Alexander Koo - Assignment B4 - A-Team

Virtual Reality in Jobsites

 

Project Description and Why is was chosen:

I will be working on a project, along with my teammates Andrew Ng and Taryn Francischetti, based on the concept of Virtual Reality on construction sites. Virtual has completely revolutionise society and the construction industry and is still in the process of reaching its full potential. VR Technologies, however, are still lagging behind the visions that people have for their use, especially for their use on construction purposes. [1] It is known that VR greatly improved the design and building process. One example is the ability to test a number of factors in order to reduce the number of errors that will be present in the completed building. 

The paper will focus on how Virtual reality technologies can already and will impact jobsites. I chose this project since I truly believe VR technologies will benefit the construction at a greater scale than we think. According to Peeter Nieler (Investing Into Virtual Reality: Making Sense Of It All, CoFounder Magazine, Spring 2016) there are 419 Virtual Reality startups, 149 of which are within the European Union. Nieler points out that the official number is heavily underestimated. [1] This really shows how the market for VR exploded. 

Relation to IB:

I believe Intelligent Building and Virtual Reality are two main themes and affect each other indirectly. Intelligent building involve an integrative approach. Virtual reality allows that approach and also provides the team a platform to more easily and efficiently, input their ideas and concepts into play. For example, through the use of UNITY, a virtual technology, bringing Revit/3D models into a virtual reality space becomes much more efficient. Now, any AEC professional can take their Revit model, bring it into Unity, and create a VR experience. With a bit of programming knowledge, the VR models can also be heavily customized. This powerful, intuitive and flexible tool ensures rapid iteration and fluid workflow, thus allowing engineers and architects to create stunning, interactive walkthroughs and provide clients with a realistic sense of how it would feel like to actually live in the simulated environment. [2]

Challenges:

“Virtual reality on Jobsites” is a broad topic. The paper will need to target specific topics. The use of VR technologies is a relatively new concept which just started to bloom. Therefore, the presence of up-to-date information might be scarce. A lot of research on emerging VR technologies and concept will have to be made.  Even though it is impossible to tell when the use of VR technologies in construction will become the norm, it is obvious that it is only a matter of time before it does. 

References:

[1] https://aec-business.com/virtual-reality-construction/

[2] https://www.viatechnik.com/resources/50-virtual-reality-technologies-in-architecture-engineering-and-construction/

 

Comments:

Nick Pawlikowski – It seems like a very interesting project. The BIM assignment for the class really open my eyes on the concept of families, how they are created and put in use with a model. I am interested in seeing how Microsoft Access will work in order to houses the parameters data. The function to generate families could come in useful for the class afterwards and even your personal projects. I am very curious as to how the project will turn out. Post: https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/02/project-description-why-it-was-chosen.html

Joseph Chaudhari – Robotic Surveying is a huge concept nowadays that is still developing. The use of robot to survey is nowhere near the expectations of the society. However, it is interesting to learn about how the integration of robotics surveying could be sped up. Your topic could relate to mine, “Virtual Reality in Jobsites”, since both our topics are about construction sites and how modern technologies will affect the different processes and overall experience. Your challenges are also similar to mine since both our topics are about relatively new technologies. Post: https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/02/chaudhari-b4-team-project.html

Maria Raggousis – Your topic “Emerging Technologies in the Robotic Assembly and Construction of Buildings” looks very promising. It is true that robotics is already widely used nowadays but very little is known about how the technology behind it and how it is going to evolve throughout the years. It is indeed a very broad subject and your team will need to specify clearly your topics clearly. Your project is similar in some ways to Joseph Chaudhari’s one. I am looking forward to learning more about your project. Post: https://ae-410-510-ay16-17.blogspot.com/2017/02/assignment-b4-group-b-maria-raggousis.html