Reimaging the future of built environment with robotics and artificial intelligence.

We’re a research group at National University of Singapore, focused on advanced Building Information Modelling (BIM) technologies by integrating robotics with LiDAR and image-based sensing to enable robust, high-precision reality capture and automated 3D modelling of buildings and infrastructures. We also work in computational design, focusing on linking BIM and AI with building structural optimisation. Our team members are from Civil, Mechanical, Geodesy, Electronics, and Computer Engineering.

Vincent Gan

Assistant Professor

Mike

Research Associate

Shaobo

Research Associate

Difeng (PhD/Postdoc)

Difeng

PhD Researcher

Kexin

PhD Researcher

Qiao

PhD Researcher

Xiuqi

PhD Researcher

Tao

PhD Researcher

Melanie

PhD Researcher

Hui Lin

Master Researcher

Yushuo

Master Researcher

Xiayi

Master Researcher

Yuanyuan

Research Assistant

Jey Chandar

Research Assistant

Zhuang Dian

Visiting PhD from Harbin Institute of Technology

Zhai Ruoming

Visiting PhD from Wuhan University

Xiang Chao

Visiting PhD from Hunan University

Ben Ben

3-year-old lab mascot

Our Laboratory

Featured Publications


Hu, D.F., Gan, V.J.L.,*

February 2025 • Automation in Construction

Semantic navigation for automated robotic inspection and indoor environment quality monitoring

Maintaining a comfortable indoor environment is essential for enhancing occupant well-being. However, traditional inspection methods rely on manual input of precise coordinates for target objects, limiting efficiency. This paper proposes a semantic navigation approach to improve robotic inspection intelligence and efficiency. A revised RandLA-Net and KNN algorithm construct a semantic map rich in detailed object information, supporting semantic navigation. Subsequently, an object instance reasoning algorithm automatically identifies and extracts target object coordinates from the semantic map using human-like language commands. Given the position information, a semantics-aware A* algorithm calculates safer, more efficient navigation paths through enhanced robot-environment interaction. Experiments demonstrate a position accuracy of ∼0.08 m for objects in the semantic map and effective coordinate extraction by the reasoning algorithm. The semantics-aware A* algorithm generates paths farther from obstacles and cluttered areas with less computational time, indicating its superior performance in terms of the robot's safety and inspection efficiency.

Gan, V.J.L., Li, K.X.,* Li, M.K., Halfiana L.B.E.,

January 2025 • Applied Energy

3D reconstruction of building information models with weakly-supervised learning for carbon emission modelling in the built environment


Buildings and construction activities contribute around 38.0 % of global CO2 emissions. For accurate carbon emission modelling, detailed as-built information on building structures is crucial, which is often challenged by uncertainties due to design modifications and construction variations. Scan-to-BIM technology mitigates this problem by capturing precise as-built geometries through point clouds and transforming them into detailed 3D digital models. This paper presents an AI-enhanced approach that employs weakly-supervised learning for automated BIM reconstruction, aiming at accurate carbon performance evaluation in the built environment. By employing weakly-supervised semantic segmentation, this approach segments structural components from 3D point clouds and formulates the topological relationships of building objects, which enhances the automation of BIM reconstruction. The results reveal marked improvements in both semantic segmentation and BIM model accuracy. The BIM models are then used to assess the upfront carbon footprint of construction materials and to model carbon emissions from usage to demolition.

Zhai, R., Zou, J., Gan, V.J.L.,* Han, X., Wang, Y., Zhao, Y.,

October 2024 • Automation in Construction

Semantic enrichment of BIM with IndoorGML for quadruped robot navigation and automated 3D scanning


Planning scan routes with prior knowledge can improve scan data quality and completeness. This paper presents a BIM-enabled approach to optimize quadruped robot navigation for automated 3D scanning. The BIM data schema is enriched with IndoorGML, integrating building geometry with spatial data to establish an indoor navigation model describing multi-scale spatial topological networks. This navigation model, which includes an enhanced greedy algorithm, optimizes quadruped robot scanning positions and traversal sequences. The scan planning optimization outperforms existing heuristic algorithms in computational efficiency, coverage, and scan point count. The BIM-enabled approach is validated on ROS and in real-world conditions with a 3D LiDAR sensor integrated with a quadruped robot. The robotic scans achieve visible coverage of 70-90% of the structure, with a fluctuation of 0.006-0.021mm compared to traditional laser scans. 

Wang, T., Gan, V.J.L.,*

October 2024 • Automation in Construction

Enhancing 3D reconstruction of textureless indoor scenes with IndoReal multi-view stereo (MVS)


3D reconstruction plays a pivotal role in capturing the built environment’s object shapes and appearances for diverse smart applications, such as indoor navigation and geometric digital twinning. Despite its significance, traditional Multi-View Stereo (MVS) techniques are ineffective in indoor environments, characterised by textureless walls, illumination variation, and other nuanced phenomena. Moreover, current learning-based MVS pipelines are often developed without considering indoor attributes and rely on costly ground truth data for performance optimisation. This paper presents the “IndoReal-MVS” dataset, a rich indoor-centric compilation reflecting real-world phenomena through advanced computer graphics. It also introduces unsupervised “IndoorMatchNet”, synergising Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) and Pyramid Flowformer (PFF) for encoding complex indoor geometries. The pipeline proposes Multi-Scale Feature loss, Superpixel-based Normal Consistency and Depth Smoothness losses, designed for indoor geometric characteristics. Experiments showcase a 192% relative improvement over the baseline model at stringent error thresholds.

News

Congratulations to Kexin and the Lab for winning the 2nd runner up at CDE Impact Accelerator Challenge with $70,000 grant for legged-robot scanning and Scan2BIM research!

About

An image of a modern concrete space.

Teaching

Digital construction

Digitalisation in the built environment

Project cost management

Advanced measurement

AI for the built environment

Address

Centre for Digital Building Technology

Centre for Project & Facilities Management

SDE4, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore 117564

Research

Building information modelling

Robotic scanning, LiDAR, CV

Scan2BIM, digital twin

Computational design