This article was originally published in a journal published by

Elsevier, and the attached copy is provided by Elsevier for the

author’s benefit and for the benefit of the author’s institution, for
non-commercial research and educational use including without
limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific
colleagues that you know, and providing a copy to your institution’s
administrator.
All other uses, reproduction and distribution, including without
limitation commercial reprints, selling or licensing copies or access,
or posting on open internet sites, your personal or institution’s
website or repository, are prohibited. For exceptions, permission
may be sought for such use through Elsevier’s permissions site at:

http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissionusematerial
 Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576 – 585
www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon

A virtual prototyping system for simulating construction processes

py
Ting Huang a , C.W. Kong a , H.L. Guo a , Andrew Baldwin b , Heng Li a,⁎
a
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

co
b
Faculty of Construction and Land Use, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Accepted 26 September 2006

Abstract

al
Virtual prototyping (VP) technology has been regarded as a cost-effective way of envisaging real circumstances that enhance effective
communication of designs and ideas, without manufacturing physical samples. In the construction field, although a large number of digital
technologies have been developed to visualize the innovative architectural design, few VP systems have been developed to facilitate integrated
on
planning and visualization of construction plans of the building projects. This paper describes a virtual prototyping system, called the Construction
Virtual Prototyping (CVP) system, which is developed for modeling, simulation, analysis and VP of construction processes from digital design.
The CVP system allows project teams to check constructability, safety and to visualize 3D models of a facility before the commencement of
construction works. The real-life case study presented in the study shows that the CVP system is effective in assessing the executability of a
rs

construction planning including site layout, temporary work design, as well as resource planning.
© 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Construction process planning; 3D model; Simulation; Virtual prototyping

pe

1. Introduction Such shortcomings of traditional communication tools

together with the advances in digital technologies have
Construction project planning has been considered as a stimulated various research and development efforts to develop
r's

critical process in the early project phases that determines the new innovative construction process planning techniques in
successful implementation and delivery of project. During this order to enhance the visualization of the construction sequence
stage, project planners need to develop main construction and finished product. The latest research development relates to
strategies, to establish construction path and assembly sequences, the development of graphical presentation of construction plan
o

and to arrange construction methods and resources required for via the four-dimensional (4D) geometric models (i.e. 4D-
the execution of work packages [1,2,15]. The critical path Planner) [1]. A 4D CAD model is generated from the combi-
th

method (CPM) and bar charts have still been widely employed nation of 3D graphic images and the time. The 4D visualization
by project teams as a main tool to express the project schedules technique provides an effective means for communicating
and coordinate the activities of members of project team [2]. temporal and spatial information to project participants [2].
Au

Many project planners have continually relied on these Finished projects are visualized and spatial configurations
traditional ways in selecting construction equipment, reviewing directly shown. Visualization of construction plans allows the
constructability, and arranging construction methods and site project team to be more creative in providing and testing so-
layout. These approaches impose a heavy burden on project lutions by means of viewing the simulated time-lapse represen-
teams due to the large amount of information and the inter- tation of corresponding construction sequences [3], and
dependence between different elements [1]. prompting users to think about all missing details (e.g. site
access) [15].
Despite such advancements, the current 4D models do not
⁎ Corresponding author. convey all the information required to evaluate the schedule. For
E-mail address: [email protected] (H. Li). example, building components and construction equipment are
0926-5805/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2006.09.007
 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585 577

usually modeled in the 3D images and linked with schedule. et al. [10] identified three major industrial barriers to the uptake
These 4D CAD systems lack construction-specific components of VP technology, including cultural and risk issues related to
such as scaffolding and other temporary works integrated in the information sharing, fragmentation of business interests and the
3D model. Such 4D models do not show the space needs and lack of piloting on real construction projects.
corresponding potential congestion of temporary works [2,4]. Given the successful implementation in manufacturing
However, temporary works are a critical element of the overall industries, various research efforts have attempted to apply the
construction plan. Failure in planning appropriate temporary VP concept in forming an effective dynamic construction project
structures affects safety, quality, and productivity adversely [5]. planning and scheduling tools. The Virtual Design and

py
In view of these practical deficiencies, the current paper purports Construction (VDC) method was designed as a model for
to report on the development of a Construction Virtual integrating the product (typically a building or plant) so that the
Prototyping (CVP) system. The CVP is a construction process contractor can design, construct and operate based on the model
simulator developed based on the Dassault Systemes (DS). The [11]. Virtual Facility Prototyping (VFP) was another interesting

co
system can easily generate, reuse and modify 3D models of work developed for visualizing the building facilities during the
building components, construction equipment, temporary works construction planning phase by Penn State and Immersive
as well as labour force. The proposed system will make 4D Virtual Environment (IVE) was designed to improve the project
models more complete by adding temporary works and their planning process by generating and reviewing construction
activities to set them and dismantle them. It will aid planners to plans in a virtual environment [12]. A 4D site management
review the construction process planning and analyze the work model incorporates the 4D concept into fields of construction
space layout more efficiently. In this paper, the second section resource management and dynamic site planning [4]. Waly and

al
presents the current IT tools developed for improving construc- Thabet [1] developed an integrated virtual planning tool called
tion process planning and implementation, and features of the the Virtual Construction Environment (VCE) which allows the
system developed by us. The third section describes the overall
on project team to undertake inexperience rehearsals of major
approach of CVP. In the fourth section, a case study is presented construction processes and examine various execution strategies
to reveal the advantages of using CVP. The last section in a near reality sense before the real construction work. In a
concludes and discusses the further development of CVP. research project named DIVERCITY, virtual workspaces has
been developed to conduct client briefing, design reviews,
rs

2. Virtual prototyping (VP) simulation of lighting and acoustic design and energy consump-
tion, site planning for time and safety enhancement, and 4D
Virtual prototyping (VP) is a computer-aided design process visualization of building sequence [10].
pe

concerned with the construction of digital product models The IT tools developed for improving construction process
(‘virtual prototypes') and realistic graphical simulations that planning and implementation so far can be summarized as
address the broad issues of physical layout, operational concept, Table 1. Currently there is no integrated application to include all
functional specifications, and dynamics analysis under various functions listed in the table. However, virtual prototyping
operating environments [6–8]. Dedicated VP technology has application in manufacturing is far more advanced than
been extensively and successfully applied to the automobile and construction. Integrated virtual prototyping application has been
aerospace fields [9]. For instance, an automobile can be used for years in manufacturing and is proved to be effective in
r's

fabricated virtually via the VP technology and allows various reducing cost and time, and improving safety and quality.
team members to view the 3D image of the finished products, One of the most powerful virtual prototyping applications in
evaluate the design, and identify the production problems prior manufacturing is DELMIA from Dassault Systemes. DELMIA
to the actual start of mass production. However, the development is part of the product lifecycle management applications for
o

and application of VP technology in the construction industry addressing requirements from design to production and
(i.e. construction process simulation) has been limited. This is maintenance. The core of DELMIA is a product, process and
th

probably because that each construction project is unique in resources model that link up with various application like 3D
terms of their conditions, requirements, and constraints. Sarshar model design, process planning, resources planning, discrete
Au

Table 1
Summary of current construction process planning IT tools
IT tool Application Information presentation
Scheduling software Planning of construction activity sequence and the associated resources. Gantt chart, bar chart,
network diagram
Resource leveling Optimization of resources usage. Text, bar chart
Layout planning Plan layout of plant and materials for safe and smooth construction operations. 3D visualization
4D Visualization of construction plan by linking activity sequence with 3D 3D visualization
building models to reveal status of construction works in different period of the project.
Process simulation Calculation of construction process duration based on sequence of works and Text, diagram
productivity information.
Virtual reality Mimicking real world physical property in computer and provide intuitive interactive 3D visualization
interface to examine construction process.
578 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585

py
co
al
Fig. 1. Parametric models of temporary work elements.

and continuous event simulation, 3D visualization, layout

on
to the construction equipment and temporary work to be used for
planning and virtual reality, all in the same platform. The moving or supporting building components. The ‘Process’
DELMIA application has been customized by the authors to suit model represents the procedure of how ‘Product’ is built by
construction use and this customized version is called using the ‘Resources'. The CATIA V51 and DELMIA V52 are
Construction Virtual Prototyping (CVP). CVP contains library two core softwares in the PPR framework. The CATIA module
rs

of parametric 3D models of construction plants, temporary work allows the users to create 3D models of building, temporary
facilities and building components, virtual agent technology for work as well as construction equipment, while the DELMIA
simulating spontaneous collaborations among construction module helps define and simulate construction processes. Both
pe

workers, stochastic discrete event simulation engine for CATIA and DELMIA are built on the same platform called V5.
simulating construction activities. This CVP is a tool which The DELMIA shares the single, unified interface with CATIA.
allows the project team to visually assemble 3D models of a The following section will describe and summarize the main
building project before the actual construction. This approach features of the CVP system.
also allows the project team to check on the design construct-
ability, anticipate shortages and pitfalls before the execution of 3.1. Digital models of building and temporary works
the construction works. The proposed CVP model assists the
r's

planners to modify the design or to make corrective action in The CVP application is commenced from the 3D CAD models
order to overcome the potential constructability problems. which are provided by architects or planners. The resources plan
(i.e., construction equipment and temporary work) however are
3. Construction Virtual Prototyping — overall approach usually not generated in the digital design. In the proposed CVP,
o

the digital model of temporary work can be constructed as the

One of the main concerns of planners for the construction components of building (i.e. columns, walls and slabs) from
th

project planning is the issue of which construction approaches scratch in CATIA V5 and linked to a digital design. To enable
and methodologies to be adopted during the real construction rapid prototyping, parametric models are developed to generate
execution. This is particularly important to the building temporary work elements (i.e., wall form, slab form, beam form
Au

contractors during the project tender bidding stage. The and working platform) (Fig. 1). Parameters in these models are
Construction Virtual Prototyping (CVP) system developed defined according to their specific design criteria. Categories are
helps to provide a rapid prototyping of projects and present the used to contain resource databases which allow storing and
feasibility of construction method statements. The CVP system
can also assist in developing a detailed or improved construction 1
CATIA V5 is one of the PLM technologies developed from IBM. Dassault
program during the construction phase. Both constructability Systemes has been used this system for digital design in the construction industry,
and safety can be evaluated in the virtual experiment. such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the Experience Music Project
The proposed CVP model has chosen the ‘Product', ‘Process’ in Seattle and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles [13]. Digital Project
and ‘Resources’ (PPR) models of Dassault Systemes for provided by Gehry Technologies is built on the advanced CATIA V5 geometry
and information management engine, and a suite of applications designed to
program development. The first model is the ‘Product’ which support the digital design of construction projects [14]. Swire Properties has
represents the building which is intended to be constructed. The pioneered the application of those technologies in Hong Kong.
‘Resources’ is another model in the proposed CVP which relates 2
DELMIA V5 is another PLM technology from IBM.
 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585 579

retrieving required information, and provide the project team with crane. Once all the joints are defined, the ‘command’ is then
support information necessary for project planning. defined for each remaining degree of freedom in order to drive
the mechanism. The command defines the travel limit of joints
3.2. Definition of construction equipment such as the jib's length or the jib's rotation limitation (Fig. 2).

One important step of the development of the project-specific 3.3. Process simulation
CVP relates to the definition of the construction equipment. The
construction equipment in CVP is established by using the De- DELMIA Digital Process for Manufacturing (DPM) is an

py
vice Building workbench. The 3D CAD models of equipment assembly process planning and verification solution for
parts are first generated through the CATIA V5. To accomplish developing manufacturing and maintenance processes. This
the equipment motion, every movable part has to be distinct. If provides the capability to link and view product data from any
the construction equipment required n degree of freedom, the major CAD system, examine construction sequences and

co
distinct parts of n + 1 are needed for the n movable part with one processes, and connect each process step to the construction
fixed base. Using the tower crane as an example, the tower crane resources. Planners usually break down construction process
has three degrees of freedom. The jib circumvolves with the base into small activities. DELMIA DPM helps to define process as
and the roller moves along with the jib. The hook is put down a series of linked activities, each of which has a defined
and raised by the roller. Finally, the 3D model of tower crane duration. Activities can be independent (parallel), dependent
consists of four parts including base, jib, roller and hook. (serial) or a combination of parallel and serial, as shown in
Constraint-driven assembly is suitable for the definition of PERT chart (Fig. 3). Furthermore, DELMIA DPM provides

al
construction equipment. By carefully defining assembly con- three ways to view a process. Prior to defining the construction
straints, fixed parts can be constrained and unmoved. Parts that processes, the default Process, Product and Resource (PPR)
model defines digital building as ‘Product', and both temporary
are not fully constrained are able to move in accordance with the
on
remaining ‘degrees of freedom'. Using the illustrative example works and construction equipment as ‘Resource'. The PERT
of tower crane, the crane base is assumed to be a fixed part. One chart in Fig. 3 showed the relationships among activities. The
revolute joint is created for the jib's rotation, and two prismatic start time, duration and end time of activities are displayed in a
joints are created for the motions of roller and hook of tower Gantt chart (Fig. 4). When an activity is created, it is linked to
rs
pe
o r's
th
Au

Fig. 2. Mechanism model of tower crane.

580 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585

py
co
al
on
Fig. 3. Linking serial and parallel activities using PERT chart view.
rs
pe
or's
th
Au

Fig. 4. The Gantt Chart view.

 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585 581

py
co
al
on
Fig. 5. 3D CAD model of the typical floor.
rs

a resource and the duration is defined. The start time is next activity. After these details are all set, the simulation can
calculated based on the accumulated time of all preceding be processed. The planners can evaluate and optimize the
activities, while the end time becomes the sum of the start time construction process by running the process simulation
pe

and the duration, which in turn becomes the start time of the provided. The clash between construction activities within the
o r's
th
Au

Fig. 6. 3D CAD model of the product.

582 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585

py
co
al
on
Fig. 7. PPR model of the Westlands Road Project.
rs

proposed construction process can be automatically detected should be adopted as the temporary supports for slab and a
while running the simulation. proprietary climb form should be designed for core wall
pe

construction. Two tower cranes and four hoists were assigned

4. Case study for lifting. In the simulation, a typical floor was extracted from
the digital building model and was rearranged according to the
A real-life construction project is presented to demonstrate construction process. To implement a 4-day floor construction
the applicability of the Construction Virtual Prototyping (CVP) cycle, a floor was divided into four parts which include slab bay
approach. In this case study, the objective is to assist planner, 1, slab bay 2, core wall bay 1, and core wall bay 2. The ongoing
project teams and client to justify the feasibility of shortening core wall is four stories ahead of the ongoing slab in the
r's

the floor construction cycle. simulation (Figs. 5 and 6). The CVP allows the generation of 3D
CAD models of resources (i.e., table forms, climb forms, safety
4.1. Project description screens, tower cranes and hoists) in CATIA and assembling them
with Product in the PPR model (Fig. 7). The logical sequence of
o

The project consists of the development of a 70-story office activities in every bay is linked using the PERT chart.
building located in a central business area of Hong Kong. The
th

architectural, structural, and M&E design were made using Di- 4.2. Simulation of construction process
gital Project from Gehry Technologies. Digital Project is
developed on the CATIA platform and is specialized for the The CVP system can convert 2D engineering design to a 3D
Au

AEC industry. 3D CAD models of the building were provided as construction model, and finally to a model with erection
part of tender documents for this project. In order to shorten the sequences. The 3D CAD models of climb forms/ table forms
construction progress, the client intended to reduce the length of were built according to the workshop drawings. They can be
the typical floor construction to a 3- or 4-day cycle. One of the easily placed to the building structure in the virtual environment
tenderers decided to employ the CVP approach to demonstrate to
the client the feasibility of their construction approach and their
concern in safety and environmental issues.
In order to visualize the construction process, the construc-
tion schedule and site layout were firstly prepared by the project
manager and program planner. The locations and utilization of
tower cranes, climb forms/table forms, hoists, and safety screen
were then evaluated. The planner proposed that table forms Fig. 8. Window of time message.
 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585 583

what resources can be employed for a particular activity. These

reports were presented in bar chart or table format to support
planning and evaluation of resource utilization. In this example,
the idle time of tower crane was identified by the CVP system, and
the tower crane can be allocated to lift other M&E components in
order to optimize crane usage.
The planning of table form hoisting is another important issue
to be considered in this project. More than 150 pieces of table

py
Fig. 9. Window of process message. forms were used in one floor. Half of them should be hoisted
from the lower story within one day. Due to the spatial
in order to check the appropriateness of their dimensions or constraint, parts of the table forms in the lower floor are removed
design. The clearance or collision between climb forms or table prior to their installation in the upper floor. The CVP system

co
forms can be visualized and checked. Reports can be generated enables the planner to optimize the table forms installation
automatically to inform the location of collision. sequence. The simulation environment also provided an
The CVP system produces a precise and detailed planning and intuitive way to plan floor areas for table forms storage.
scheduling prior to the execution of real construction work giving In the visualization module, users can view the construction
the ability to observe potential risks and foresee possible activities at a particular time, and their interrelationship with
problems. For example, two tower cranes with the same jib other activities. The CVP system provides the text windows in
length were initially purposed by the planners for this project, the the module to explain the work instructions and details of the

al
jib length and location of tower cranes were reviewed and process (Figs. 8 and 9). Pictures were also captured and help the
modified by the PPR model of the CVP system. The visualization users to present the construction methods (Fig. 10). This
of site layout and the two tower cranes suggested that one tower
on simulation of 4-day typical floor construction cycle allows an
crane can achieve the target of 4-day floor construction cycle, and efficient and effective transmission of the proposed ideas of the
thus, the planner decided to reduce the number of tower cranes to planner to the client.
one. On the other hand, the CVP system provides the planner an
opportunity to improve the resource utilization. Two types of 4.3. User feedback
rs

resource usage report can be generated automatically from the

simulation. The first type of report shows the usage of a particular A number of interviews were made with the project team
resource for the activities, while the second type of report shows members including project manager, planning manager and
pe
o r's
th
Au

Fig. 10. Presentation of ‘Construction Methods’ with captured picture.

584 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585

Table 2 prototyping process. The potential for benefits to both the design
Effectiveness of virtual prototyping and construction process was clearly recognised by senior
Virtual prototyping as a visualization tool 4 management who indicated the potential for savings in time and
Virtual prototyping as a planning tool 3.4 cost as well as co-ordination. There were other benefits, e.g.
Virtual prototyping as an analyzing tool 3
Virtual prototyping as a communication tool 3.7
virtual prototyping models were considered to improve the
effectiveness of meetings between the client and the constriction
team. For virtual prototyping to be more widely accepted and
project engineer to collect feedback on utilizing virtual used by construction personnel feedback indicated requirement

py
prototyping technology in the tender stage construction for improved facilities for the time analysis of construction tasks.
planning. Questions were asked in the areas of software Time analysis features should more closely replicate the time
functionality and benefits on project performance. The overall analysis facilities within existing planning software. The ability
feedback was on the positive side. via a library of model data to reduce the time taken to build the

co
The project team members think that the most useful models would clearly assist the task.
software functions are visualization and clash detection.
Visualization allows them to review their planned schedule 5. Conclusions and further studies
intuitively and it facilitates modification to the schedule. They
find clash detection an indispensable tool in analyzing work This paper presented the Construction Virtual Prototyping
sequence in confined area, especially when the work involves (CVP) approach for modeling and visualizing the construction
installation of large prefabricated element. The drawbacks of the processes based on the Dassault Systemes solutions. The

al
employed virtual prototyping facilities are tedious data input framework enables the users to rehearse and simulate construc-
and the difficulty to modify the simulation. Planners find these tion process virtually prior to the commencement of a real
tasks too time consuming and difficult to cope with the tight
on
construction project. The example illustrated in this study
tender preparation time. The average rating of the effectiveness showed that the CVP enables the users to visualize the
of virtual prototyping in different areas is listed in Table 2. A constructability of the proposed construction approach. The
rating of 5 represents highly effective and a rating of 1 CVP system also assists the project team to design a precise
represents not effective at all. construction schedule so as to remove any potential unproduc-
rs

A number of benefits are identified by the project team tive activities. The rapid prototyping of the CVP system can be
members in the area of project performance. They think that enhanced by improving the existing process and resource
virtual prototyping increases the accuracy of their project optimization, constructability and safety evaluation.
pe

schedule and their ability to predict and plan construction From the feedback of planners and our past experiences of
tasks. The most important benefits of virtual prototyping in this developing industry specific IT applications, DELMIA should
tendering process are its ability to impress client and well define be further customized to satisfy the demand of construction
the project scope. It increases client satisfaction and the project process planning. For instance, arranging activities is tedious
team on the case study project thinks that it is one of the reasons and too time consuming. Gantt chart interface is not user-
for being awarded the construction contract. They predict that friendly for construction planning. Some construction specific
utilizing virtual prototyping in construction stage will help them activities are also needed. We are currently working collabora-
r's

to reduce rework and change orders, and improve coordination tively with the Dassault Systems in order to develop an AEC
and communication effectiveness. specific version of the DELMIA system.
The project team members have some concern on the time
required for building all the detailed 3D models of building, Acknowledgements
o

temporary work and plant, as it takes long time to build the

detailed and accurate models. This is a problem that has to be Funding for data collection and analysis was supplied through
th

faced by the first virtual prototyping project, but it can be the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong through allocation
alleviated in the future project as those common 3D parametric from the Competitive Earmarked Research Grant for 2005/06
models can be reused directly from library or just slightly be under Grant Number PolyU 5103/05E. The research has also been
Au

modified to suit the new project condition. supported by another Competitive Earmarked Research Grant for
These views were supported from data collected on three 2005/06 under Grant Number PolyU 5209/05E.
other projects where the same virtual prototyping software had
been used. There was full appreciation of the ability provided by References
the system to visualize the construction process but concern with
respect to the time taken to collect and input the data required to [1] A.F. Waly, W.Y. Thabet, A virtual construction environment for
present the simulation. Where the client had stipulated the need preconstruction planning, Automation in Construction 12 (2002) 139–154.
to present the construction process in this way its importance to [2] B. Koo, M. Fischer, Feasibility study of 4D CAD in commercial
securing the project was recognised. For one major construction construction, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 126
(4) (2000) 251–260.
organisation there was the recognition that, if the benefits of the [3] K. McKinney, M. Fischer, 4D analysis of temporary support, Proceedings
technology are to be realized at this time then there must be of 1997 4th Congress on Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, New
specialist input to the project team to facilitate the virtual York, 1997, pp. 470–476.
 T. Huang et al. / Automation in Construction 16 (2007) 576–585 585

[4] K.W. Chau, M. Anson, J.P. Zhang, 4D dynamic construction management Proceedings of the World IT Conference for Design and Construction,
and visualization software: 1. Development, Automation in Construction 18–24 Feb 2004, Langkawi, Malaysia, 2004, pp. 581–588.
14 (2005) 512–524. [11] J. Kunz, M. Fischer, Virtual Design and Construction: Themes, Case
[5] A. Chini, G. Genauer, Technical guidance available to designers of Studies and Implementation Suggestions, CIFE Working Paper, vol. 097,
temporary structures, American Society of Civil Engineers Fifteenth 2005, http://www.stanford.edu/group/CIFE/Publications/index.html.
Structures Congress, Portland, Oregon, 1997. [12] S. Yerrapathruni, J.I. Messner, A.J. Baratta, M.J. Horman, Using 4D CAD
[6] Q. Shen, J. Gausemeier, J. Bauch, R. Radkowski, A cooperative virtual and Immersive Virtual Environments to Improve Construction Planning,
prototyping system for mechatronic solution elements based assembly, CIC Technical Reports in Penn State, vol. 45, 2005, http://www.engr.psu.
Advanced Engineering Informatics 19 (2005) 169–177. edu/ae/cic/publications/TechReports/TR_045_Yerrapathruni_2003_

py
[7] W. Xiang, S.C. Fok, G. Thimm, Agent-based composable simulation for Using_4D_CAD_and_Immersive_Virtual_Environments.pdf.
virtual prototyping of fluid power system, Computers in Industry 54 (2004) [13] M2 Presswire, IBM: Innovation: Frank Gehry, IBM and Dassault Offer
237–251. PLM Solutions to Construction Industry, M2 Communications Ltd.,
[8] M.J. Pratt, Virtual prototyping and product models in mechanical September 30 2003.
engineering, Virtual Prototyping — Virtual Environments and the Product [14] M2 Presswire, Gehry Technologies: Gehry Technologies Announces

co
Design Process, Chapman and Hall, London, 1995, pp. 113–128. Major New Software Update; Digital Project V1, R2 Now Shipping, M2
[9] S.H. Choi, A.M.M. Chan, A virtual prototyping system for rapid product Communications Ltd., Jul 14 2005.
development, Computer-Aided Design 36 (2004) 401–412. [15] A. Jaafari, K.K. Manivong, M. Chaaya, Interactive system for teaching
[10] M. Sarshar, P. Christiansson, J. Winter, Towards virtual prototyping in the construction management, Journal of Construction Engineering and
construction industry: the case study of the DIVERCITY project, Management 127 (2001) 66–75.

al
on
rs
pe
o r's
th
Au