Estimating building inventory for rapid seismic vulnerability assessment: Towards an integrated approach based on multi-source imaging

We propose an integrated approach to estimating building inventory for seismic vulnerability assessment, which can be applied to different urban environments and be efficiently scaled depending on the desired level of detail. The approach employs a novel multi-source method for evaluating structural vulnerability-related building features based on satellite remote sensing and ground-based omnidirectional imaging. It aims to provide a comparatively cost- and time-efficient way of inventory data capturing over large areas. The latest image processing algorithms and computer vision techniques are used on multiple imaging sources within the framework of an integrated sampling scheme, where each imaging source and technique is used to infer specific, scale-dependent information. Globally available low-cost data sources are preferred and the tools are being developed on an open-source basis to allow for a high degree of transferability and usability. An easily deployable omnidirectional camera-system is introduced for ground-based data-capturing. After a general description of the approach and the developed tools and techniques, preliminary results from a first application to our study area, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, are presented. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.