Establishment of a Landscape Information Model (LIM) and AI Convergence Plan through the 3D Digital Transformation of Railway Surroundings

Abstract

Digital transformation projects have been undertaken in the land transportation and railway industries, including the introduction of various smart construction technologies. With the expansion of policies to increase the share of railway transportation as an environmentally sustainable means of transportation that meets the needs of the carbon-neutral era, 3D digital information is required throughout the entire chain of railway construction, route selection, status analysis, design, construction, and maintenance. The need for scientific and rational decision making is increasing. In this study, based on point cloud data acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a handheld mobile device, the landscape infrastructure around a railway was digitally converted, and a railway Landscape Information Model (LIM) process that modeled various types of landscape information was derived. Additionally, through the voxelization of 3D data, information regarding a railway’s surrounding environment, analyzed as a 3D volume concept and a convergence plan with deep-learning-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology, was presented through object recognition using a clustering algorithm. A railway LIM dataset could be created from a total of seven major categories, and massive data processing through AI convergence will be a future possibility through optimization of the point cloud data clustering algorithm. The future of the railway industry requires the establishment of a railway LIM for the integrated management of a railway’s surrounding environment and building information modeling (BIM) of structures such as tunnels. The railway LIM process has potential for use in various fields, such as environmental management and safety improvement for disaster prevention.