Turning a Vision Into a Practical Solution

Kruso's task was to turn a vision into reality: what will the future of bridge maintenance management look like? How can multiple layers of information be displayed online and mapped in a three-dimensional environment? Is it possible to create an intuitive interface that presents a recognizable, smooth-running 3D model with all relevant data structured hierarchically? How can specialists be placed at the center of a drill-down navigation experience? And how can highly aggregated data from a sensor network of more than 500 sensors be brought together with data from conventional sources such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), historic DIN 1076 inspection records stored in legacy database formats, and individual diagnostic measures within a single monitoring project?

A Pilot Project with Broader Potential

smartBRIDGE Hamburg is a pilot project designed to optimize maintenance of the Köhlbrand Bridge in the Port of Hamburg while also testing whether its underlying concepts can be transferred to other structures.

Sensor-based monitoring data, combined with additional information and projected onto a 3D model using an innovative visual and movement-based interface, gives everyone involved in maintenance access to continuously updated condition data through an entirely new kind of user experience.

The application that emerged from this process successfully conceals a high level of technical complexity spread across multiple dimensions and hierarchical levels, allowing it to adapt to the user’s specific context. At the same time, specialists such as bridge engineers and inspectors can drill down into every layer of the data. Accompanying usability tests with focus groups helped lay the foundation for the success of this innovative application and its many new technical approaches.

An extensive interdisciplinary team contributed to its development, including structural and measurement engineers, maintenance managers and inspectors, usability and user experience specialists, 3D developers, software architects, and frontend and backend developers.

Integrating Complex Data Into a Digital Twin

The many heterogeneous data sources were brought together through a range of interfaces and integrated into a digital twin, where the data is aggregated and structured. The data model is based on the open SensorThings API standard, which means smartBRIDGE Hamburg can also provide aggregated data to third parties via standardized interfaces.

Intuitive Visualization Across 2D & 3D Environments

The depth of the data and its visualization were implemented through an intuitive, navigable, and synchronized frontend that combines a 2D web layer with spatially embedded information in a 3D model. A point-of-interest concept makes it possible to display data streams, condition indicators, damage, and similar information in a realistic and accessible way, while still maintaining a clear hierarchical abstraction of information.

smartBRIDGE Hamburg Includes

• smartBRIDGE Hamburg conditionCONTROL, a web-based application

• smartBRIDGE Hamburg arCONTROL, an augmented reality version for immersive on-site viewing of all condition information

• smartBRIDGE Hamburg Reallabor, the public-facing demonstration version featuring a guided tour and engaging, narrated events for users to explore firsthand

An Important Step Forward for Structural Maintenance

smartBRIDGE Hamburg has resulted in a practical working tool that enhances conventional structural inspection methods with an integrated digital solution. Information from analogue inspections can now be viewed in a single step alongside data from both traditional and new digital sources, and even translated into an aggregated condition rating. This makes smartBRIDGE Hamburg an important pilot and transformation project for the structural engineering sector.