A BIM-Oriented Model for supporting indoor navigation requirements

Existing indoor navigation approaches such as navigation based on 2D geometries and pre-defined routing remain insufficient for many applications such as emergency response, delivery, utility maintenance and facility management. The insufficiencies caused by existing navigation approaches can be overcome by making use of the advanced semantic and geometric information included in intelligent building models. A key example of such models is Building Information Models (BIMs) which contain detailed geometric and semantic information about buildings. In fact, the BIMs’ structure is very complex for facilitating navigation. This paper presents a new BIM Oriented Modeling methodology resulting in the definition of a new BIM based model (BO-IDM) dedicated for facilitating indoor navigation. The paper later describes the transformation of information from a standard BIM (IFC) into the new model (BO-IDM). The innovation aspects of BO-IDM can be summarized as follows: (i) it provides highly detailed semantic information for indoor navigation and (ii) it represents the non-geo-referenced structure and complex geometries of BIMs with ISO 19107 compliant representations. Therefore this model is well suited for indoor navigation.     

Developing final as-built BIM model management system for owners during project closeout: A case study

To apply final as-built BIM models to facility management (FM) during the operation phase, it is important for owners to obtain an accurate, final as-built model from the general contractors (GCs) following project closeout. Confirming the accuracy of the final as-built BIM model is one of the most important works executed by owners to meet the accuracy requirement of final as-built models for FM. However, many practical problems arise relating to the management of final as-built models such as final as-built model mismatch, the lack of available final as-built models, and the entry of incorrect non-geometric information into the final as-built models. To solve these practical problems, this study develops a Final As-built BIM Model Management (FABMM) system for owners to handle final as-built BIM model inspection, modification, and confirmation (BMIMC) work beyond project closeout. The proposed approach and system can be used to manage the status and results of BMIMC management work for the final as-built BIM model to be performed. The proposed approach and system were applied in a case study in a selected building in Taiwan to verify and demonstrate its practical effectiveness. This study identifies the benefits, limitations, and conclusions of the FABMM system, and presents suggestions for its further application.     

BIM perspective definition metadata for interworking facility management data

The purpose of this research is to suggest and develop a building information modeling (BIM) database based on BIM perspective definition metadata for connecting external facility management (FM) and BIM data, which considers variability and expandability from the user’s perspective. The BIM-based FM system must be able to support different use cases per user role and effectively extract information required by the use cases from various heterogeneous data sources. If the FM system’s user perspective becomes structurally fixed when developing the system, the lack of expandability can cause problems for maintenance and reusability. BIM perspective definition (BPD) metadata helps increase expandability and system reusability because it supports system variability, which allows adding or changing the user perspective even after the system has been developed. The information to be dealt with differs according to the user’s role, which also means that the data model, data conversion rules, and expression methods change per perspective. The perspective should be able to extract only the user-requested data from the heterogeneous system’s data source and format it in the style demanded by the user. In order to solve such issues, we analyzed the practice of FM and the benefits of using BIM-based FM, and we proposed a BPD that supports data extraction and conversion and created a prototype.     

A relational framework for smart information delivery manual (IDM) specifications

This study proposes a relational framework for standardized machine-applicable, readable, and transferable (smart) information delivery manual (IDM) specifications. As the demand for projects using building information modeling (BIM) increases, there is a more acute awareness and need for clearly defined information requirements to support the BIM projects. The ISO 29481-1 IDM standard defines how to specify exchange requirements (ERs) and their use cases (UCs) using a process map (PM). However, IDM specifications are currently not easily sharable or reusable due to the lack of a commonly accepted standard data schema. This study overcomes this problem by identifying definitions and relationships of IDM components to develop the relational framework for an IDM data schema. An extensive review of existing IDM-related documents and standards, and iterative international meetings, were conducted by 46 international IDM experts from 16 countries. A consensus on the relational framework was then reached through three Delphi survey rounds. The formalized relational IDM framework lays a foundation for further developing an IDM data schema as an international standard.     

The recognition algorithm for lane line of urban road based on feature analysis

The building information model/modeling(BIM) technology is currently applied in a broad range of applications and research for facility management(FM), while the BIM-based mobile FM is difficult owing to various factors and environments. For example, the mobile applications usually require frequent cross-equipment compatibility. This paper proposes a reasonable BIM-based FM cross-platform framework and develops a mobile application on the basis of an existing BIM-based FM system. The developed mobile application is applied in a case study of a metro station project in Guangzhou to verify its effectiveness in FM practice. It helps maintenance staff in viewing BIMs, accessing related information, and updating maintenance records in a unique platform. The test results demonstrate that the proposed BIM-based cross-platform framework meet the FM application requirements and supports the extension of FM functions.     

Querying a building information model for construction-specific spatial information

The design and construction community has shown increasing interest in adopting building information models (BIMs). The richness of information provided by BIMs has the potential to streamline the design and construction processes by enabling enhanced communication, coordination, automation and analysis. However, there are many challenges in extracting construction-specific information out of BIMs. In most cases, construction practitioners have to manually identify the required information, which is inefficient and prone to error, particularly for complex, large-scale projects. This paper describes the process and methods we have formalized to partially automate the extraction and querying of construction-specific information from a BIM. We describe methods for analyzing a BIM to query for spatial information that is relevant for construction practitioners, and that is typically represented implicitly in a BIM. Our approach integrates ifcXML data and other spatial data to develop a richer model for construction users. We employ custom 2D topological XQuery predicates to answer a variety of spatial queries. The validation results demonstrate that this approach provides a richer representation of construction-specific information compared to existing BIM tools.     

基于BIM管网漏水事故处理的本体建模与推理

建筑行业经历了由纸质的图纸到二维的CAD制图,再到以构件为基础的BIM建筑信息模型的变迁,信息化革新提高了建筑项目的效率和质量,并缩短了建筑施工周期。然而,当前建筑信息集成的方式主要基于BIM模型库和关系型数据库,无法实现柔性地基于用户需求的信息组织与传递,极大地增加了信息传递中的承载量,造成系统响应速度慢和效率低下。通过分析建筑工程信息集成与交互的现状,提出基于本体的建筑信息组织与交互模型,并建立建筑信息对本体的映射机制和推理方式。最后以建筑项目运维阶段的管网漏水为实例,分别使用CPN Tools和Jena工具建立本体构架和推理规则,实现漏水区段的定位、关联原因分析及解决方案确认。     

A mobile application framework of the BIM-based facility management system under the cross-platform structure

The building information model/modeling(BIM) technology is currently applied in a broad range of applications and research for facility management,while the BIM-based mobile FM is difficult owing to various factors and environments.For example,the mobile applications usually require frequent cross-equipment compatibility.This paper proposes a reasonable BIM-based FM cross-platform framework and develops a mobile application on the basis of an existing BIM-based FM system.The developed mobile application is applied in a case study of a metro station project in Guangzhou to verify its effectiveness in FM practice.It helps maintenance staff in viewing BIMs,accessing related information,and updating maintenance records in a unique platform.The test results demonstrate that the proposed BIM-based cross-platform framework meet the FM application requirements and supports the extension of FM functions.     

An approach to combine progressively captured point clouds for BIM update

Building information models (BIMs) provide opportunities to serve as an information repository to store and deliver as-built information. Since a building is not always constructed exactly as the design information specifies, there will be discrepancies between a BIM created in the design phase (called as-designed BIM) and the as-built conditions. Point clouds captured by laser scans can be used as a reference to update an as-designed BIM into an as-built BIM (i.e., the BIM that captures the as-built information). Occlusions and construction progress prevent a laser scan performed at a single point in time to capture a complete view of building components. Progressively scanning a building during the construction phase and combining the progressively captured point cloud data together can provide the geometric information missing in the point cloud data captured previously. However, combining all point cloud data will result in large file sizes and might not always guarantee additional building component information. This paper provides the details of an approach developed to help engineers decide on which progressively captured point cloud data to combine in order to get more geometric information and eliminate large file sizes due to redundant point clouds.     

An ontology-based analysis of the industry foundation class schema for building information model exchanges

Robust knowledge sharing frameworks between different stakeholders in a building project is of high priority. Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) provides a rich schema for interoperability through object-based transactions. However, IFC lacks semantic clarity in mapping entities and relationships, resulting in multiple definitions to map the same information between different federated models. The objective of this research is to examine IFC from a perspective of an ontological framework, which can make the IFC definitions more formal, consistent and unambiguous. Different methods of ontological approaches to engineering knowledge are reviewed. Various issues such as the need for a logical framework, the current semantic approaches in the AEC/FM industry, and advantages of building an ontology structure are addressed. A comparative study of the ontology and segments of the existing IFC schema definition are performed. This exercise reveals the ambiguous nature of current IFC definitions and proposes reforms such that data exchanges would be more semantically robust. An ontology would structure the overall interoperability of BIM tools by providing a formal and consistent taxonomy and classification structure for extending IFC and for defining subsets as model view definitions (MVD).     

A Building Information Model enabled Multiple Traveling Salesman Problem for building interior patrols

During building emergencies, an effective and visible primary search plan enhances situation awareness and enables a more efficient rescue mission. The aim of the primary search during an emergency is the rapid screening of every space in the building to identify locations of victims and their conditions. Afterwards, first responders can plan for the rescue of those victims. To provide a timely draw up of interior patrol routes and assign rescue teams to conduct the primary search, this study formulates the problem as a multiple traveling salesman problem (M-TSP) where the comprehensive building interior network is given by the building information models (BIMs), while the total traveling costs (lengths) of every rescue team is minimized. To meet the requirement of real-time patrol routes optimization, we employed the branch-and-price algorithm for the enhancement of computation efficiency. In addition, a heuristic method was introduced to provide timely solutions for large-scale networks. A case study is conducted for a single-floor convention center. We utilized BIM to construct a network of nodes and arcs where the decision model requires as input, and the branch-and-price algorithm finds the optimal patrol. The resulting patrol routes can be visualized and serve as guide for rescue teams to conduct the primary search. The integrated approach proposed in this study is practical and can expedite search and rescue missions.     

A novel Data-Driven framework based on BIM and knowledge graph for automatic model auditing and Quantity Take-off

Model auditing is a critical step before conducting Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based Quantity Take-off (QTO) because these models may contain various human errors and mistakes, leading to insufficient semantic information and inconsistent modeling style in BIM models. The traditional object-oriented approach has difficulties in representing unstructured BIM data (e.g., interrelationships), while rule-based methods involve tremendous human efforts to develop rule sets, lacking flexibility for different requirements. Therefore, this study aims to establish a novel data-driven framework based on BIM and knowledge graph (KG) to represent unstructured BIM data for automatic inferences of auditing results of BIM model mistakes. It starts by establishing a BIM-KG data model via identifying required information for auditing purposes. Subsequently, BIM data is automatically transformed into the BIM-KG representations, the embeddings of which are trained using a knowledge graph embedding model. Automatic mechanisms are then developed to utilize the computable embeddings to effectively identify mistake BIM elements. The framework is validated using illustrative examples and the results show that 100% mistake elements can be identified successfully without human intervention.     

State of research in automatic as-built modelling

Building Information Models (BIMs) are becoming the official standard in the construction industry for encoding, reusing, and exchanging information about structural assets. Automatically generating such representations for existing assets stirs up the interest of various industrial, academic, and governmental parties, as it is expected to have a high economic impact. The purpose of this paper is to provide a general overview of the as-built modelling process, with focus on the geometric modelling side. Relevant works from the Computer Vision, Geometry Processing, and Civil Engineering communities are presented and compared in terms of their potential to lead to automatic as-built modelling.     

Merging BIM and GIS using ontologies application to urban facility management in ACTIVe3D

This article presents the research work done in order to reduce the gap of heterogeneity between Geographic Information System and Building Information Models. The goal is to extend a platform dedicated to facility management called ACTIVe3D. We want to enlarge its scope to take into account the management of urban elements contained in the building environment, as well as other buildings. The particularity of the platform is that data can be accessed either by a semantic view or through a 3D interface. The SIGA3D project describes a set of processes that aims, for all the stakeholders of urban projects, to manage pieces of information through all the lifecycle of construction projects. To solve the heterogeneity problem between BIM and GIS, we developed a semantic extension to the BIM called UIM (Urban Information Modeling). This extension defines spatial, temporal and multi-representation concepts to build an extensible ontology. The knowledge database can be populated with information coming from standards like IFC and CityGML. This information system has been adapted and implemented into the existing platform and is today fully operational and used by thousands of users.     

基于区块链的建筑信息模型图纸多人协同创作系统

建筑信息模型（BIM）图纸多人协同创作在大型建筑项目中很重要,而现有的基于Revit等建模软件或云服务的BIM图纸多人协同创作方法存在BIM图纸版本混乱、不易溯源以及数据安全风险等问题。针对这些问题,设计了一种基于区块链的BIM图纸多人协同创作系统。该系统采用链上链下协同的存储方式,使用区块链和数据库分别存储BIM图纸创作过程中每次创作后的BIM图纸信息以及完整BIM图纸,利用区块链去中心化、可追溯和防篡改的特性保证BIM图纸的版本清晰,并为以后的版权划分提供依据,而且提升了BIM图纸信息数据的安全性。实验结果表明,该系统在多用户并发情况下的平均出块时间为0.467 85 s,系统的最大处理速率为每秒1 568次交易,验证了该系统是可靠的,且可以满足实际应用场景的需求。     

BIM-enabled facilities operation and maintenance: A review

Building Information modeling (BIM) has the potential to advance and transform facilities Operation and Maintenance (O&M) by providing a platform for facility managers to retrieve, analyze, and process building information in a digitalized 3D environment. Currently, because of rapid developments in BIM, researchers and industry professionals need a state-of-the-art overview of BIM implementation and research in facility O&M. This paper presents a review of recent publications on the topic. It aims to evaluate and summarize the current BIM-O&M research and application developments from a facility manager's point of view, analyze research trends, and identify research gaps and promising future research directions. The scope of this research includes the academic articles, industry reports and guidelines pertaining to using BIM to improve selected facility O&M activities, including maintenance and repair, emergency management, energy management, change/relocation management, and security. The content analysis results show that research on BIM for O&M is still in its early stage and most of the current research has focused on energy management. We have identified that the interoperability in the BIM-O&M context is still a challenge and adopting the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) Framework is a potential starting point to address this issue. More studies involving surveys are needed to understand the underlying O&M principles for BIM implementation – data requirements, areas of inefficiencies, the process changes. In addition, more studies on the return on investment of the innovative systems are required to justify the value of BIM-O&M applications and an improved Life Cycle Cost Analysis method is critical for such justifications.     

无参考图像质量评价研究进展

图像质量评价一直是图像处理和计算机视觉领域的一个基础问题,图像质量评价模型也广泛应用于图像/视频编码、超分辨率重建和图像/视频视觉质量增强等相关领域。图像质量评价主要包括全参考图像质量评价、半参考图像质量评价和无参考图像质量评价。全参考图像质量评价和半参考图像质量评价分别指预测图像质量时参考信息完全可用和部分可用,而无参考图像质量评价是指预测图像质量时参考信息不可用。虽然全参考和半参考图像质量评价模型较为可靠,但在计算过程中必须依赖参考信息,使得应用场景极为受限。无参考图像质量评价模型因不需要依赖参考信息而有较强的适用性,一直都是图像质量评价领域研究的热点。本文主要概述2012—2020年国内外公开发表的无参考图像质量评价模型,根据模型训练过程中是否需要用到主观分数,将无参考图像质量评价模型分为有监督学习和无监督学习的无参考图像质量评价模型。同时,每类模型分成基于传统机器学习算法的模型和基于深度学习算法的模型。对基于传统机器学习算法的模型,重点介绍相应的特征提取策略及思想;对基于深度学习算法的模型,重点介绍设计思路。此外,本文介绍了图像质量评价在新媒体数据中的研究工作及图像质量评价的应用。最后对介绍的无参考图像质量评价模型进行总结,并指出未来可能的发展方向。     

Plane-based registration of construction laser scans with 3D/4D building models

With the development of building information modelling (BIM) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) in the architecture, engineering, construction and facility management (AEC/FM) industry, the registration of site laser scans and project 3D (BIM) models in a common coordinate system is becoming critical to effective project control. The co-registration of 3D datasets is normally performed in two steps: coarse registration followed by fine registration. Focusing on the coarse registration, model-scan registration has been well investigated in the past, but it is shown in this article that the context of the AEC/FM industry presents specific (1) constraints that make fully-automated registration very complex and often ill-posed, and (2) advantages that can be leveraged to develop simpler yet effective registration methods.This paper thus presents a novel semi-automated plane-based registration system for coarse registration of laser scanned 3D point clouds with project 3D models in the context of the AEC/FM industry. The system is based on the extraction of planes from the laser scanned point cloud and project 3D/4D model. Planes are automatically extracted from the 3D/4D model. For the point cloud data, two methods are investigated. The first one is fully automated, and the second is a semi-automated but effective one-click RANSAC-supported extraction method. In both cases, planes are then manually but intuitively matched by the user. Experiments, which compare the proposed system to software packages commonly used in the AEC/FM industry, demonstrate that at least as good registration quality can be achieved by the proposed system, in a simpler and faster way. It is concluded that, in the AEC/FM context, the proposed plane-based registration system is a compelling alternative to standard point-based registration techniques.     

Ensemble-learning approach for the classification of Levels Of Geometry (LOG) of building elements

The provision of geometric and semantic information is among the most fundamental tasks in BIM-based building design. As the design is constantly developing along with the design phases, there is a need for a formalism to define its maturity and detailing. In practice, the concept of Level of Development (LOD) is used to specify what information must be available at which time. Such information is contractually binding and crucial for different kinds of evaluations. Numerous commercial and open-source BIM tools currently support the automatic validation of semantic information. However, the automatic validation of the modeled geometry for fulfilling the expected detailing requirements is a complex and still unsolved task. In current practice, domain experts evaluate the models manually based on their experience. Hence, this paper presents a framework for formally analyzing and automatically checking the Level Of Geometry (LOG) of building information models. The proposed framework first focuses on generating a LOG dataset according to the popular LOD specifications. Afterwards, multiple geometric features representing the elements’ complexity are extracted. Finally, two tree-based ensemble models are trained on the extracted features and compared according to their accuracy in classifying building elements with the correct LOG. Measuring the modeling time showed a 1.88–2.80-fold increase between subsequent LOGs, with an 8–15-fold increase for LOG 400 compared to LOG 200. The results of classifying the LOG indicated that the combination of 16 features can represent the LOG complexity. They also indicated that the trained ensemble models are capable of classifying building elements with an accuracy between 83% and 85%.     

Semantic enrichment of building and city information models: A ten-year review

Building Information Models (BIMs) and City Information Models (CIMs) have flourished in building and urban studies independently over the past decade. Semantic enrichment is an indispensable process that adds new semantics such as geometric, non-geometric, and topological information into existing BIMs or CIMs to enable multidisciplinary applications in fields such as construction management, geoinformatics, and urban planning. These two paths are now coming to a juncture for integration and juxtaposition. However, a critical review of the semantic enrichment of BIM and CIM is missing in the literature. This research aims to probe into semantic enrichment by comparing its similarities and differences between BIM and CIM over a ten-year time span. The research methods include establishing a uniform conceptual model, and sourcing and analyzing 44 pertinent cases in the literature. The findings plot the terminologies, methods, scopes, and trends for the semantic enrichment approaches in the two domains. With the increasing availability of data sources, algorithms, and computing power, they cross the border to enter each other’s domain. Future research will likely gain new momentums from the demands of value-added applications, development of remote sensing devices, intelligent data processing algorithms, interoperability between BIM and CIM software platforms, and emerging technologies such as big data analytics.