The Chair of Intelligent Technical Design is concerned with the application of modern information and communication technology (ICT) during the design, the construction and the operation of civil infrastructure, such as buildings, bridges, tunnels, road and pipe networks. In this regard, we use methods of Building Information Modelling (BIM), Computer Vision and Machine Learning as well as Virtual and Augmented Reality to efficiently and sustainably inform decision makers.
"Intelligent Technical Design refers to a design approach that utilizes advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to optimize the design process and improve the performance, efficiency, and sustainability of building and infrastructure systems. It integrates data-driven insights, real-time performance monitoring, and machine learning algorithms into the design process to make informed decisions, automate manual processes, and reduce the risk of human error. The goal of Intelligent Technical Design is to create high-performing, sustainable, and efficient building and infrastructure systems." [ChatGPT, 2023]
New publication in Advanced Engineering Informatics
In the special issue of Advanced Engineering Informatics for the conference "27th International Workshop On Intelligent Computing In Engineering" the article "State of the art in damage information modeling for RC bridges - A literature review" was published.
In Germany, bridges have an average age of 40 years. A bridge consumes between 0.4% and 2% of its construction cost per year over its entire life cycle. This means that up to 80% of the construction cost are additionally needed for operation, inspection, maintenance, and destruction. Current practices rely either on paper-based inspections or on abstract specialist software. Every application in the inspection and maintenance sector uses its own data model for structures, inspections, defects, and maintenance. Due to this, data and properties have to be transferred manually, otherwise a converter is necessary for every data exchange between two applications. To overcome this issue, an adequate model standard for inspections, damage, and maintenance is necessary. Modern 3D models may serve as a single source of truth, which has been suggested in the Building Information Modeling (BIM) concept. Further, these models offer a clear visualization of the built infrastructure, and improve not only the planning and construction phases, but also the operation phase of construction projects. BIM is established mostly in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector to plan and construct new buildings. Currently, BIM does not cover the whole life cycle of a building, especially not inspection and maintenance. Creating damage models needs the building model first, because a defect is dependent on the building component, its properties and material. Hence, a building information model is necessary to obtain meaningful conclusions from damage information. This paper analyzes the requirements, which arise from practice, and the research that has been done in modeling damage and related information for bridges. With a look at damage categories and use cases related to inspection and maintenance, scientific literature is discussed and synthesized. Finally, research gaps and needs are identified and discussed.
More information can be found here.
