Ziheng Zhang
Portrait of Ziheng Zhang

Ziheng Zhang

Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of Technology

Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, Nanyang Technological University

Ziheng develops trustworthy AI for the inspection and maintenance of existing buildings and infrastructure. His systems use engineering knowledge, such as dimensional tolerances, inspection standards, data schemas, operational constraints and optimality bounds, to check AI outputs before they are used, guide model training, and decide when an engineer must confirm a result.

Research framework with three lines of work: AI for perception, AI for decision-making and AI for generation
Fig. 1. Research framework. Detailed version (PDF)

Research

Research page

His work has three lines, grouped by the kind of AI.

HoloLens 2 view of a rebar cage with pass and fail labels on each spacingValidated on a live site

On-site quality inspection

AI for perception

He builds mixed reality systems that measure rebar cages and building elements with vision foundation models. The inspecting engineer sees pass or fail results on site and confirms each one.

How it worksPapers (5)

Two technicians repair an opened escalator at Liverpool Street station in LondonIllustrative photo: Matt Brown, CC BY 2.0

Maintenance and production

AI for decision-making

He builds open benchmarks and human-in-the-loop methods for maintenance dispatching, and deep reinforcement learning for production scheduling in precast module factories. The benchmarks compare learned policies with classical priority rules, and optimality bounds guide training.

How it worksPapers (8)

Floor plan detail before and after VeriBIM deletes the door between the bathroom and the hall

Maintenance and BIM

AI for generation

CertiGATE checks each work-order schedule from a large language model agent before release. VeriBIM trains a locally deployable language model to edit IFC building models, with a verifier that scores each edit.

How it worksPapers (2)

Looking ahead, his goal is an inspection-to-maintenance system: findings from vehicles, drones, mobile devices or mixed reality headsets update an asset's digital twin across inspection cycles and become maintenance actions that engineers can check.

Selected publications

All publications (15)

  1. [1]

    Integrating Mixed Reality with Key Digital Technologies for Elevating On-site Construction Efficiency: An Integrative Review and Framework

    Zhang, Z., Ghosh Mondal, T., Yang, X., and Fu, Y.*

    ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 152(10), 03126011 (2026). DOI

  2. [2]

    Automated Noncontact Geometric Quality Assessment of Building Elements Integrating Mixed Reality, Depth Sensing, and Vision Foundation Model

    Zhang, Z., Ghosh Mondal, T., Yang, X., and Fu, Y.*

    ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, 40(1), 04025130 (2026). DOI

  3. [3]

    Gaze-Driven Mixed Reality for Dimensional Quality Assessment of Timber Components Using a Few-Shot RGB-D Vision Foundation Model

    Zhang, Z., Yang, X., Fu, Y.*, and Ghosh Mondal, T.

    Advanced Engineering Informatics, 77, 105186 (2027). DOI

  4. [4]

    Human-in-the-Loop Rebar Inspection: Integrating Vision Foundation Model with Mixed Reality for Construction Quality Assurance

    Zhang, Z.*, Ghosh Mondal, T., and Yang, X.

    2026 IEEE International Conference on Human-Machine Systems (ICHMS), Singapore, 452–457 (2026). DOI

News

  • 09/2026Passed his Ph.D. oral defense at NTU.
  • 09/2026Gaze-driven timber inspection paper published online in Advanced Engineering Informatics.
  • 08/2026MR integration review published in the ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.
  • 07/2026Presented human-in-the-loop rebar inspection at IEEE ICHMS 2026, Singapore.
  • 03/2026Joined the Singapore Institute of Technology as a Research Fellow.

Career

  1. 2026–nowResearch FellowSingapore Institute of TechnologyInfoComm Technology Cluster. PI: Assoc Prof Zhang Wei
  2. 2022–2026Ph.D. in Civil EngineeringNanyang Technological UniversityAdvisor: Asst Prof Fu Yuguang. Oral defense passed 09/2026
  3. 2022M.Sc. in International Construction ManagementNanyang Technological University
  4. 2021B.Eng. in Road, Bridge and River Crossing EngineeringChang'an University, Xi'an, China

Service and leadership

  • Peer review

    Reviewer for six journals since 2024

    • Engineering Structures
    • Engineering Applications of AI
    • Scientific Reports
    • IEEE JSTARS
    • ASCE JCEM
    • Journal of Building Engineering

  • Professional membership

    • Member, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
    • Student Member, IEEE

  • Student leadership

    • Vice President (Welfare), NTU Graduate Students' Association, 2023–2024. He led welfare policy and university-level events for more than 5,000 postgraduate students.
    • Member, NTU Board of Discipline, 2023–2024.

Contact

ziheng.zhang [at] singaporetech.edu.sg

InfoComm Technology Cluster, Singapore Institute of Technology
1 Punggol Coast Road, Singapore 828608