BrAIn-Bridge management with AI for sustaiNable engineering

BrAIn is the name of one of our new projects at TU Wien, in which our colleagues Dominik Brunmeir, Benedikt Spiegel and Irene Hafner are involved. BrAIn started in February 2024. The aim of the project is a sustainable transformation of bridge asset management over the entire life cycle through the use of AI and simulations.

Together with partners at VCE (Vienna Consulting Engineers) and FH Campus Wien, a system is to be developed to make bridge construction more sustainable, from design to potential demolition and material recycling. This will save valuable resources and promote a circular economy. AI and simulation models will be used to analyse the ecological, economic and social consumption of resources and support infrastructure operators in their decisions based on this and on historical and current data on bridge construction and maintenance processes. In this way, preventive and sustainable asset management can be carried out instead of relying on a reactive maintenance strategy.

The MA29 and ASFiNAG manage several thousand bridges in Austria, over 1,700 of which are located in Vienna alone. The cooperation with both operators ensures a solid data basis of the local bridges and we benefit from the experience of both partners.

The “AI for Green” funding programme supports projects that develop and refine AI technologies and whose use contributes to achieving (Austria’s) climate targets. Our project is also being funded by the FFG to the tune of €608,812. The aim of BrAIn is not only to optimise maintenance intervals and reduce costs, but also to make bridge construction ecologically sustainable.

Cover picture was created with the assistance of DALL-E.