Abduaziz Juraboev from the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM) won the buildingSMART International Award in the category "Student work" with his contribution to the topic "Open BIM approach and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)". The competence network buildingSMART stands for digital planning, construction and operation of buildings.
Juraboev was live at the award ceremony in Montreal to present his master's thesis to the specialist audience. He dealt with the implementation of RFID transmitter and receiver systems and IoT technologies. IoT stands for the "Internet of Things" and describes a network of physical objects that are equipped with software and other technology to connect them with other devices and systems via the Internet. In this way, data can be exchanged between the objects.
Juraboev's project contributes to the accessibility of buildings. It is intended to support people with visual impairments wherever GPS signals cannot be used efficiently. For this purpose, RFID chips were integrated into components and linked to BIM models. The BIM concept is based on the open exchange of building models, regardless of which software the respective project participants use. Invisible to the eye, there is simple technology in the floor that is also high-tech. A suitably modified cane should read the chips and communicate their information via a smartphone app. RFID chips are a good idea because they don't require electricity and only contain minimal information such as an identification number. The cane provides the energy to read the information, and the app then does the actual “work”: linking the ID with information that the user can use.
The jury for the award ceremony in Montreal consisted of seven members who either hold a management position at buildingSMART Germany or come from the construction industry.
From 2023, the project will continue as part of the research project "Moduleit" funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, together with the Department of Building and MNI of the THM and the cooperation partner TFI Institute for Soil Systems at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen.