Work Email:
weiwei.chen@ucl.ac.uk
Personal Email:
weiweichenucl0830@gmail.com
Work Email:
weiwei.chen@ucl.ac.uk
Personal Email:
weiweichenucl0830@gmail.com
DC Lab Team Wins Best Poster at RISE Award 2026
Our research on Trust-Calibrated Robot Guidance for Safer Fire Evacuation has received the Best Poster Award in the Public Safety category at the RISE Awards 2026.
The award recognises research by Diran Yu, Prof Abdul-Majeed Mahamadu, and Dr Weiwei Chen exploring how human trust in robotic guidance can influence decision-making and evacuation behaviour during fire emergencies. The study investigates the potential of trust-calibrated robotic guidance to support safer and more effective evacuation strategies in complex indoor environments.
The award was presented during the RISE Awards 2026, organised in association with the International Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS) Conference. The event brought together researchers and practitioners working across the built environment and related disciplines to showcase research and innovation addressing current societal and industry challenges.
This recognition highlights the team's ongoing research into human-robot interaction, immersive evacuation research, and the development of technology-supported approaches for improving fire safety and emergency decision-making.
Digital Construction Lab presents two papers at ISARC 2026 in Singapore
The Digital Construction Lab participated in ISARC 2026, the 43rd International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, held in Singapore under the theme “Constructing the Future: Sustainable, Smart, and Lean.”
At this year’s symposium, DC Lab contributed to two papers:
- Building Evacuation Parameter Benchmarking: From Multi-Camera Video to Multi-Area 2D/3D Evacuation Trajectory and Congestion Analysis
DOI: 10.22260/ISARC2026/0239 - A Modular High-Fidelity Simulation Framework for Human-UAV Interaction Research in Built Environments
DOI: 10.22260/ISARC2026/0138
The first study focuses on evacuation behaviour analysis using multi-camera video data. It presents a workflow for reconstructing pedestrian trajectories across different building areas and analysing congestion patterns in both 2D and 3D spaces. The second study introduces a modular high-fidelity simulation framework for human-UAV interaction research in built environments. It explores how simulation-based methods can support the study of UAV-assisted tasks, human interaction behaviours, and future applications of aerial robotic systems in construction and emergency contexts.
Together, these two papers reflect the lab’s ongoing research interests in construction robotics, evacuation analysis, immersive simulation, human-robot interaction, and built environment safety. The symposium also provided a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas with international researchers working across automation, robotics, digital construction, and smart built environments. This participation further strengthens the Digital Construction Lab’s engagement with global research communities in automation and robotics in construction.
Digital Construction Lab contributes to two research works at i3CE 2026 in Korea
The Digital Construction Lab participated in i3CE 2026 and contributed to two research works presented at the conference, covering digital twins for hydropower infrastructure and immersive safety research in construction.
- The first study, “Extending IFC for Domain-Specific Digital Twins of Large-Scale Hydropower Plants”, was developed as part of the D-HYDROFLEX project. The work explores how Industry Foundation Classes can be extended to better support domain-specific digital twins for complex hydropower infrastructure. It contributes to the development of more structured, interoperable, and infrastructure-specific digital representations for large-scale hydropower assets.
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The second study, “An AI-Enabled Immersive Approach to Construction Safety Warning Sign Recognition Using VR Simulations and Eye-Tracking”, was developed as part of the EyeSENS project. This research investigates how virtual reality simulation, eye-tracking, and AI-enabled analysis can support a deeper understanding of safety warning sign recognition in construction environments.
Together, these two works reflect the lab’s continuing research across digital construction, infrastructure systems, immersive technologies, and construction safety. The presentations also provided an opportunity to exchange ideas with the i3CE community and discuss future research directions with international colleagues. This participation further strengthens the lab’s engagement with international research communities working on digital twins, infrastructure modelling, immersive technology, artificial intelligence, and construction safety.
EyeSENS Project Symposium held at the University of Tokyo in Japan
The Digital Construction Lab participated in the EyeSENS project symposium at the University of Tokyo, where collaborators from academia and industry gathered to share research progress, technical insights, and future directions for the project.
- Representing UCL,Weiwei Chen as Co-I of UCL side, give a speech on “AI-Enabled Digital Twins for Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure: Case Study in Europe”.
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Diran Yu as a Research Assistant and delivered a presentation on “human–robot trustworthiness in emergency evacuation in virtual reality”.
The symposium provided a valuable opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange among partners from UCL, the University of the West of England, the University of Tokyo, and industry collaborators, including Yokogawa Bridge Corporation and Balfour Beatty. The discussions offered constructive feedback that will support the next stage of the research, particularly in relation to data analysis and paper writing. This symposium marks an important step in strengthening international research collaboration on immersive technologies, human–robot interaction, and emergency evacuation, while supporting the continued development of the EyeSENS project.
Digital Construction Lab group delivers four presentations at EC3 & CIB W78 2025 in Porto Portugal
The Digital Construction Lab group made a significant impact at the prestigious EC3 & CIB W78 2025 conference, delivering four compelling presentations that highlight the team's wide-ranging expertise in the built environment.
The group’s research demonstrated a remarkable breadth, from foundational infrastructure modeling to cutting-edge urban analysis. The presented papers included:
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Geometric Model of Hydropower Plants: a Foundational Step Towards Creating a Hydropower Digital Twin
- Augmented Reality in the Digital Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Case Study in Poland
- Enhancing Collaboration in the Project Lifecycle: Addressing BIM-based VR Challenges and Barriers
- The Assessment Framework and Greater Impact Factors on Smart City Construction: a Unit Study of Shanghai, China
The collection of work spans the creation of digital twins for energy infrastructure, the application of immersive technologies for cultural preservation, improvements in project collaboration, and the development of frameworks for smart city assessment. This strong showing at a leading international conference underscores the Digital Construction Lab's commitment to advancing the industry through innovative, multi-disciplinary research and its position at the forefront of digital construction.
Dr Weiwei Chen delivers two presentations at ICCBEI 2025 in Hong Kong
During the conference, Dr Weiwei delivered two impactful presentations:
- Optimizing Hydropower Operations: A Tailored Digital Twin Framework for Hydropower Plant and Probability, co-authoring with Dr Yang Su, a research fellow in Dr Chen’s research group, to disseminate the research outcomes of the Horizon Europe and UKRI-funded D-Hydroflex project
- Map Guided Point Rendering Technique for Refined Segmentation of High-Resolution Crack Images, collaborating with Dr Honghu Chu, a previous visiting PhD student at BSSC, and Prof Lu Deng from Hunan University.
Each presentation addressed critical topics in civil and building engineering informatics, reflecting her dedication to pushing the boundaries of research and practice. In addition, Dr Weiwei served as a Session Chair on Digital Twins for Building and Infrastructure Maintenance, expertly guiding discussions on state of the art digital twin development. Her leadership and insights greatly enriched the dialogue, facilitating knowledge exchange among industry professionals and academics. Dr Weiwei’s contributions at ICCBEI 2025 underscore her ongoing commitment to advancing the field of civil and building engineering informatics. Stay tuned for further updates on her groundbreaking achievements and the broader impact of her work on the industry.
Well done to PhD students Hyunjung (Jennifer) Yoo for representing The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction UCL at The 40th Annual ARCOM 2024
Hyunjung (Jennifer) Yoo presented her paper, "Analysis of Building Information Modelling Application in Linear Infrastructure Asset Management" in the AI/BIM/Digitalisation track. Co-authored with Dr Weiwei Chen and Dr Tim Broyd, the paper offered an in-depth analysis of BIM applications in linear infrastructure。
Dr Weiwei Chen as Virtual & Augmented Reality Chair and DC Lab team give presentations on EC3 2024
DC Lab team attend the conference and give presentation as below:
- Diran Yu, Weiwei Chen, Tao Meng, Haiying Yu, Abdul-Majeed Mahamadu. Applications Of Immersive Technologies In Construction Computing: A Systematic Literature Review
- Hyunjung Yoo, Weiwei Chen, Diran Yu, Tim Broyd. A Systematic Literature Review Of Building Information Modelling (BIM) Application On Railway Asset Management
- Chu, Honghu, Weiwei Chen, and Lu Deng. Fine-Grained Segmentation of High-Resolution Bridge Crack Images Using Rendering Technology.
Dr Weiwei Chen and Honghu Chu receive the ISARC 2024 Best Paper Award
The paper introduces a novel approach to crack image synthesis using a Generative Adversarial Network framework. This method significantly enhances the accuracy and efficiency of automated crack inspection in engineering structures, contributing to the sustainability and longevity of infrastructure.
Dr Weiwei Chen said: “Receiving the ISARC 2024 Best Paper Award is an incredible honour. The symposium was an inspiring event, allowing us to share our research and engage with fellow scholars and professionals from various countries. This recognition is a tremendous encouragement for our ongoing work in automated crack segmentation. I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my co-authors, Honghu Chu and Prof. Lu Deng, as well as the ISARC 2024 organising committee. Special thanks to the UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction for their continuous support."
Dr Weiwei Chen presents at Transport Research Arena (TRA) conference
At the conference, Weiwei delivered a presentation titled ‘A Data-driven Finer-grained Spatiotemporal Modelling Method for Pavement Distress Evolution’. Furthermore, serving as a session chair, Weiwei moderated discussions for Technical Session 4.4.2 on Connectivity and Data Exchange. Weiwei also fostered connections with European universities and companies, laying the groundwork for future collaborations.
Weiwei said: "I especially extend sincere appreciation to the BSSC conference support fund for giving me this opportunity to participate in the TRA 2024, which allows me to expand my academic horizons, have such good academic exchange opportunities, and establish deeper cooperative ties with European universities and companies in the construction and transport industry."
Winners of the BSSC Nature Photography Competition announced
Diran Yu receive an offer from 2024 Global Research lmmersion Program for Young Scientists (GripS) in Zhejiang University