Automated pile design and geotechnical modeling system

The aim of the project is to create an automated digital design service for geotechnical engineering. The result of the project will be a service based on an automatic design system, controlled by engineers, able to automatically process data and information collected on site, to create a soil model and optimize the foundation and to produce BIM-based foundation designs.

The automated system addresses the problem of wasted human and land resources, but also helps to reduce the geotechnical risks of construction projects and to develop the digitalisation of the construction industry. The service created on the basis of the digitalised, automated system, which is the result of the project, has a significant economic impact during both the engineering design and the implementation/construction phases. It will also, not insignificantly, provide significant environmental benefits through a significant reduction in environmental impact. The current human-intensive design processes are often based on subjective decisions, resulting in suboptimal technical solutions. The resulting digitally-based service will replace previously subjective decisions with optimisation algorithms and artificial intelligence, thus reducing the risks associated with subjective decisions.

In our project, we are developing an integrated system that automatically evaluates the results of on- site geotechnical investigations (CPTU soundings), creates a BIM-compatible geotechnical model of the environment using artificial intelligence, and is capable of optimised foundation design up to the completion of BIM-compatible design documentation.

In this project, we plan to reach TRL8-TRL9 level with our service after two years of research. Considering that there are no similar automated AI-based design solutions available on the market, this is considered the main innovation of our project. This solution reduces the time and effort of the process to a fraction of the time required and provides an optimised solution for foundation design, offering a significantly more competitive service than the competition.

The considerable previous experience and knowledge in engineering design and process optimisation, as well as the state-of-the-art technologies used in the development, ensure the long-term sustainability of the project results. The implementation of state-of-the-art technologies is also supported by the staff of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of BME.

Following the present research project, the reliability of artificial intelligence will be continuously improved with the design tasks performed, which can provide a continuous competitive advantage in the long term. Both investors and construction contractors are considered the target group of our development worldwide. Currently, our customers are investors in large logistics developments, major industrial and manufacturing companies as investors, and the most deep foundation companies that service them as construction contractors.

Our service offers a unique solution, both in decision preparation and implementation, which creates a whole new dimension in geotechnical services worldwide, both in terms of speed and optimisation. Time is one of the most important factors in both the predecision, tendering and design processes. This challenge is met by the service resulting from this development, which, due to its speed, efficiency and accuracy, will also provide a huge competitive advantage on an international scale.

Project code: 2023-1.1.1-PIACI_FÓKUSZ-2024-00048

Beneficiary: FUGRO Consult Ltd.

Amount of awarded funds: 333 769 637 HUF

Planned completion date of project: April 30, 2026

Funding organisation: National Research, Development and Innovation Office