Data integration between software tools - a new approach?

At the beginning of February, we took part in the AEC Hackathon (Zurich Edition) together with Penzel Valier AG and presented our challenge, called the IFC Data Bus, to an international community of hackers and industry experts. Our goal? To tackle one of the biggest digital challenges in the construction industry: seamless, bi-directional data integration between software tools.

The challenge

Architects and planners work with numerous software solutions such as Archicad, Grasshopper or vyzn. Yet a lack of interoperability leads to inefficient workflows:

• The open data format IFC is, in practice, a one-way street: exporting is possible, but re-integrating data into CAD and CDE systems is complex and error-prone
• Because no near-real-time data exchange is possible, data is transferred manually across numerous software tools
• Data ownership – who is responsible for which data and who can make changes – remains unresolved
• Open BIM standards and technologies currently offer no solutions to this challenge

Our approach

An open, decentralized protocol based on OpenBIM standards (IFC, IDS, bSDD) that propagates model and data changes in near-real-time across various software tools. A protocol is a common language for computer systems – comparable to HTTP/HTTPS, which defines how data is retrieved on the web. The protocol is intended to seamlessly exchange component and material data between different software tools (such as Archicad and other web applications).

A successful Proof of Concept (PoC)

Together with an international team of top-class hackers and industry experts, we developed an initial PoC – the first working draft of the 'IFC Data Bus'. With it, we were able to impress both the community and the jury and won the "Best Mashup Project" award at the AEC Hackathon! 🎉

How does it work?

• No centralized system with absolute data sovereignty, but a completely new approach: distributed systems and a shared bus that reliably distributes messages
• Any software tool can dock onto the IFC Data Bus and both publish and subscribe to model changes (publish & subscribe)
• Model changes are each encoded as ifcJSON data records, which greatly simplifies writing and reading data with a wide variety of technology stacks, at the cost of performance
• Data is transported to all participating software tools via MQTT (NanoMQ), a lightweight and robust standard from the Internet of Things (IoT) domain
• Emerging change conflicts are automatically detected and resolved in a decentralized way using CRDT (conflict-free replicated data type); in the PoC we tested a 'last-write-wins' conflict-resolution strategy
• Automated, bi-directional synchronization of components, materials, classifications and building properties across six systems: Archicad, Grasshopper, Blender, Webclient, Libal CDE, IFC Bus Client

The next steps

Our PoC has shown that decentralized, networked collaboration in the industry is possible and that the underlying technologies are ready. But of course, further steps are still needed:

• A more robust and performant implementation of our protocol, especially for extensive geometry data
• Fine-grained change tracking for more precise data updates
• Integration of conflict-resolution strategies (CRDTs) to resolve conflicts
• Alignment with IFC5 and OpenCDE developments for seamless future compatibility

Conclusion

IFC is the HTML of the construction industry – of that we are convinced. In the revolution of the World Wide Web, technically wholly inadequate data formats like HTML celebrated an unprecedented triumph, not because of technological superiority, but because they represented the best common denominator. Step by step, over the years, the technical shortcomings were made up for and compensated. The same will play out in the construction industry: IFC is not technically perfect, but it can be upgraded step by step. What is particularly missing is the possibility of decentralized and bi-directional data exchange, and we believe that the IFC Data Bus can make a significant contribution precisely here.

💬 If you'd like to learn more, get involved or share suggestions for improvement with us, feel free to get in touch!

Thanks to our colleagues at Penzel Valier as well as our incredible team of hackers from companies such as Ergon Informatik AG, LIBAL, idpartners, COMPAS Association and many more.

Many thanks for organizing the AEC Hackathon: opensource.construction, ZHAW, Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH and Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland.