This article is part of a blog series on immersive technologies, exploring how they are changing the way we do business in the construction industry.

Immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are revolutionizing Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC).

VR is mainly used in the design and construction phases it is used by architects to replicate intuitively the experience of a building design, for all stakeholders on a construction project, including the clients. You can see what a building will look like and how it would feel to be in it.

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.

AR is finding a role in construction as it allows you to map the digital construction and superimpose it onto the physical world.

Immersive technology in the construction industry is still in its infancy. It allows AEC professionals to:

• make presentations to clients
• review the projects' progress with clients, allowing them to move around the building
• reflect on the changes they would want to implement
• watch the results of the required changes in real-time
• make sure they match their requirements
• collaborate with all stakeholders to detect defaults before the construction even starts and avoid unnecessary costly reworks, to deliver the project on budget
• speed up the design and construction processes to deliver the project on time
• make the best decisions during the design process
• reduce travel time.

The improvement in the accessibility of VR tools and applications integrated into Building Information Modeling (BIM) has a lot of potential but its adoption is slow.

A few barriers have to 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
• maintenance.

VR and AR can provide additional capabilities for BIM to improve and streamline processes using:

• automation
• smart technologies
• modern communications
• the internet of things (IoT)
• artificial intelligence
• big data

Extended reality (XR) can provide an immersive and interactive experience with a new and different kind of visualization.

XR is made of the following technologies:

• VR
• AR
• mixed reality (MR).

They all have:

• different specificities and interactions
• advantages and limitations.

We will focus on VR and AR in this article

Virtual Reality

VR is used to:

• collaborate and comminicate
• help the project management
• raise awareness
• promote iterative decision-making
• educate workers

VR in the construction sector needs expensive specific pieces of equipment and limits its usage.

Below we explore the best applications for the use of VR in construction.

Education and Training

The power of immersive experiences in VR allows you to:

• increase students' motivation
• improve understanding and learning of the content
• use interactive and immersive content
• facilitate the learning processes
• improve memory lapse
• provide a safe learning experience
• limit the risk of injury or damage to the end product.

VR simulation training modules are preferred by students over traditional ones, but they are expensive. To make it more affordable you could use mobile/web-VR devices.

For example, in a fire evacuation simulation you can improve the impact of safety by introducing:

• lightweight scenario objects
• path planning
• collision detection
• fire evacuation system.

In education, a VR-enhanced BIM design and data exchange process in projects helps learners to visualize and explore the potential of the design and discuss its challenges. The visualization of construction projects without VR can only be experienced on the construction site.

To illustrate this, in VR you can visualize reinforcement structures and formations hidden in the concrete to:

• reduce the number of errors found
• improve the understanding of 3D space and spatial skills

For example, Sanchez-Sepulveda, Marti-Audi, and Fonseca-Escudero (2019) created the urban areas of the city of Barcelona in VR. Their students can change and recreate this area by interacting with elements in the VR environment.

VR technology in urban planning education is a suitable tool for:

• civil engineering education
• training for survey practitioners.

Design and Data Exchange

A VR experience can replace a physical maquette of the future construction to:

• improve the results of the design iteration at a fraction of the cost
• motivate and enthuse users
• enhance visualization compared to 3D visualizations on desktop monitors

Decision Making

VR can simplify the decision-making process in design by contrasting various design alternatives of the construction to:

• inspect the geometric aspects of the building
• compare how alternatives look
• engage non-specialists in the early design phases of a project
• measure greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation and materials use
• evaluate spatial perception of the real project
• estimate the best scenario for crowds and vehicles in public buildings such as universities to decide the occupancy of the building.

Planning Smart Cities

VR can enhance the process of testing the environment in the design phase. For example how wheelchair users can explore the planned building or urban environment to make sure they will feel comfortable in the real world.

Interactive Visualization

VR representation of architectural visualization is easier than traditional 3D visualization on flat desktop monitors.

VR Will Achieve Three Goals

In the design process it helps to plan to:

• improve remote interactive collaboration
• real-time and interactive visualization
• find out the impact of different equipment configurations.

Project Management

Our partner plannerly developed software that, thanks to recent developments in VR, BIM, artificial intelligence, and image processing, can monitor the advancement of the project and automatically update the changes made in the BIM model into the program management and verify that they meet the client's requirements.

On-site Implementation

In digital twin processes, you can use VR to compare the as-built digital design with the real constructed building

A VR-based BIM simulation in an on-site trailer equipped with a VR setup for visualization provides the capability to read, annotate, and modify any object in the environment in real-time. Combining this with a virtual meeting on zoom with multiple users will improve the project collaboration with real-time interaction.

A recent study has shown that the results of in-VR communication are comparable to traditional face-to-face communication. It:

• improves the efficiency of the exchange and satisfaction experienced by the participants
• eases communication by providing detailed interactions and meaningful messages
• builds trust and openness
• helps define a problem and find adequate solutions.

Risks Management

You can simulate crisis conditions, such as an earthquake or fire scenario in VR to visualize safe and dangerous zones on the evacuation route. You will be able to:

• reduce safety accidents in underground pipelines
• improve the operational and maintenance efficiency of these pipelines
• after the event occurs, you can recreate the sequence of events in VR to prevent the same conditions and risks to happen in the future.

Building Maintenance

The maintainability of a building should be planned early in design to consider how to:

• avoid difficult maintainability issues when the building will be in use
• make easy and safe access to various facilities.

VR can help improve the visualization of facilities and verify their maintainability in advance.

For example, a VR simulation of collision detection in MEP systems can provide solutions to easily access MEP systems in case of repair or replacement of a component.

Augmented Reality

The construction industry became more efficient, increased performances, and created better models but we still design a 3D structure in 2D space.

AR is one of the nine pillars of the digital revolution in the construction industry. AR has the potential to transform the way we work in AEC and provide companies with a new way to get a competitive advantage.

AR from the perspective of the United Kingdom construction industry investigated current and potential applications of combining BIM and AR.

The visualization and simulation of construction work, project documentation, project planning, project monitoring, and project modification are the five most applied areas of Augmented Reality.

During the investigation:

• 10% of the respondents indicated that they are not at all familiar with AR
• 25% said that they are slightly familiar with AR
• 18% reported that they are somewhat familiar
• 25% are moderately familiar with the technology
• 22% mentioned that they are extremely familiar with AR.

Usage of Augmented Reality in Construction

Respondents were asked to specify their level of usage of AR in their professional lives

• 3% of the respondents indicated that they have not used AR and they are not interested in the technology
• 46% have not experienced AR before, but are interested in the technology
• 19% explored or are exploring AR applications
• 15% have tested or are testing AR applications for future use
• 17% have used AR on at least one project.

Potential usage of Augmented Reality use-cases

Between 2 and 8% of respondents felt that AR use cases are not applicable in construction. Fortunately the rest of them ranked the potential as follows:

1. AR has the potential to transform the industry
2. AR will be used more and more thanks to hardware development like Hololens
3. the use of AR will become best practice
4. AR will be part of the lean practices
5. AR will be used more on large projects
6. AR applications need to be better known
7. AR in the construction industry is a disruptive technology

AR use case through the life cycle of a project

Researchers found that:

• design and Conceptual planning phases have the potential to embrace AR faster than in other stages
• the main perceived AR capability, from respondents, is that AR can visualize and provide information
• providing analytical capabilities came very close but respondents said it needs better applications
• other AR use cases are seen to be very challenging because of the lack of maturity and knowledge of the technology.

For example, remote site inspection can allow the collection of data in real-time but the technology is not yet developed enough, due to difficulties to provide the technical, human, and financial resources.

The Future of AR in the Construction Industry

Augmented reality is an emerging technology within construction, and there is still little existing data about its uses, challenges, and successes.

Practitioners in the construction industry regarding the potential of AR agree that:

• the technology has the potential to transform the industry
• the capabilities provide new ways to challenge the status quo
• improve the existing process
• introduce new processes that were not possible before the technology.

During the pandemic, when people were forced to work remotely, AR would have been a great benefit by:

• enabling remote site inspection
• improving relationships between stakeholders
• adopting AR into our current processes and workflows
• building upon Lean practices to reduce waste
• construction owners to begin demanding the use of AR on their projects
• allowing more AR use cases to become reality, leading to more benefits.

In Conclusion

Immersive technology is still not well spread in the construction industry but is seen as having a lot of potential to:

• improve accuracy in planning and design
• increase safety
• reduce costly mistakes
• shorten construction timeline
• boost collaboration
• enhance training and education
• produce better quality construction

Driving Vision's technology diagnostic looks at the best way to incorporate new technology into your workflows and how to move your organization to the use of immersive technology so you can open up new possibilities for your daily planning tasks.

The technology appraisal report will help you to explore what investment is required to improve your projects’ productivity and collaboration as well as the ROI you can expect.

A Driving Vision expert will conduct the interviews online and will issue a report and discuss our findings with you. Together we will decide the best way to implement the solutions at your pace and according to your budget.

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