AR & VR — Discover How They Are Transforming the AEC Industry
By: Pinnacle Infotech
Tags: VR, AR, Architecture, Bim, Construction

The construction industry often encounters challenges such as delays, reworks, work stoppages, and cost overruns. According to an Autodesk report, $31.3 billion was the cost of reworks in the USA in 2018.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are two of the latest buzzwords in the AEC industry. These technologies are helping industry professionals tackle hurdles across different stages of construction to save time, money, and ensure accurate design.

VR uses computer technology to create a simulated environment. Unlike traditional user interfaces that depend on screens, VR immerses users in a 3D world where they can interact with the objects. The content and imagery in VR aim to stimulate the senses (touch, hearing & sight) to provide a real-life experience in the virtual world.

VR can be used in -

1. Design stage

Early-stage concept validation

Visualize the impact of design changes

Marketing

Through VR mock-ups, all the stakeholders can be given a walkthrough to get an idea about what the design will look like. VR offers a very high degree of visualization so that stakeholders get an idea of how the building is going to look and feel. This also makes it a very good marketing tool.

Any impact of a design change will also show up in VR. During design reviews, for example, if an architect moves a column, the effect it will have on everything else in the model will be visible.

2. Coordination stage

VR allows you to perform coordination review by being present physically in the virtually designed space, marking up the issues, or even fixing them. Revit models will automatically update the drawings accordingly. The enhanced visualization in VR makes the clash detection process interactive and fast.

AR, also known as mixed reality, is a blend of the virtual and the real world where digital information is overlayed on the real world. The crux of AR is that the real world remains central to the user experience, which is enhanced by virtual details.

AR can be used in -

1. Construction stage

AR has revolutionized site inspection during the construction stage. In the traditional process, site inspectors go to the site to inspect a predetermined area with their drawings, create markups and fill reports for submission.

With AR, a site inspector visits the site with the AR goggles and simply walks around the predetermined area. This is an automated procedure where the distances are checked and markups are created digitally. Once markups are created, they can be sent directly to the office with still images from the VR Goggles. Watch this video to see AR in action during site inspections.

VR & AR are two sides of the same coin. AR superimposes digital images over the real world whereas VR creates an artificial environment from scratch.

User is partially immersed into the experience

Fully immersed into the experience

Augmentation of the real world

Replaces reality

A sense of presence in the real world

No sense of real-world presence

To sum up, VR offers plenty of benefits during the pre-construction stage whereas AR’s gains come during the construction stage. Both these technologies have immense potential that can be tapped to bypass common construction challenges.

We would love to know your thoughts on the role of AR & VR in the construction industry in the comments section below. You can also share your thoughts or views on the article.

At Pinnacle, we specialize in refining your designs to make them more efficient, low cost, and safe. To learn more about us, visit our website. Alternatively, you can also write to us at bim@pinnaclecad.com.