Dr. XUE, Fan
(Frank, 薛帆)
PhD MSc BEng
MACM SMCGS MHKGISA MIEEE
Hi! I am Frank, Assistant Professor working on 'AI + city' at Dept. of Real Estate and Construction (also part-time at DUPAD), HKU. My theoretical work includes:
Education
Job experiences
As trained as a multidisciplinary engineer, I am trying to solve complicated problems in building and construction with computational intelligence:
- 🏙 Building/city informatics: automatic BIM/CIM modeling, digital twin, blockchain, 2D-3D semantics, voxel, geo-data, visual object detection,
- 📈 Optimization algorithm: derivative-free optimization (DFO), hyper-heuristics, combinatorial optimization, multi-agent system, NK-modeling,
- 📡 Urban sensing: LiDAR, VR/AR, IoT, RFID, NFC, phone sensors, GPR, Arduino,
- 🤖 Machine learning: prediction, big data analytics, pattern recognition, text mining, semantics analysis, and
- 🏗 Professional software: plugins (Revit, SketchUp), desktop solutions (C/C++, Java/EE, Python, Ruby, C#), web apps (JSP, HTML5, PHP), & DB (MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, SQLite)
Research Projects
(as PI/Co-PI)
We are grateful for HK$ 8 million research grants from generous funding agencies, including 
, 
, 
, 
, & .
GRF(3), ECS(1), TRS(1):
1/2022 - 12/2026
Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS, T22-504/21-R)
Healthy and resilient city with pervasive LoCHs. 遍佈室外熱舒適小區的健康韌性城市. HK$1.21M of 34.6M. 🎓 (As Co-PI, PC: Prof J Niu)
Keywords: Derivative-free optimization; complex engineering optimization; CFD; machine learning; surrogate modeling; optimum urban design
1/2022 - 12/2024
General Research Fund (GRF, 17200221)Keywords: BIM; semantics hierarchy; blockchain; CAST
1/2021 - 12/2023
Early Career Scheme (ECS, 27200520)
Keywords: Architectonic grammar; BIM; CIM; 3D point cloud
7/2018 - 12/2021
General Research Fund (GRF, 17200218)
Keywords: Architecture; symmetry; DFO; 3D point cloud
1/2018 - 6/2021
General Research Fund (GRF, 17201717)
Keywords: BIM; DFO; 2D imagery; 3D point cloud
1/2021 - 12/2022
ITF Tier-1 (ITP/029/20LP)
Keywords: Construction logistics and supply chain; quality assurance; blockchain; open BIM; i-Core oracles for blockchain
9/2019 - 8/2022
Key R&D Program of Guangdong (2019B010151001)
Keywords: Digital conservation; VR; BIM; GIS; automatic as-is modeling
7/2021 - 7/2023
Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macau Technology Research Programme (Type C) (SGDX20201103093600002)
High-definition 3D point cloud and dynamic semantics enabled lean quality assurance system for prefabricated housing products. 高精點雲及動態語義驅動的裝配式建築產部品質量精益控制關鍵技術研究. HK$800,000 of 1.26M 💼 (As PI, Co-PI: Dr Clyde Li)
Keywords: LIDAR; prefabricated construction; 3D point cloud; quality inspection
Seed(5), PTF(1), SPF(1), ROP(1), TDG(1), RPgCP(1):
7/2021 - 6/2022
Teaching Development Grant (101002041)
Multi-user Internet Narrative Environment of HKU (MineHKU) for smart city courses and virtual campus events. HK$294,000. 💼
Keywords: voxel modeling; gamification; 3D point cloud
/2020 - /2021
Small Equipment Grant (60%) + Stanley Ho Alumni Challenge (SHAC) (207051055, 40%)Mobile Color LiDAR Scanners. HK$760,000.
Keywords: color LiDAR; SLAM; indoor model; 3D point cloud
/2018 - /2020
Platform Technology FundDevelopment of an urban big data platform for smarter Hong Kong: integrate to inspire. 50% of HK$915,870 (As Co-PI, PC: Prof Chris Webster)
Keywords: urban big data; urban computing; deep learning; street view; 3D point cloud
/2019 - /2020
HKU-Tsinghua SPFA derivative-free optimization (DFO) approach for 3D scene understanding using civil engineering context. HK$70,000 HKU side + CNY 70,000 Tsinghua side. (Co-PI: Dr Hongling Guo)
Keywords: BIM; DFO; deep learning; 3D point cloud
/2019 - /2020
Seed Fund for Basic Research (201811159177)Towards spatiotemporal building city information model (BIM/CIM): Semantic voxel modeling based on Gestalt principles. HK$93,200.
Keywords: 3D point cloud; semantics; voxel modeling; Gestalt principles
/2018 - /2019
Seed Fund for Basic Research (201711159016)'Find them all': A multi-modal optimization approach for automated detection of repetition in urban scenes. HK$111,050.
Keywords: 3D point cloud; repetition; multimodal optimization
/2017 - /2018
Seed Fund for Basic Research (201702159013)Automated architectural symmetry recognition from 3D point clouds. HK$300,000.
Keywords: 3D point cloud; symmetry; optimization
Projects invovled as Co-I (selected)
RGC GRF (15225822, HK$1,115,452). Stakeholder Analysis in the Dynamic and Complex Environment of Megaprojects. 1/2023 - 12/2025. (PI: Prof Geoffrey Qiping Shen)
RGC GRF (15219422, HK$786,000). Inspection work package on chain: dynamic planning and accountable collaboration. 1/2023 - 12/2025. (PI: Dr Xiao Li)
NSFC General Program (72071022, CNY 480,000). Unfolding the multiple complexities in the formation, quantification, and interactions of resource metabolism in construction projects [建設工程項目資源代謝多重複雜性的形成機理、測度模式與作用機制研究]. 1/2021 - 12/2024. (PI: Prof Chris J Hong)
RGC GRF (17203920, HK$684,520). Enhancing Underground Development Users' Health through an Automated Risk Assessment System for Facilities Management. 1/2021 - 12/2023. (PI: Dr Isabelle Chan)
ECF (111/2019, HK$485,000). Big data-based "AI inspector" for gauging inert contents at the off-site construction waste sorting facilities in Hong Kong. 9/2020 - 8/2022. (PI: Prof Wilson Lu)
SPPR (S2018.A8.010.18S, HK$2.9M). Boosting Construction Waste Material Sharing in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. 2/2019 - 2/2022. (PI: Prof Wilson Lu)
NSSFC Major Program (17ZDA062, CNY 800,000). Evaluation on the environment-resources carrying capacity in megacities and policy instruments with the big data background [大數據背景下我國大型城市資源環境承載力評價與政策研究]. 11/2017 - 11/2020. (PI: Prof Liyin Shen)
NSFC General Program (71671156, CNY 493,000). A Social Network Analysis and NK-model based study of stakeholder relationship in mega construction projects [基於社會網絡分析及NK模型的重大建設項目幹系人關系研究]. 1/2017 - 12/2020. (PI: Prof Geoffrey Shen)
PPR (2018.A8.078.18D). "Finding the Needles in a Haystack": Identification of the Illegal Dumping of Construction Waste Using Big Data. 1/2019 - 6/2020. HK$447,350. (PI: Prof Wilson Lu)
General Program (60472123). Airport ground service scheduling optimization based on multi-agent coordination and data fusion [基於多Agent協作及信息融合的飛機地面作業運行控制優化算法研究]. 1/2005-12/2005. CNY 80,000. (PI: Prof. W. Fan).
Keywords: multi-agent-driven algorithm; scheduling; airport
Honors & Awards
2022
2nd Place (3D track), 3rd Place (2D track): 2nd Scan-to-BIM Challenge, CVPR2022, New Orleans, USA. 🏆 🏆
2021 Best Paper Award: Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Elsevier. 🏆
2022 Best Peer Reviewed Paper Award: Journal of Management in Engineering, ASCE. 🏆
Merit Award of Research: The Hong Kong OpenBIM / OpenGIS Awards 2022, Hong Kong, China. 🏆
Merit Award: HKU-IDS “Data is the New Art Form” Art Competition 2022, Hong Kong, China. 🏆
2021
Winner of the buildingSMART International Awards for Professional Research 2021: bSI Virtual Summit 2021, London, UK. 🏆
Second runner-up of the 1st Scan-to-BIM Challenge: Workshop on CV4AEC, CVPR2021. 🏆
Outstanding Alumnus: Civil Aviation University of China.
Outstanding Paper Award and dual Merit Paper Awards of CRIOCM'2021: The 26th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, Beijing, China.
2020
Early Career Scheme Award 2019/20: Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR, China.
2020 Featured Article: ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Elsevier. 🏆
Research Output Prize 2018/19: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
🏆
Dual Outstanding Paper Awards and triple Merit Paper Awards of CRIOCM'2020: The 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, Wuhan, China. 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆
2019
Best Paper Award of ICSBS'2019: International Conference on Sustainable Buildings and Structures, Suzhou, China. 🏆
2017
The Special Award for Joint Computing in Construction: The LC3 Innovation Competition 2017, Heraklion, Greece.
Shortlist in the Construction Industry Council (CIC) Construction Innovation Award 2017, Hong Kong SAR, China.
2016
Best Paper Award of CRIOCM'2016: The 21st International Conference on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM'2016), Hong Kong SAR, China.
🏆
Dual winners of GECCO'2016 Combinatorial Black Box Optimization (CBBOC): The 2016 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, Denver, USA.
2015
Tripple winners of GECCO'2015 Combinatorial Black Box Optimization (CBBOC): The 2015 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, Madrid, Spain.
2011
The third runner-up (of 30 teams), the first on the public Leaderboard (of 17 teams) in the first Cross-domain Heuristic Search Challenge (CHeSC 2011): The 53rd Operational Research Society Conference (OR53), Nottingham, UK.
Publications
SciVal
PlumX2022
A room with a view: Automatic assessment of window views for high-rise high-density areas using City Information Models and deep transfer learning. Landscape and Urban Planning.
Role of the built environment in the recovery from Covid-19: Evidence from a GIS-based natural experiment on the city blocks in Wuhan, China. Frontiers in Built Environment.
As-built building information modeling: joint effort of 3D reconstruction and semantic enrichment. Research Companion to Building Information Modeling.
Impact of institutional distance on environmental and social practices in host countries: evidence from international construction companies. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
Probable cross-corridor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 due to cross airflows and its control. Building and Environment.
Blockchain technology for projects: a multi-criteria decision matrix. Project Management Journal.
Blockchain-Enabled IoT-BIM Platform for supply chain management in modular construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
Using blockchain to improve information sharing accuracy in the onsite assembly of modular construction. Journal of Management in Engineering.
Ontology-based mapping approach for automatic work packaging in modular construction. Automation in Construction.
Estimating construction waste volumes in truck loads using monocular vision. Resources, Conservation and Recycling.
Using computer vision to recognize composition of construction waste mixtures: a semantic segmentation approach. Resources, Conservation and Recycling.
Linking permissioned blockchain to Internet of Things (IoT)-BIM platform for off-site production management in modular construction. Computers in Industry.
Indoor 3D Barrier-Free Mapping Based on Lidar Point Cloud and BIM Clash Simulation [基于 LiDAR 點雲和 BIM 碰撞模擬的室內三維無障礙地圖生成方法].
A Cultural Relics Traceability System for Museums [一種博物館文物可追溯方法及系統].
An Analytics System for Museum Touring Based on BIM and Surveillance Videos [一種基于 BIM 和視頻監控的博物館參觀分析的方法及系統].
2021
Semantic enrichment of Building and City Information Models: a ten-year review. Advanced Engineering Informatics.
RegARD: Symmetry-based coarse registration of smartphone’s colorful point clouds with CAD drawings for low-cost Digital Twin Buildings. Remote Sensing.
Big data-driven pedestrian analytics: unsupervised clustering and relational query based on Tencent Street View photographs. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information.
Two-layer adaptive blockchain-based supervision model for off-site modular housing production. Computers in Industry.
Handling missing data for construction waste management: machine learning based on aggregated waste generation behaviors. Resources, Conservation & Recycling.
Exploring smart construction objects as blockchain oracles in construction supply chain management. Automation in Construction.
Blockchain technology for governmental supervision of construction work: learning from digital currency electronic payment systems. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
Revisiting the effects of prefabrication on construction waste minimization: a quantitative study using bigger data. Resources, Conservation & Recycling.
Federated transfer learning enabled smart work packaging for preserving personal image information of construction worker. Automation in Construction.
Optimization of multiple-crane service schedules in overlapping areas through consideration of transportation efficiency and operational safety. Automation in Construction.
“Looking beneath the surface”: A visual-physical feature hybrid approach for unattended gauging of construction waste composition. Journal of Environmental Management.
Investigating the bulk density of construction waste: A big data-driven approach. Resources, Conservation & Recycling.
Estimation of construction waste composition based on bulk density: a big data-probability (BD-P) model. Journal of Environmental Management.
Estimating construction waste generation in the Greater Bay Area, China using machine learning. Waste Management.
A blockchain- and IoT-based smart product-service system for the sustainability of prefabricated housing construction. Journal of Cleaner Production.
The renaissance of Augmented Reality in construction: history, present status and future directions. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment.
FloorPP-Net: Reconstructing Floor Plans using Point Pillars for Scan-to-BIM. arXiv. 🏆
arXiv:2106.10635
Understanding illegal waste dumping behaviours with multi-source big data: visualized evidences from Hong Kong.
Proceedings of the 24th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2019), Springer.
Comparison of Digital Twin readiness of BIM collaboration paradigms: centralized file, decentralized cloud, and distributed blockchain.
Proceedings of the 38th International Conference of CIB W78.
CIM-enabled quantitative view assessment in architectural design and space planning.
Proceedings of the 38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC2021). 
A Review of As-Built BIM Using LiDAR Point Clouds [基於LiDAR點雲的竣工BIM建模文獻綜述].
The 7th National BIM Academic Conference of China.
A study on protocols of cross-chain data synchronization for permission blockchain for construction management.
Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2021), Springer, in press.
Latent Dirichlet Allocation-based approach for automatically mapping components to tasks in modular construction.
Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2021), Springer, in press. 🏆 Merit Paper Award.
Cloud asset-enabled integrated blockchain platform for prefabricated construction management. Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2021), Springer, in press. 🏆 Outstanding Paper Award.
Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on construction industry: a comparison between Hong Kong and Singapore.
Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2021), Springer, in press. 🏆 Merit Paper Award.
Smart contract: Is it really smart in construction?.
Proceedings of the 26th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2021), Springer, in press.
A 3D Quality Inspection Equipment for Prefabricated Construction Products. 一種裝配式建築產部品三維質量檢測裝置.
CN Patent 202120404023.4.
A Quality Assurance Management Information System for Prefabricated Construction Products.
2020
Quick story:
A semantic differential transaction approach to minimizing information redundancy for BIM and blockchain integration. Automation in Construction.
Quick story:
From LiDAR point cloud towards digital twin city: Clustering city objects based on Gestalt principles. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. 🏆Featured Article (of Vol. 167).
Pervasive sensing technologies for facility management: A critical review. Facilities.
Embodied energy in service industry in global cities: A study of six Asian cities. Land Use Policy.
Is the private sector more efficient? Big data analytics of construction waste management sectoral efficiency. Resources, Conservation and Recycling.
Automated mapping from IFC data model to relational database model (IFC数据模型至关系型数据库模型的自动映射). Journal of Tsinghua University (Science and Technology).
An anatomy of waste generation flows in construction projects using passive bigger data. Waste Management.
Construction-oriented Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) guidelines. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) in construction: The old and the new. Architectural Engineering and Design Management.
Mapping the knowledge domain of stakeholder perspective studies in construction projects: A bibliometric approach. International Journal of Project Management.
Estimating construction waste generation in residential buildings: A fuzzy set theory approach in the Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Cleaner Production.
Digital twinning construction objects: Lessons learned from pose estimation methods. The Joint Conference ICCCBE and CIB W78 2020.
Indoor-outdoor navigation without beacons: Compensating smartphone AR positioning errors with 3D pedestrian network. ASCE Construction Research Congress 2020.
Classification of photo-realistic 3D window views in a high-density city: The case of Hong Kong.
Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2020), Springer, in press. 🏆 Outstanding Paper Award.
Modular construction: design considerations and opportunities.
Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2020), Springer, in press. 🏆 Outstanding Paper Award.
Prospect of architectonic grammar reconstruction from dense 3D point clouds: Historical building information modeling (HBIM) of Guangdong cultural heritages.
Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2020), Springer, in press. 🏆 Merit Paper Award.
Construction inspection information management with consortium blockchain.
Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2020), Springer, in press. 🏆 Merit Paper Award.
Understanding construction waste recycling in Hong Kong: SWOT analysis of the government’s prevailing initiatives.
Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2020), Springer, in press. 🏆 Merit Paper Award.
A review of BIM data exchange method in BIM collaboration.
Proceedings of the 25th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2020), Springer, in press.
2019
A derivative-free optimization-based approach for detecting architectural symmetries from 3D point clouds. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
From semantic segmentation to semantic registration: Derivative-free optimization-based approach for automatic generation of semantically rich as-built Building Information Models from 3D point clouds. Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering
BIM reconstruction from 3D point clouds: A semantic registration approach based on multimodal optimization and architectural design knowledge. Advanced Engineering Informatics
Barriers to Building Information Modeling (BIM) implementation in China's prefabricated construction: An interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach. Journal of Cleaner Production
Towards the "third wave": An SCO-enabled occupational health and safety management system for construction. Safety Science
Developing a conceptual framework of smart work packaging for constraints management in prefabrication housing production. Advanced Engineering Informatics
‘Cognitive facility management’: Definition, system architecture, and example scenario. Automation in Construction.
Understanding unstructured 3D point clouds for creating digital twin city: An unsupervised hierarchical clustering approach. CIB World Building Congress 2019
Computational streetscapes: Big data, deep learning, and vector model. 2019 Landscape Architecture international forum in HKU: Urban landscape for people.
Semantic enrichment of city information models with LiDAR-based rooftop albedo. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Buildings and Structures (ICSBS 2019). Best Paper Award.
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Personalized walkability assessment for pedestrian paths: An as-built BIM approach using ubiquitous augmented reality (AR) smartphone and deep transfer learning. In The 23rd International Symposium on the Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate. in press.
Semantic enrichment for rooftop modeling using aerial LiDAR reflectance. In Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Signal Processing, Communications and Computing (ICSPCC 2019).
Architectural Design for Additive Manufacturing Construction: Lesson Learned from Design for Additive Manufacturing. In Proceedings of the 2019 CRIOCM International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate (CRIOCM2019).
2018
Automatic Generation of Semantically Rich As‐Built Building Information Models Using 2D Images: A Derivative‐Free Optimization Approach. Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering.
Get sample BIM library
Linking radio-frequency identification to Building Information Modeling: Status quo, development trajectory and guidelines for practitioners. Automation in Construction.
Automatic building information model reconstruction in high-density urban areas: Augmenting multi-source data with architectural knowledge. Automation in Construction.
An Internet of Things-enabled BIM platform for on-site assembly services in prefabricated construction. Automation in Construction.
Real options model of toll-adjustment mechanism in concession contracts of toll road projects. Journal of Management in Engineering.
Searching for an optimal level of prefabrication in construction: An analytical framework. Journal of Cleaner Production.
Cross-boundary collaboration in waste management research: A network analysis. Environmental Impact Assessment Review.
A cost-benefit analysis of green buildings with respect to construction waste minimization using big data in Hong Kong. Journal of Green Building.
A physical internet-enabled building information modelling system for prefabricated construction. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing.
The Heterogeneity of BIM Objects in Different Construction Contexts. In Construction Research Congress 2018.
Architectural symmetry detection from 3D urban point clouds: A derivative-free optimization (DFO) approach. In Advances in Informatics and Computing in Civil and Construction Engineering.
3D point cloud data enabled facility management: A critical review. In Proceedings of the 23rd International Symposium on the Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate, Springer.
2017
Design of an efficient hyper-heuristic algorithm CMA-VNS for combinatorial black-box optimization problems. In Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference Companion.
Integrating RFID and BIM technologies for mitigating risks and improving schedule performance of prefabricated house construction. Journal of cleaner production.
Developing an Open Access BIM Objects Library: A Hong Kong Study. In Lean and Computing in Construction Congress-Volume 1: Proceedings of the Joint Conference on Computing in Construction.
Schedule risk modeling in prefabrication housing production. Journal of cleaner production.
An Overview of the driving forces behind energy demand in China's construction industry: Evidence from 1990 to 2012. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
Prefabricated construction enabled by the Internet-of-Things. Automation in Construction.
The Fusion of GIS and Building Information Modeling for Big Data Analytics in Managing Development Sites. Comprehensive Geographic Information Systems.
'Local content' of corporate social responsibility in international construction business. ARCOM 2017.
Development of 3D building models using multi-source data: a study of high-density urban area in Hong Kong. In Lean and Computing in Construction Congress-Volume 1: Proceedings of the Joint Conference on Computing in Construction.
A Smart Construction Object (SCO)-Enabled Proactive Data Management System for Construction Equipment Management. In Computing in Civil Engineering 2017.
The Experiences for Post-disaster Reconstruction in Rural China: The Implications from Data Mining. In Proceedings of the 20th International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate.
2016
An optimization-based semantic building model generation method with a pilot case of a demolished construction. In Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate. Best Paper Award.
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CMA-VNS2: An efficient hyper-heuristic algorithm for combinatorial black-box optimization. Technical report, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
SWOT analysis and Internet of Things-enabled platform for prefabrication housing production in Hong Kong. Habitat International.
A multi-regional structural path analysis of the energy supply chain in China's construction industry. Energy Policy.
Schedule risks in prefabrication housing production in Hong Kong: a social network analysis. Journal of cleaner production.
Energy use embodied in China's construction industry: A multi-regional input–output analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
Bridging the Cyber and Physical Systems for Better Construction: A Case Study of Construction Machinery Monitoring and Utilization. In Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate.
Smart gateway for bridging BIM and building. In Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Advancement of Construction Management and Real Estate.
2015
Project-based as-needed information retrieval from unstructured AEC documents. Journal of management in engineering.
Cma–vns: A short description. Technical report. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Embodied energy of service trading in Hong Kong. Smart and sustainable built environment.
IoT-enabled on-site assembly service in prefabricated public housing construction.
Second International Conference on Sustainable Urbanization (ICSU 2015).
Towards Physical Internet-enabled prefabricated housing construction in Hong Kong. IFAC-PapersOnLine.
Building information technologies and challenges in precast housing construction in Hong Kong. In The 7th International Conference of Sustainable Development in Building and Environment
2012
PhD Thesis: A suboptimum- and proportion-based heuristic generation method for combinatorial optimization problems. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Advisors: Dr. C.Y. Chan, Dr. Andrew W.H. Ip, Prof. Benny C.F. Cheung. theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/7203
A hyper-heuristic inspired by pearl hunting. In Learning and intelligent optimization (Proceedings of LION 6).
A learning-based variable assignment weighting scheme for heuristic and exact searching in Euclidean traveling salesman problems. NETNOMICS: Economic research and electronic networking.
Using division to classify Low-level Heuristics for the Quadratic Assignment Problem. (Preprint)
2011
Pearl hunter: A hyper-heuristic that compiles iterated local search algorithms. CHeSC competition.
2010
A Learning-based Variables Assignment Weighting Scheme for Heuristic and Exact Searching.
1st International Conference on Computational Logistics (ICCL 2010).
Towards a learning-based heuristic searching reform scheme.
24th European Conference on Operational Research (EURO XXIV).
2007
MSc Thesis: Coordinating Multi-agent with Organization in Distributed Scheduling System.
Civil Aviation University of China. Advisor: Prof. W. Fan.
Multi-agent optimization design for multi-resource job shop scheduling problems.
In International Conference on Intelligent Computing (ICIC2007).
2006
Optimize cooperative agents with organization in distributed scheduling system.
In International Conference on Intelligent Computing (ICIC2006).
Talks & Invited
2022
Symmetry and Similarity Detection for Urban Point Cloud Understanding. Sustainability, Intelligence, and Resilience (SIR) Frontiers, South China University of Technology. 29 Apr 2022, China.
Scan-to-BIM: Reverse Engineering of construction from Point Clouds. The joint 8th Summer School of Frontiers in Construction Management and Cloud Summer Camp of College Students in Civil Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. 11 July 2022, Wuhan, China.
Scan2floorplan: Floor layer-based kernels and pillars of points (FLKPP). 2nd Workshop on Computer Vision in the Built Environment, CVPR 2022. 19 Jun 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Floor layer-based kernels and pillars of points (FLKPP): 3D building model reconstruction. 2nd Workshop on Computer Vision in the Built Environment, CVPR 2022. 19 Jun 2022, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
2021
CIM-enabled quantitative view assessment in architectural design and space planning. Plenary in the 38th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC2021), 1-5 Nov 2021, Dubai, UAE.
2020
Blockchain for Construction in the Post-COVID-19 Era. The 6th China BIM Conference - Youth Forum. 11 November 2020, Taiyuan, China.
Blockchain for Smart Construction. The joint 6th Summer School of Frontiers in Construction Management and Cloud Summer Camp of College Students in Civil Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. 23 July 2020, Wuhan, China.
2019
Digital Twinning Construction Objects: Filtering, Supervised, and Reinforcement Learning Methods. REC Departmetal Seminars, 6 December 2019, HKU.
Evolutionary computation with applications in 3D urban reconstruction. Civil Aviation University of China. 24 September 2019, Tianjin, China.
From geometric landscape to fitness landscape: As-built BIM reconstruction through optimization. Huazhong University of Science and Technology. 27 May 2019, Wuhan, China.
2018
Derivative-free optimization: Theory and applications in construction management. Tongji University. 19 October 2018, Shanghai, China.
Demystifying BIM & Innovation. Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics. 18 October 2018, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Urban Semantics in BIM & GIS: From source to sea. Department of Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. 15 October 2018, Suzhou, Zhejiang, China.
An efficient approach for symmetry detection in point clouds of constructions. Visual Computing Research Center, Shenzhen University. 22 June 2018, Beijing, China.
Semantic enrichment for BIM and GIS: A computational perspective. Frontiers in Construction Management, Shenzhen University. 22 May 2018, Shenzhen, China.
Enriching urban semantics to fuse BIM and CIM for smart city: examples, prospects, and challenges. Technology Collaboration: The first BIM and GIS Conference, Cyberport. 4 May 2018, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Linking RFID to BIM: A demystification of research methods. Research Methodology, Renmin University of China. 21~22 March 2018, Beijing, China.
2017
A Derivative-free Optimization Approach for Automated As-built 3D Modelling. CIB Student Chapter Workshop Series 2017. Aug 18, 2017, HK PolyU.
An optimization approach for automated as-built 3D modeling. REC Departmetal Seminars, Apr 6, 2017, HKU.
2016
Derivative-free optimization: Theory and applications in construction management. Tongji University. 19 October 2018, Shanghai, China.
Demystifying BIM & Innovation. Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics. 18 October 2018, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Urban Semantics in BIM & GIS: From source to sea. Department of Civil Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. 15 October 2018, Suzhou, Zhejiang, China.
An efficient approach for symmetry detection in point clouds of constructions. Visual Computing Research Center, Shenzhen University. 22 June 2018, Beijing, China.
Semantic enrichment for BIM and GIS: A computational perspective. Frontiers in Construction Management, Shenzhen University. 22 May 2018, Shenzhen, China.
Enriching urban semantics to fuse BIM and CIM for smart city: examples, prospects, and challenges. Technology Collaboration: The first BIM and GIS Conference, Cyberport. 4 May 2018, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Linking RFID to BIM: A demystification of research methods. Research Methodology, Renmin University of China. 21~22 March 2018, Beijing, China.
2011~2015
Automated facilitation techniques in Value Management workshops based on domain-specific semantic metrics. Apr 24, 2015, Nanjing University, China.
Towards an automated semantic analysis for ideas in construction workshops. Dec, 2013, Chongqing University, China.
Team and Jobs
Job vacancies (full-time)
PhD / PostDoc / part-time student RA / summer interns in ⛏🧱 Voxelized BIM analytics and Minecraft Education: Open until fulfilled. Preferred experiences / papers about 3D voxel modeling, Revit addon development, and Minecraft mod development. (Contact: Frank Xue xuef@hku.hk)
PhD (Fully funded)
Any proposals on computation and automation for building and construction are welcome. Examples of topics are (but not limited to)
- Operations research (DFO / surrogate / FEM) in construction / cities,
- Urban semantics, automatic reasonsing, & blockchain, and
- Computational geometry and semantics in buildings, & cities,
- Graph Machine Learning / Graph theory for buildings and city,
- Computability & complexity of IoT / BIM / blockchain,
You may wish to read 👨🏫What is a PhD study,exactly?, before writing your Research Proposal.
Students, colleagues, and interns
👩🎓PhD students
- Li, Maosu (Eric), 2019. Urban semantics
![Google Scholar page]()
🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 📺
- Wu, Yijie, 2021 (former RA 2020). Digital twin building
![Google Scholar page]()
🏆 🏆 🏆
- Zhao, Rui (Jeremy), 2021 (former RA 2021). Construction blockchain 3.0/4.0
![Google Scholar page]()
🏆 - Liang, Dong (Leo), 2021 (online appl.).
- Chen, Zhe (Philo), 2021 (former RA 2020-21). Quality assurance & prefabrication
- Kong, Lingming (Karle), 2022 (former RA 2021-22). 🏆
- Wang, Jiajia, 2022. CIM for sustainability
👬Colleagues (RAs & visiting)
- Chen, Sou-Han (Hank) (2021-23).
- Zhou, Qianyun (Joanna) (2022-23).
- Yang, Zhongze (Zoe) (2020-21). Complex system analytics. Now PhD at iLab
- Wu, Liupengfei (Mike), 2020. Semantic enrichment. Now PhD at iLab
- Li, Xiao (Shell) (2019). Urban semantics. Now Research Assistant Professor at HK PolyU
- Tan, Tan (2018-19). BIM. Now PhD at UCL
- Cao, Jin (2018-19). Construction IT
🏖️Summer interns (undergraduates)
- Gao, Wenjun (Wendy) (2020). HKU campus in Minecraft. Now MSc at ColumbiaU
- Wang, Chen (Dennis) (2020). Edge computing. Now RA/PhD at CityU
- Zhang, Jing (Christel) (2020). Parametric modeling. Now MSc at UCL
👩🎓Undergraduate dissertations advised
- Kwan, Shing Fung (Tommy), 2023.
- Ng, Kai Yui (Clive), 2023.
- Ng, Mei Shan (Sandra), 2023.
- Lee, Hok Kiu (Chris), 2022. The Applicability of Wearable Technology to Improve Construction Safety in Hong Kong
- Ng, Tsz Shing (Simon), 2022. Impacts of the Rising Popularity of Nano-flat on Property Market and Society: A Study of Hong Kong
- Li, Yuet Tat (Jeff), 2021. Application of Machine Learning on Property Valuation for Hong Kong Residential Units 🏆
- Huang, Cheuk Wai (Cherry), 2021. Green Features in Shopping Centers: A Comparative Study of Occupants and Property Developers in Hong Kong
- Wong, Ka Yan (Kali), 2021. Assessment of factors and measures for the Hong Kong hotel industry in the pandemic time of Covid-19
Research tips
Materials for newcomers
![PPT slides]()
15 mins to sharpen your 'teeth' for research at HKU![PDF]()
Research handbooks @ HKU
- 🌬Maximization of your research impacts
- 🛡️Cyber security: Auto warnings of account/password breach/leakages at haveibeenpwned.com
Elsevier's tipsPhilosophy reading list for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- 📚 Ludwig Wittgenstein. (1921). 🆓Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (TLP, 邏輯哲學論, public domain). HKU Main Library Books 193.1 W83 C t.
- 📚 Bertrand Russell. (1948). 🆓Human Knowledge: Its Scope and Limits (人類的知識, public domain). HKU Main Library Books 121 R96 h
- 📚 Laozi. (~500BC). 🆓道德經 (Tao Te Ching, public domain).
World leading tech & innovation news
- 🎅Choose based on your interests
- 📚 Academia: EurekAlert's Technology, Math, Earth Science, and Chinese news [RSS feeds; Bookable via
![Download]()
blogtrottr or your browser] - 🤖 Data analytics: Towards Data Science and Machine Learning [Bookable on the websites] and
- 🖥 General IT: Hacker News [RSS feed; Bookable via
![Download]()
blogtrottr or your browser])
- 📚 Academia: EurekAlert's Technology, Math, Earth Science, and Chinese news [RSS feeds; Bookable via
Data analysis tools
Vector charting tools (🆓free)
- 📈Veusz
- 🎨MS Powerpoint + PDF print (e.g., flow charts)
- 🐍Python
- 📦Dia
- 📝MS Word
- 🙅Disable auto image compression in MS Word
- 🎨MS Powerpoint for wrapping the sub-figures up
- 📝LaTeX
Standard citation managers
- 🧩MS Word's citation manager
![Download]()
Get MS Office Suite from office.com with your HKU account![YouTube video guide]()
Basic use, & citing like "Alice (2020, pp. 22-23)"![Code]()
Frank's APA-Classic style (copy it to "%HOMEPATH%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Bibliography\Style") and ![Code]()
25+ extra styles (including ACS/MDPI)- For an organization/government document, you can cite the short name as "Corporate Author" and full name as "Publisher" in the "Report" type. E.g.,
- NIBS. (2015). National Building Information Modeling Standard. Version 3, Washington, DC, USA: National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Retrieved from https://www.nationalbimstandard.org/ (accessed on 1 Jan 2020).
- Try to format webpages and online documents in "Report" category, rather than "Website," "Document from website," and "Electronic source."
- Article number (ASCE and some Elsevier journals) can be input as the "Pages"
- Set a DOI (or URL) to every reference entry
- 🧩LaTeX
- 💽BibTeX for thesis, books, and as a citebase
- 💇A clean BibTeX .bib for each article
- Note the formating control macros, e.g., {}, --, $$
- Set a DOI (or URL) to every reference entry
Frank's APA-Classic style