HERMEX: IoT-Integrated Simulation for Urban Transport and Highway Infrastructure Pre-Planning and Climate Resilience

Abstract

HERMEX addresses the fragmentation of urban transport and highway infrastructure pre-planning in Sri Lanka, where disconnected workflows, static analyses, poor coordination, and limited real-time integration hinder effective decision-making. This research aims to develop a unified collaborative simulation platform that supports early-stage planning through integrated terrain, traffic, climate, and investment intelligence. Methodologically, HERMEX combines AI-assisted terrain generation from multi-source elevation data, IoT-integrated traffic prediction using historical and live inputs, machine-learning-based accident and flood risk assessment, and data-driven asset management with investment planning. These components are connected within an interactive 3D environment using data fusion, predictive modeling, visualization overlays, dashboards, and scenario-based evaluation. The key contribution is a single multi-stakeholder framework that unifies prediction, visualization, and planning support across modules that are typically handled separately. By linking terrain conditions, traffic dynamics, environmental vulnerability, and financial appraisal, HERMEX seeks to enable safer, more climate-resilient, and more transparent infrastructure decisions during pre-planning.