Creating 3D Models of Bridges Using Different Data Sources and Machine Learning Methods

In today’s world, aging and worn bridges pose an increasing risk to transportation infrastructure. In the worst case, old, poorly maintained bridges can collapse at any time. But complex and expensive maintenance work on the bridges causes traffic jams, which can lead to accidents or delivery problems. Therefore, bridges require intelligent and individual maintenance, which leads to a higher demand for documentation. One way to facilitate documentation is Building Information Modeling (BIM), which is based on a 3D model of the construction. For most of the German bridges no 3D data is available. So, it is necessary to create a 3D model as a base for the BIM by Scan-to-BIM processes. The 3D data for this process can come from a wide variety of sources like laser scanning, photogrammetry or analog 2D plans. A concept for automated 3D modelling with data from diverse sources and machine learning methods is presented. Point clouds of the bridges captured with cameras and/or laser scanners and 2D plans are used as data base for the 3D model, which is created by machine learning methods from the fused point clouds by calculating surfaces. The resulting model can be used for BIM and AR/VR applications.