Approach
Our use case outline three main challenges. In this section a description of our approach to each of the three challenges is given:
- Geometric enrichment of existing 3D models
- Semantic enrichment of building models
- Preservation of 3D models for future re-use
Geometric enrichment
The project will develop processes and tools for the geometric enrichment of data. The enrichment allows for two scenarios: one is the inclusion of surveyed data in the form of point-clouds as additional as-built information beside existing explicit building information models, the other is point-clouds as the main form of geometric representation where such explicit models are not available.
Recognition of architectural meaningful structures
Semantic Enrichment of building models
In the project, techn
ologies and tools will be developed that allow the long term preservation of semantically enriched building models. This includes devising new methods to enrich interoperable 3D models in the form of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) with arbitrary vocabularies provided in the Resource Description Format (RDF) . In order to preserver such enrichments with indepenedntly evolving vocabularies, the DURAARK project also proposes the concept of a Semantic Digital Archive (SDA) that provides autonomous, independent snapshots of the vocabularies for later re-storage.
Preservation of 3D objects for re-use
The project will develop preservation processes which support the long-term availability and interpretability of the information for the designated communities. To overcome the problem of proprietary formats, open file formats will be used. For BIM objects, this will be the IFC standard, which is an open and neutral file format for the exchange of 3D data between different software. It has become the industry standard in the building industry for exchange of building and construction data. For point clouds the open and vendor neutral E57 file format will be used.
