribution to improving the quality of the path network.
News and project status
The intermediate conclusion is positive. The goals that were set have been achieved. This includes in particular the timely provision of status data and images for the various planning tasks. The use of AI has proved its effectiveness. The damage analysis enables an objective determination of the condition, the mapping of the condition development and the determination of the maintenance requirements. The system created provides key figures for the strategic, tactical and operational levels. The data collected is visualised using software that does not require any specialist knowledge. The system is intuitive to use and makes day-to-day work easier for the viadonau employees responsible for maintenance. A pragmatic and sustainable solution has been created that only minimally utilises internal resources.
The conservation management system is gradually improved with each campaign.
The project makes a substantial contribution to the implementation of workpackage 02. Developing shore-side infrastructure in a demand-oriented, environmentally friendly and spatially efficient manner of the Action Programm Danube 2030.
