Researcher

Fields of Research (FoR)

Geospatial Information Systems, Data Structures, Database Management, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Surveying, Conceptual Modelling, Mobile Technologies

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Biography

I am a Professor and internationally recognised researcher in 3D spatial modelling, geoinformatics, and surveying, with academic and industry experience across Europe, Asia, and Australia. As Head of the GRID Lab, I lead research in voxel modelling, 3D navigation, agentic spatial digital twins, AI-supported simulations, and LLM-based interfaces for querying and interacting with complex 3D spatial data.

My research focuses on advancing spatial...view more

I am a Professor and internationally recognised researcher in 3D spatial modelling, geoinformatics, and surveying, with academic and industry experience across Europe, Asia, and Australia. As Head of the GRID Lab, I lead research in voxel modelling, 3D navigation, agentic spatial digital twins, AI-supported simulations, and LLM-based interfaces for querying and interacting with complex 3D spatial data.

My research focuses on advancing spatial analytics to be more intelligent, immersive, and accessible, enabling a deeper understanding of complex urban environments and their impacts on people, and supporting more intuitive, data-driven decision-making.

My work in 3D GIS, IndoorGML standards, urban spatial modelling, and land administration systems is internationally recognised and supported by active engagement in leading global scientific organisations and major international conferences.

Alongside research, I am committed to higher education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and academic leadership. I have extensive experience supervising Higher Degree Research candidates across geospatial, urban, architecture, and construction disciplines, and I actively collaborate with a broad international network of researchers and industry partners to foster innovation and global knowledge exchange.

 

I can be found on: Google Scholar, Research Gate, Scopus, Academia, ORCID, ResearcherID


My Grants

I am in the Executive Boards of the following projects: 

https://riis.org.au/

https://archmanu.com/

https://www.nobel.org.au/

 

Some of the projects I have led:

BushFire AI

Geospatial Intelligence to support machine-human native conversation (here)

Michibiki Early warning messaging (here)

Progressing precinct modelling on the UNSW Campus and Beyond: BIM/PIM and 3DGIS: reports and demo

Indoor Scanning of FR NSW: 'walking in point clouds' demo

3D visibility analysis for safety and security with voxels: demo

Smart Indoor models to support crisis management in large public buildings (2015-2017), funded by the Dutch M4S/STW : http://www.sims3d.net/

3D SDI for the Port Rotterdam (2012-2014), Funded by the Dutch NGI: The project investigated BIM/GIS integration: demo ( BuildingBits, in Dutch)


My Qualifications

3D Indoor modelling, 3D GIS, integration of BIM and GIS, 3D spatial analysis, DBMS, emergency response, LLM, Agentic spatiat digital twins


My Awards

ISPRS fellow, awarded at the XXIV ISPRS congress, Nice 2022  


My Research Activities

I have led the ISPRS TCIV Spatial information Science in the period 2016-2026 (here)

Talented researchers I have supervised:

Simulation of 3D Pedestrian Motions to Support Evacuation Behavioral Instructions PhD Thesis R.Xu

Parametric approaches to balance stormwater management and wellbeing within urban green spaces PhD Thesis J. Jia 

An Investigation of 3D Tree Reconstruction to Improve Precinct-Level Microclimate Simulation PhD Thesis H. Xun

Digital technology adoption for improving efficiency of prefabrication construction in China – An Application of Laser Scanning PhD Thesis M. Wang 

Seamless Navigation in Indoor and Outdoor based on 3D Spaces PhD Thesis J. Yan 

The integration of LADM and IndoorGML to support the indoor navigation based on the user access rights PhD Thesis A. Alattas

Indoor Semantic Modelling for Routing: The Two-Level Routing Approach for Indoor Navigation: PhD research funded by CSC and Bentley Systems: PhD thesis L. Liu

Path planning for first responders in the presence of moving obstacles: PhD research funded by CSC and Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment: PhD thesis Z. Wang

 


My Research Supervision


Areas of supervision

I am available for supervising on any of the following topics: 3D modelling (indoor/outdoor, above/below surface), 3D analysis, Indoor navigation, BIM/GIS aggregation, 3D reconstruction, Level of Details for 3D urban models, Voxel representations, AR visualisation, data integration for emergency response. 

I am responsible and teaching Visualisation of Urban data within the Master of City Analytics 

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