Mobility 4.0: The digitization of the road system with OSiMaB

As part of the mFUND research initiative, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure of Germany (BMVI) funds research and development projects related to digital data-based applications for mobility 4.0. OSiMaB (Online Safety Management System for Bridges) is part of the mFUND research initiative and receives state funding from the Federal Highway Research Institute.

The project partners of OSiMaB, consisting of HBK, the Federal Highway Research Institute, ITC Engineering, the Technical University of Berlin, the University of Bonn, and the Hasso Plattner Institute, have set themselves the goal of creating an adaptive and modular system for the real-time evaluation of the safety and reliability of road bridges, which can be adapted to other bridges at any time. The system must record all relevant influences, reactions and damages and holistically evaluate the bridge condition - both the current bridge condition and prognoses for the remaining service life of components and the entire bridge. 

Intelligent systems can be used in different life cycle phases of a building (construction, maintenance, operation). By integrating them into the manufacturing process, deviations from the target state can be detected and documented at an early stage to initiate reactions. In the context of maintenance, the permanent assessment of the condition and the short-term information of the building authorities in case of changes in condition are of high relevance. With the help of intelligent systems, a sustainable increase in efficiency is achieved regarding ecological, economic, and social aspects.

OSiMaB develops a holistic concept for monitoring bridges in the federal main road network. The existing monitoring of the actual condition is supplemented by a predictive monitoring component, which allows for early detection of damage, forecasting of future damage and the planning of maintenance measures. Thanks to the holistic concept, road users benefit from reduced restrictions, whereby in the best-case scenario no bridge has to be closed to heavy goods traffic. The comprehensive monitoring of road construction load-bearing structures also has a cost-reducing effect, since the foresighted planning avoids further damage to bridges, and budget and personnel deployment planning can be carried out at an early stage.

OSiMaB uses the existing federal data repository for the federal main road network, supplemented by data from the construction measuring points and simulation models. With the help of innovative evaluation algorithms, the intelligent system for the evaluation of the bridge condition and the prognosis of the future maintenance condition is developed from this data. These new evaluation algorithms of OSiMaB make the concept unique. 

Together with the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), ITC Engineering, the Technical University of Berlin, and the Hasso Plattner Institute, HBK has developed the holistic concept for monitoring bridges. To verify OSiMaB's algorithms, analyze the relevant bridge parameters and develop an evaluation system, data collection on a representative bridge is necessary. For OSiMaB, a bridge on the A45 motorway acts as a demonstrator structure. The bridge structure was equipped, installed, and commissioned by HBK with a complete measurement technology solution.

150 analog sensors measure a wide range of physical quantities such as strain, displacement, acceleration, inclination, temperature, and noise. A video camera also records the traffic flow synchronously with the tactile sensors on the bridge. To be able to analyze correlations between different sensors, the entire measurement system is synchronized.

Have a look at the Mind Map to learn more about the system structure of OSiMaB.