A building that is getting old inside, diagnosed only by color.

[Anchor]
Korean researchers have developed a technology that informs the danger of color change when a building is old or deformed even if it is not exposed.

It is a nano-optical film using the 'structural color phenomenon' of peacock or morpho butterflies.

I'm reporter Jang A-young.

[Reporter]
Last year, one person was killed and one was seriously injured in the collapse of the Jeongja Bridge.

Concrete damage was the cause, but regular safety inspections diagnosed by engineers with the naked eye received a "good" rating.

This is because it is not easy to visually detect the contraction of buildings or distortion of old materials due to temperature changes.

The precision measurement was made with an electric displacement sensor, which is complicated and expensive and time-consuming to install the equipment.

Is there an easy way to know the dangers of twisted buildings?

Korean researchers have developed a nano-optical film that informs building deformation.

If you attach it to a building material such as steel frame or concrete, the color changes when deformation occurs, making it easy to diagnose.

[Yoon Jae-sung / Lead researcher at Nanolithography Research Center, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials: We have developed a sensor that expresses mechanical deformation and danger in color using nano patterns, and these data can be measured and monitored more precisely using platforms such as drones, robots, or smartphones.]

The underlying principle is the "structural color phenomenon" seen in peacocks and morpho butterflies.

The reason why the butterfly wings are blue is not because of the pigment, but because of the light reflection structure.

If you look at the inside of the wing under a microscope, it's in a very thin grid, and it passes through the other light and reflects only the blue light strongly, so that it looks blue.

The film developed this time is also a nanostructure, so different colors appear depending on the degree to which the building changes.

We also solved the problem of color changing depending on the angle of observation.

[Yen Hwang-min / Student Researcher at Nanolithography Research Center, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials: One of the problems with structural color is that it is affected by both viewing angle and strain. So we developed a new style of structural color that changes only with the viewing angle. This method allows you to measure the strain by looking at colors from any angle.

The research team said it is also developing software that makes it easier and more precise to determine the risk through artificial intelligence learning and is seeking to transfer technology to companies.

I'm YTN's Jang Ayoung.



Video editing;Lee Young-hoon

Design;Ji Kyungyoon

screen provided; Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials