BIM Voxelization Method Supporting Cell-Based Creation of a Path-Planning Environment
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 146, Issue 7
Abstract
Cell-based path planning is studied and applied worldwide. Building information models (BIMs) can be used as the environment for path planning. However, studies providing an applicable and detailed approach to converting a BIM to cells are rarely reported. This study proposes a voxel-based method that can automatically convert a BIM to cells. This technique, verified for accuracy and applicability, can quickly and conveniently create a cell-based path-planning environment based on a given BIM before testing and applying path-planning methods. With this method, researchers and practitioners can focus more on research and the application of path planning instead of the creation of a cell-based environment, which is time-consuming and tedious.
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Data Availability Statement
Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. Information about the Journal’s data sharing policy can be found at http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29CO.1943-7862.0001263.
Acknowledgments
The research is supported by “The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (WUT: 203106006).” The authors are grateful to Mr. Jeremy Tammik who provided valuable suggestions on using the Revit API for element triangulation. The authors also thank the two anonymous reviewers whose constructive instructions helped improve the research output.
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©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Mar 22, 2019
Accepted: Jan 16, 2020
Published online: May 11, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Oct 11, 2020
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