Overview

What is CHARISMA

Collaborative Highway Asset Research: Integrated Sensor-Modeling Application (CHARISMA) is an open-source platform designed for sharing data and validated algorithms for Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) research. Our goal is to assist the community in achieving a standardized approach to NDE data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

Objective

We believe one major issue in NDE is the lack of transparency in data collection, analysis, and interpretation, which require extensive knowledge and research. In the past, most of the research outcomes from our community were just reports and journal papers, without sharing the data and algorithms behind them. This could result in different interpretations from the same NDE technology. Such a discrepancy will give asset owners a hard time when they are trying to procure NDE services. We propose CHARISMA to solve this issue. We hope this platform can help the community reach a standardized NDE data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

How it works

The above figure provides a straightforward look at how CHARISMA operates, highlighting its collaborative nature. CHARISMA consists of two parts: our contributions and community involvement. Initially, we share our data, code, and algorithms via CHARISMA, encouraging wider collaboration. If individuals or groups have better data or algorithms, we welcome their suggestions, with validation by our team. Contributors will be acknowledged and get credit for the documentation.

Who we are

We are FAST-NDE lab (FHWA’s Advanced Sensing Technology & Nondestructive Evaluation Laboratory). We work at Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC), a national research facility owned and operated by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

How to reach us

FAST-NDE Lab Manager: hoda.azari@dot.gov, 202-493-3064