Francisco A. Romero

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Papers

Total Citations

293

H-Index

About

Francisco A. Romero is a leading researcher in the fields of non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and robotics for civil infrastructure, with a particular focus on bridge deck inspection. His major contributions lie in the development of autonomous robotic systems that integrate ground penetrating radar (GPR) to assess the structural health of reinforced concrete bridges. Romero pioneered automated methods for analyzing GPR data, specifically for detecting rebar deterioration and creating high-fidelity deterioration maps—a process that traditionally required labor-intensive manual interpretation. His work has had a significant impact on improving the safety and efficiency of bridge inspections, as evidenced by his highly cited papers. His 2015 study on "Automated GPR Rebar Analysis for Robotic Bridge Deck Evaluation" has garnered 130 citations, while his foundational 2013 work on mechatronic systems design for autonomous inspection has been cited 117 times. By combining robotics, mechatronics, and advanced sensing, Romero has advanced the state of the art in high-efficiency, non-destructive bridge evaluation, directly addressing the critical need for safer, faster, and more reliable infrastructure monitoring.