RDF-based signature algorithms for computing differences of IFC models

Abstract The capability to accurately detect changes between successive versions of the IFC representation of a BIM model would enable the development of generic change management functionalities for construction projects. Unfortunately, IFC models consist mostly of anonymous objects without stable identities; therefore the computation of differences between versions is complicated. When IFC models are converted into an RDF representation, the uniform graph structure offers new algorithmic opportunities. We study how to assign unique and stable identities to anonymous nodes based on signatures generated from their graph environment, and present the Short Paths Crossings Algorithm (SPCA) that computes sets of paths with limited length from anonymous nodes taking into account their crossings. Empirical tests show that SPCA produces significantly smaller difference sets for IFC-derived graphs than previous algorithms for RDF change detection.

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