# OpenBIM: An Enabling Solution for Information Interoperability
## 4 Engineering Information Interoperability Research Supported by OpenBIM
### Information Exchange
#### 4.3.2 Information Exchange by OpenBIM Transformation  
1. Use openBIM only  
As a common standard of information exchange, openBIM can not only participate information exchange, but also support information exchange through its standard data transformation. For example, to transform BIM data into a form which can be easily queried, [PERSON] et al. focused on the definition of a schema and transformation rules and proposed a methodology to transform IFC files to the BIMRL schema (an open and queryable database schema), which can realize flexible and efficient queries into the BIM data using standard SQL [61]. [PERSON] et al. followed a standard BIM approach of first defining the requirements using IDM and then translating the process described in the IDM into technical requirements through the use of MVD. The modelling of an MVD or a subset of the IFC data model helped to create and exchange boundary representations of topological objects, which can be combined into a 3D legal space overview map [62].  
2. openBIM combined with ontology  
As an efficient way of structured information representation and the core of semantic technology, ontology has been paid much attention in recent years. It is important to realize information exchange by integrating ontology with openBIM. For example, Combining IFC with ontology, [PERSON] et al. explored the conversion from IFC EXPRESS to OWL and proved the usability of ifcOWL, which provided a new idea for further application of ifcOWL ontology [63]. To realize the interconnection of life cycle data spaces and support the highway asset management, [PERSON] et al. proposed a life cycle data exchange framework based on ontology, in which LandXML was used for describing the various design data in the XML format of civil engineering, and some rules were proposed to transform LandXML design data into RDF graphs. The authors also tested the mechanism using a sample road project retrieved from Landxml.org [64]. Due to the lack of logical link in the data transformation process from IDM to MVD, redundant requirements and rules of data exchange may be caused. Under this circumstance, [PERSON] et al. adopted ontology theories to generate IDM in the precast concrete field and link its MVD with formal information modellings to satisfy the requirement of identifying the intent of mapped MVDs and keeping track of the mapping issues. In addition, in order to integrate IDM and MVD, the authors parsed and transformed ontology-based IDM from OWL/XML to mvdXML, which automatically generated MVD documents in IfcDoc tool [65]. To improve the interoperability of construction projects, [PERSON] et al. took the ifcOWL ontology as a connection between the semantic web technology and the IFC standard. By analyzing the corresponding application standards required by the key features of the recommend ifcOWL ontology, a conversion program from the EXPRESS mode to the OWL ontology of the IFC was proposed, and the transformation results of the program was used as the recommended ifcOWL ontology [66]. The literature that suggests how openBIM transformation support information exchange is summarized in Table 5.