A Multimodal Physics-Informed Neural Network Approach for Mean Radiant Temperature Modeling

Outdoor thermal comfort is a critical determinant of urban livability, particularly in hot desert climates where extreme heat poses challenges to public health, energy consumption, and urban planning. Mean Radiant Temperature (Tₘᵣₜ) is a key parameter for evaluating outdoor thermal comfort, especially in urban environments where radiation dynamics significantly impact human thermal exposure. Traditional methods of estimating Tₘᵣₜ rely on field measurements and computational simulations, both of which are resource intensive. This study introduces a Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) approach that integrates shortwave and longwave radiation modeling with deep learning techniques. By leveraging a multimodal dataset that includes meteorological data, built environment characteristics, and fisheye image-derived shading information, our model enhances predictive accuracy while maintaining physical consistency. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed PINN framework outperforms conventional deep learning models, with the best-performing configurations achieving an RMSE of 3.50 and an R² of 0.88. This approach highlights the potential of physics-informed machine learning in bridging the gap between computational modeling and real-world applications, offering a scalable and interpretable solution for urban thermal comfort assessments.