Bal group

Click the icon on the left to follow Dr Bal on LinkedIn.

Follow Dr İhsan Engin Bal on Google Scholar and ORCID.

Digitalization in construction is essential for three main reasons

1. Maintenance and Safety: Fighting against deadly and costly disasters such as earthquakes and floods, as well as coping with aging infrastructure globally, including in the Netherlands, poses challenges due to high demands in resources. Digital tools offer efficient solutions for assessment, monitoring and predictive maintenance.
2. Carbon Footprint: Construction, especially in steel, concrete, and aluminium production, contributes 23% of the global carbon footprint. Adopting digital technologies can help reduce this impact.
3. Raw Material Shortages: Digital technologies enable urban mining by reusing and recycling materials from existing structures.

Leveraging IoT, image processing, and sensory data can improve structure maintenance, safety, and cost efficiency. Our research group will expand on experience from Groningen and especially earthquake-related research on structural damage and safety, using sensory and image data for damage detection across various structures due to various other disturbances such as climate change. RUG, particularly ENTEG, fosters multidisciplinary collaboration, merging built environment disciplines with computer science and AI. Our group aims to address societal challenges, including reducing the carbon footprint, adapting to climate change, and enhancing safety standards.

Key research areas include

• Use of sensor data for monitoring and predicting structural safety and life cycles.

• Image-based damage detection in structural elements.

• Implementation of digital twins for critical structures.

• 3D scanning and point cloud technologies for solutions such as urban mining and post-disaster relief.

• Developing technologies for sustainable construction and climate adaptation.

The group also plans to contribute to ENTEG’s broader research efforts in smart industry, including AI, sensing, and robotics.