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This article is part of a blog series on the Virtual Design and Construction world. What can we expect it to bring to the construction industry?
Firms in the construction industry that want to stay competitive in a rapidly changing environment should be aware of how immersive technologies are changing how we do business, so their employees are more efficient and effective.
Immersive technologies help identify and resolve potential design issues, pinpoint risks, and visualize not-yet-built assets from a 3D drawing before, during, and after the construction phase, saving time and money.
Up until now, hardware was limiting the use of immersive technologies in the construction industry. Apple Vision Pro became available to purchase on February 2, 2024, in the US. A worldwide launch has yet to be scheduled.
More than 600 apps and games designed to take advantage of the unique and powerful capabilities of Apple Vision Pro will seamlessly blend digital content with physical space, opening many opportunities, as described below.
Immersive technology, combined with BIM software, can simulate, or supplement the physical world in a virtual environment. The technologies are:
In construction, we are used to blueprints, 2D renderings, and scale models to visualize a design but they cannot give the same experience provided by immersive technologies.
VR at the design and construction phases is used by architects to intuitively replicate the experience of a building, for all stakeholders on a construction project, including the clients.
You can see what a building will look like and how it would feel living in it before it is built.
AR is finding a role in construction allowing you to map digital construction and superimpose it onto the physical world.
MR is in its infancy but will develop quickly now that Apple hardware is available. MR is remarkably like AR but is aware of the user's physical environment.
In construction immersive technology is still in its infancy. It allows professionals to present to clients, review the projects' progress with them, move around the building, and reflect on the changes they would want to implement.
Watching the results of the required changes instantaneously will ensure they match their requirements.
Collaboration, in a virtual world, helps stakeholders to detect defaults before the construction even starts and avoid unnecessary costly reworks.
It helps speed up the design and construction processes to deliver the project on time, making the best decisions during the design process, and reducing travel time to sites.
The improvement in the accessibility of VR tools and applications integrated into BIM has a lot of potential but the adoption is slow.
A few barriers must be removed from both the technology and management perspectives. The main hurdles are communication and collaboration at an early stage of a construction project between the various teams: design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
VR and AR can provide additional capabilities for Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) to improve and streamline processes using automation, smart technologies, modern communications, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and big data.
Extended reality (XR) can provide an immersive and interactive experience with a new and different kind of visualization.
Various immersive technologies have different specificities and interactions, advantages, and limitations.
With AR apps you can visualize and describe the outside world by projecting, in real-time, images onto the real world, detecting errors at an early stage of the design process, avoiding waste and errors in the construction process, and reducing costs, by collaborating to help project teams to troubleshoot problem areas, helping your team to understand where everything should be built.
You can then easily make changes before, during, and after the project. For example, floor plans designed in BIM and interfacing with AR applications have been used since 2016.
Increased demand for efficient buildings puts pressure on architects and designers to identify issues early, which justifies using VR to review your designs.
A BIM model uploaded in immersive VR headsets helps architects and designers get a sense of space before the building physically exists, spot errors early, and construct better-quality buildings.
VR also allows you to make a more compelling case when bidding for a new project, taking all stakeholders on a virtual tour of the future space.
BIM combined with immersive technology can help you have an interactive model construction project to show to clients from the outset so you will align with your client's requirements.
Immersive technology helps users to access and visualize. For example, you can increase your productivity with Spectacles, Microsoft Azure, or Oculus Rift S, by displaying the physical dimensions of space, including them in BIM for accurate visualization, and improving the quality by reducing the construction process cost.
AR/VR technology can streamline efficiency and improve team collaboration during a project. AR and VR models can now be rapidly and easily shared across the team from anywhere.
For instance, you can view 3D models of physical environments on your smartphone or tablet and optimize BIM models by getting data from IoT sensors in real time.
BIM drawings associated with immersive technologies allow users to tour their new facility even before the ground has been broken, seeing how they can fit on the construction site.
It allows project managers to visualize how everything fits together, on-site, and scale before they order materials or calculate the work required for installation.
On-site revision allows architectural discrepancies to be detected. Prohibitive costs and delays can be avoided by promptly adapting to the changes.
Staff can familiarize themselves with the controls and operations of heavy machinery in a safe environment.
Luffing Tower Crane created a training simulator for crane operators. This direct learning method raises safety awareness, improves safety, delivers intuitive training, and lowers training expenses and downtime.
Immersive technology helps facility management staff to identify where to dig to fix a pipe, and have an experienced technician on call, no matter where in the physical world they are.
Real-time collaboration between field workers and remote experts without a site visit will save you time and lower the risk of errors.
Immersive technology allows you to inspect the job site as if remote workers were there in person, and capture notes, images, or videos of problems to be reviewed by remote specialists.
For example, you can provide design reviews and create markups more efficiently with professionals working on projects remotely.
Using immersive technology for project modifications, any operator can display interior and exterior views of a structure and modify it to the virtual plans without changing the original drawing.
This is unbelievably valuable for engineers to troubleshoot any errors in a virtual view before applying changes to the physical structure.
You can also continuously update data in the BIM model, remove the guesswork from project changes, improve workflow, and prevent wastage of materials and labor.
Using immersive technology with your client to experience buildings before construction will ensure you meet the client's requirements.
During the construction, the work process can be reviewed, and correcting errors will speed up the sales process.
For example, you can attract prospects by showing them the property in VR, so they can get a feel for it before the construction is finished.
Incorporating immersive technologies into training and real-world construction work will give a techy image to the construction industry and attract the younger generation of people you would normally find in high-tech fields.
A VR simulation can reduce the number of accidents by demonstrating dangerous circumstances in a safe environment. By raising employee awareness and allowing them to gain the experience to act safely and confidently, lives can be saved.
Augmented and mixed reality can help avoid human errors that cost money. Low-qualified staff can, in the virtual environment, rehearse how to perform any task, safely and correctly, reducing the number of potential mistakes in real-world situations.
A digital model of a building design is made of pipes, `electrics, and texture data.
Navigating and visualizing these structures on a computer, even in 3D, does not allow construction professionals to appreciate the spatial environment.
With AR applications you can superimpose images, from CAD or BIM programs onto the existing environment, creating a blended augmented image. You can then overlay the BIM model on constructed structures, take photos or videos, send them to the project team via the Internet, and check how newly built underground pipes, cable lines, or ducts align with the design.
Using VR and AR you can walk your clients around the neighborhood and see what the construction looks like before it is built, so they can tell you if they want something to be changed before you start building, avoiding unnecessary waste and costly reworks.
Some company owners still hesitate to implement immersive technologies even though the newest AR/VR technologies can cut building costs by up to 90% and save the construction industry up to $15.8 billion through preventing mistakes caused by insufficient or inaccurate data.
Immersive technologies have a lot of potential but are not widely adopted yet. Let us see what their benefits and challenges are.
Introducing immersive technology takes BIM to the next level. People can walk around a building that has yet to be built. It lowers development costs by avoiding waste and costly reworks by depicting design errors before construction.
It reduces the time to plan your project by showing all stakeholders the virtual building.
It streamlines processes at the design reviews.
It delivers more clarity by displaying the virtual building to all stakeholders, improving communication, and avoiding errors during construction.
Clients get greater design understanding as it helps them to visualize and appreciate the space of the not-yet-built construction and its surroundings.
It improves collaboration, eases safe training environments, and enhances communication by sharing a global virtual experience to speed project development. It also provides a virtual representation of the project.
Clients can avoid misconceptions early so they will not pay twice for mistakes in the future.
As in all business situations, benefits are associated with some limitations. In the case of immersive technologies, you should consider the following challenges.
The equipment is weather-sensitive and performs best when the environment is stable.
Strong and stable internet connections are required to collaborate, even though augmented reality apps can work offline.
Training is essential to use immersive technologies well.
These pitfalls may prevent you from investing in immersive technology. Fortunately, the mobile open-source toolkit cost is decreasing, allowing small-to-medium businesses a reasonable Return on Investment (ROI).
Immersive technology is still not well spread in the construction industry but is seen as having a lot of potential to:
Driving Vision's technology diagnostic looks at the best way to incorporate modern technology into your workflows and how to move your organization to the use of immersive technology so you can open new possibilities for your daily planning tasks.
The technology appraisal report will help you explore what investment is required to improve your projects’ productivity, collaboration, and the ROI you can expect.
Implementing BIM can be daunting, but Driving Vision is here to help you at the pace you are comfortable with. Get started by getting in touch now
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