Research

automation in the areas of image analysis and anomaly detection
image processing via computer vision algorithms and AI
monitoring energy systems such as district heating networks
UAS-based thermal image acquisition
automatic georeferencing and orthomosaic generation

Theses
Titel	type	Date
Cost-Benefit Analysis of UAV-based Thermography to Assess the Potential of Preventative Measures in District Heating Monitoring	Bachelor- / Masterthesis	unavailable
When do we have "enough“ labeled data in the context of AI? Finding a saturation curve for annotation amounts	Bachelor- / Masterthesis	immediately
Automatic analysis of real-world data: Implementing computer vision algorithms to find a suitable anomaly detection method for leakage identification	Bachelor- / Masterthesis	unavailable
Analyzing and evaluating anomaly detection methods for thermal leakage identification in district heating systems	Bachelorthesis	unavailable
Developing an active learning (ML) model to annotate thermal anomalies for district heating monitoring	bachelor / master thesis	unavailable

Research Projects
title	contact	startdate	enddate
AI4EOSC - AI for the European Open Science Cloud	M. Sc. Elena Vollmer Dr.-Ing. Rebekka Volk	09/2022	08/2025
THINKTANK HolisCon - Feasibility study for holistic concrete recycling – requirements, analysis of potentials, and recommended action	Dr.-Ing. Rebekka Volk M. Sc. Elena Vollmer M. Sc. Humberto Patarca	01/2022	12/2022

Publications

Energy Efficiency Analysis of Federated Learning: Insights from UAV-Based Thermal Imaging Applications
Duda, L.; Alibabaei, K.; Kozlov, V.; Berberi, L.; Vollmer, E.; Benz, M.; Rebekka Volk; Klug, L.; Goetz, M.; Gutiérrez Hermosillo Muriedas, J. P.; Schultmann, F.; Streit, A.; Sáinz-Pardo Díaz, J.; Lopez Garcia, A.; Volk, R.
2025, June 4. EGI Conference (2025), Santander, Spain, June 2–6, 2025

Thermal Urban Feature Segmentation - Multispectral (RGB + Thermal) UAS-based images from Germany with annotations
Vollmer, E.; König, S.; Klug, L.; Kahn, J.; Volk, R.; Vogl, M.
2025, February 27. doi:10.5281/zenodo.10814412

Die Geheimwaffe der Fernwärme - Drohnen auf heißer Spur
Zachmann, G.; Vollmer, E.
2025. doi:10.5445/IR/1000178521

Enhancing UAV-Based Multispectral Semantic Segmentation Through Feature Engineering
Vollmer, E.; Benz, M.; Kahn, J.; Klug, L.; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.; Götz, M.
2025. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing, 18, 6206–6216. doi:10.1109/JSTARS.2025.3537330

Detecting district heating leaks in thermal imagery: Comparison of anomaly detection methods
Vollmer, E.; Ruck, J.; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.
2024. Automation in Construction, 168 (Part A), Art.-Nr.: 105709. doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2024.105709

Detecting District Heating Leaks in Thermal Imagery: Comparison of Anomaly Detection Methods - Source Code and Datasets
Ruck, J.; Vollmer, E.; Vogl, M.; Volk, R.
2024, October 2. doi:10.5281/zenodo.11085776

Comparative Study of Federated Learning Frameworks NVFlare and Flower for Detecting Thermal Bridges in Urban Environments
Duda, L. J.; Alibabaei, K. F.; Vollmer, E.; Klug, L.; Benz, M.; Kozlov, V.; Rebekka Volk; Götz, M.; Schultmann, F.; Streit, A.
2024, September 3. EGI Conference (2024), Lecce, Italy, September 30–October 4, 2024

How Does Feature Engineering Impact UAV-based Multispectral Semantic Segmentation? An RGB and Thermal Image Ablation Study
Vollmer, E.; Benz, M.; Kahn, J.; Klug, L.; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.; Götz, M.
2024, June 12. Helmholtz Artificial Intelligence Conference (Helmholtz AI 2024), Düsseldorf, Germany, June 12–14, 2024

Federated Learning for Urban Energy Efficiency: Detecting Thermal with UAV-based Imaging and AI
Duda, L. J.; Alibabaei, K.; Vollmer, E.; Klug, L.; Benz, M.; Kozlov, V.; Volk, R.; Goetz, M.; Schultmann, F.; Streit, A.
2024, June 12. Helmholtz Artificial Intelligence Conference (Helmholtz AI 2024), Düsseldorf, Germany, June 12–14, 2024

AI in multispectral image analysis: Implementing a deep learning model for the segmentation of common thermal urban features to assist in the automation of infrastructure-related maintenance
Vollmer, E.; Klug, L.; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.
2024, March 21. 4th Artificial Intelligence in Architecture, Engineering and Construction Conference (2024), Helsinki, Finland, March 20–21, 2024

AI4EOSC - D6.2 Intermediate status report about integration of pilot applications
Kozlov, V.; Sainz-Pardo, J.; Berberi, L.; Alibabaei, K.; Vollmer, E.; Błaszczak, M.; Krzyżanek, M.; Smok, J.; Bartok, J.; Sisan, P.; Papadopoulos, G.; Izquierdo, P.
2024. Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.10729327

UAV-based Thermography: Using AI with Multispectral Data
Vollmer, E.
2023, December 7. ANERIS Workshops on AI Basics for Image Processing (2023), Online, November 28–December 7, 2023

Automatic analysis of UAS-based thermal images to detect leakages in district heating systems: Source code and exemplary dataset
Vollmer, E.; Volk, R.; Vogl, M.
2023, November 13. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7851725

D6.1 : Analysis of user applications, collection of requirements
Berberi, L.; Heredia, I.; Kozlov, V.; Vollmer, E.; Sainz-Pardo, J.; Bartok, J.; Fojud, A.; Blaszczak, M.; Rausch, A.; Alibabaei, K.
2023. Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.7635453

Automatic analysis of UAS-based thermal images to detect leakages in district heating systems
Vollmer, E.; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.
2023. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 31 S. doi:10.1080/01431161.2023.2242586

Ergebnisse einer Machbarkeitsstudie für ganzheitliches Betonrecycling
Bruckschlögl, S.; Beuchle, G.; Vollmer, E.; Patarca, H. Petrillo; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.; Dehn, F.
2023. Bauen mit Beton im Kreislauf - Recycling, Re-Use und Ressourcenschonung : 19. Symposium Baustoffe und Bauwerkserhaltung, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), 9. März 2023, 21–36, KIT Scientific Publishing

Investigating the Quality of UAV-Based Images for the Thermographic Analysis of Buildings
Mayer, Z.; Epperlein, A.; Vollmer, E.; Volk, R.; Schultmann, F.
2023. Remote Sensing, 15 (2), Art.-Nr.: 301. doi:10.3390/rs15020301