Towards a Digital Twin of Heritage Buildings: Scan-to-BIM Documentation and DEMATEL-Based Analysis of LiDAR, IoT and AI Integration Pathways

Abstract

This study proposes an integrated approach to the digital documentation and system-level analysis of heritage buildings, combining LiDAR-based data acquisition, H-BIM modelling and DEMATEL analysis. The novelty of the study lies in combining a Scan-to-BIM workflow with DEMATEL-based system analysis in order to identify causal and dependent stages in the heritage building digitisation process. The research was carried out on two heritage buildings in south-eastern Poland: the Church of St Onuphrius in Posada Rybotycka and a wooden manor house from Brzeziny preserved in the ethnographic park in Kolbuszowa. Terrestrial laser scanning was used to acquire high-resolution point clouds of the buildings, which then provided the basis for developing parametric H-BIM models within a Scan-to-BIM workflow. For the church case study, the geometric accuracy of the Scan-to-BIM output was verified by comparing measurements derived from the point cloud with traditional surveying data. The results confirmed the suitability of Scan-to-BIM for heritage documentation, with an average absolute deviation of approximately 7 mm and a maximum deviation not exceeding 31 mm. DEMATEL analysis was used to examine cause–effect relationships between seven stages of the digitisation process and to determine which stages have the greatest influence on subsequent activities. Preliminary assessment, LiDAR scanning and H-BIM modelling were identified as causal stages, while validation, IoT integration, AI-based predictive analysis and digital twin development were classified as effect stages. The study also outlines how H-BIM models may be extended through IoT sensors and AI-based analytics as a basis for future digital twin development.