Friday 2 May 2025 11:00am to 1:30pm
Seminar Room, Civil Engineering Building, University of Cambridge
About
The DRF Lunchtime Clinic is proud to host Dr Erika Parn, Senior Research Associate in Sustainable Digital Twins, and Dr Jerry Xu, Senior Research Associate in Automation and Robotics from the Digital Roads Prosperity Partnership from the University of Cambridge, who will be talking on Digital Twin Systems in the Built Environment and Multi-level robotic crack repair simulation framework for autonomous pavement maintenance optimisation respectively.
Digital Twin Systems in the Built Environment
Abstract
The emerging concept of digital twins is transforming the built environment by enabling data-driven decision-making through precise, virtual replicas of physical assets. In this seminar, Dr. Erika Pärn will delve into the lifecycle of digital twin systems, discussing their current and future role in sustainable urban development and infrastructure. Drawing from her upcoming book, 'Twin Systems: Digital Twins of the Built Environment,' Dr. Pärn will present a comprehensive view of how digital twin systems can reshape both product and process management within the built environment. Additionally, this presentation will cover ongoing research from the RESTOR project, which focuses on the application of generative design and artificial intelligence to optimize steel frame reuse in construction. Also highlighted will be the work of Dr. Pärn's PhD student, Hank Luo, whose tool, 'ChatTwin,' utilises large language models to facilitate natural language interactions with digital twins, paving the way for innovative interface designs for road asset management. Together, these insights offer a glimpse into the transformative potential of digital twin systems for sustainable, data-centric urban ecosystems.
Bio
Dr. Erika A. Pärn is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, within the Construction Information Technology Lab of the Department of Engineering. Her research spans digital construction, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and digital twins. Dr. Pärn leads the EPSRC-funded project RESTOR, which focuses on generative design and AI-driven steel reuse in construction and has recently collaborated with global leaders in digital transformation. Her innovative approach bridges academia and industry, evidenced by her role in the upcoming book, 'Twin Systems' co-authored with esteemed academics Prof. Ioannis Brilakis, Prof. Rafael Sacks, Prof. Lucio Soibelman, Prof. Mark Enzer. Dr. Pärn's current research includes the development of advanced digital twin interfaces, such as 'ChatTwin,' designed to enable natural language interactions with infrastructure digital twins, particularly in the realm of road asset management. An influential voice in her field, Dr. Pärn is committed to advancing sustainable practices in digital construction and the built environment
Multi-level robotic crack repair simulation framework for autonomous pavement maintenance optimisation
Abstract:
With the accelerated deterioration of highway pavement throughout the world, how can we rely on autonomous robots to perform desired early pavement maintenance for prevention of safety incidents and heavy remediation costs? This talk will report the research progress of the Digital Roads robotics team over the past 20 months for tackling the above problem. We have developed a holistic multi-level simulation framework for understanding and predicting the robotic crack repair performance to guide real-world operations. This framework contains physics-based computational simulation from material level to filling process level and finally platform and task level. We believe such simulation framework will underpin the solution to the fundamental challenge of high-dimension maintenance task optimisation with multiple constraints and objectives.
Bio
Dr Jie “Jerry” Xu is a Senior Research Associate from Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory at the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. He is leading the Automation and Robotics team in the Digital Roads of the Future (DRF) initiative. Prior to this, he was a post-doctoral research associate at Loughborough University delivering the next generation large-scale robotic hybrid concrete printing technology. Dr Xu has a combined background of civil engineering, manufacturing engineering and robotics. His research interests include large-scale additive manufacturing, bio-inspired construction robotics, computational fabrication, etc. He received his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China where he won the prestigious Leadership Scholars Award by Committee of 100 (USA) in Dec 2019 (32 awarded individuals across the country).
Jerry has been awarded the Chinese Excellent Young Scientist Fund, which he will take up in July 2025, moving back to China to take up a faculty position at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST).