This paper demonstrates how Linked Data can be used to provide a semantically rich connection between the domains of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Expertise from both domains is necessary for the planning of infrastructure projects such as roads, tunnels, bridges, and railways, as these projects usually require the consideration of widely diverging scales. As BIM and GIS rely on different types of data modeling standards, a conversion between the data models will inevitably result in data loss. To overcome this problem, we propose to utilize the concept of Linked Data which allows the original data to coexist and provide coherence by establishing references between the corresponding entities of both standards. The approach is illustrated using exemplary models of shield tunnels in both, the IFC and the CityGML format.
Open standards for infrastructure based on IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) are mainly developed by the openINFRA initiative of the buildingSmart organization. Recently, several proposals for alignment models emerged with the development of the upcoming IFC 5 standard that in particular targets infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and tunnel buildings. A common drawback of all these proposals is their limited description of arbitrary transition curves. For instance, in all proposed alignment models there are some missing types of transition curves, or different parameters are suggested to describe a certain transition curve type. Designing a neutral data format that satisfies all stakeholders in an international context is therefore difficult. A novel approach to describe transition curves based on the socalled IFCPL (Industry Foundation Classes Programming Language) is described and its integration into an IFC based alignment model is shown to avoid these problems.
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