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4D/BIM model linked to VR technology

Conference Paper · March 2017

DOI: 10.1145/3110292.3110298

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 4D/BIM model linked to VR technology

Alcínia Zita Sampaio

Dep. Civil Engineering
University of Lisbon
Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon,
Portugal
[email protected]
ABSTRACT building information in an interoperable and reusable way [1].
BIM represents the process of development and use of a computer
The potential of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to support generated model to simulate the planning, design, construction
a transformation of the processes of design and construction has and operation of a facility [2]. The resulting product, a Building
been evident in the construction industry. A current BIM topic Information Model, is a data-rich, intelligent and parametric
that requires attention is the integration of BIM with Virtual digital representation of the building project. So, BIM can be
Reality (VR), where the user visualizes a virtual world through considered as a digital representation of a building, an object-
interactive devices or a total immersion. VR combines several oriented three-dimensional (3D) model, and a repository of
devices for interaction, creating virtual environment, and this must project information to facilitate interoperability and exchange of
information with related software applications. Therefore, BIM
followed by studies concerning how to use devices or how to
data-rich model allows views and data, appropriate to various
establish links for the presentation of information contained in a users’ needs, can be extracted and analyzed to generate
BIM model. By adding VR, the BIM solution can address information that can be used to make decisions and to improve the
retrieving and presenting information and increasing efficiency on process of delivering the facility.
communication and problem solving in an interactive and
collaborative project. The text presents a review of actual BIM can generate and maintain information produced during the
whole life cycle of a building project—from design to
perspective of the use of VR applied in 4D/BIM models.
maintenance—and can be applied to various fields. Due to the
consistency of design data with quality data and construction
CCS CONCEPTS process with quality control process, the potential of BIM
• Multimedia Information Systems → Artificial, augmented, implementation in quality management lies in its ability to present
and virtual realities multi-dimensional data including design data and time sequence.
BIM and its applications in project management are considered
nD/BIM models, namely [1]: 3D/BIM model refers to all 3D
KEYWORDS building components (architectural, structural, mechanical,
BIM, VR, 4D model, construction electrical. . ., etc.) and it incorporates all the building aspects,
including geometry, spatial relationships, properties and quantities
[2]; 4D/BIM model concerns the construction process that can be
ACM Reference format: visualized by building the 3D product model through time
A.Z. Sampaio. 2017. SIG Proceedings Paper in Word Format. In according to the critical path network (the model supports
Proceedings of ACM VRIC, Laval, France, March 2017 dynamic construction site safety management, preparation of
(VRIC’17), 4 pages. schedules and estimates, tracking and managing changes, and
managing site logistics) [3]; 5D/BIM model is related with costs
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3110292.3110298
(take-off material quantities, cost planning and estimating, safety
checking integration for dynamic safety analysis); 6D/BIM model
is created to support management facilities and maintenance along
1 INTRODUCTION the post occupation lifecycle of the building [4]. The nD
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is defined as the process directions of BIM use must be based in an adequate relationship
of generating, storing, managing, exchanging, and sharing between the team members improving a better collaborative
project, supported in an efficient interoperability of specific
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or software.
classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or
distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and A current BIM topic that require state of the art technology, is the
the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned integration of BIM with Augmented Reality (AR), combining the
by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To real world with virtual objects (partial immersion), and with
copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires
prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from
Virtual Reality (VR), where the user visualize a virtual world that
[email protected]. is not real (total immersion), through special glasses. This field is
VRIC '17, March 22–24, 2017, Laval, France interrelated with other fields that can make use of the visualization
© 2017 Association for Computing Machinery. allowed by the BIM model, such as facilities management related
ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-4858-4/17/03…$15.00 with the visualization of data included in a BIM model, in real
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3110292.3110298
VRIC’17, March 22–24, 2017, Laval, France A.Z.. Sampaio

time following the interaction made possible by VR technology. • Dawood et al. (2002) [6] report the development of an
BIM provides an opportunity to analyze a model namely for: integrated database to act as an information resource base for
constructability conflicts; ways to reduce energy usage; validating 4D/VR construction process simulation. A comprehensive
energy reducing design ideas; or improving life safety. As such, it core database of building components was designed, using a
is expected to be further explored in the near future. The objective standard classification method (Uniclass), and integrated
of this paper is to report the improvement of BIM uses with the interfaces between MS access database, AutoCAD drawings
addition of interactive capacities allowed by VR technology. A and MS project schedules were developed and implemented.
bibliographic and software research was made to support the The research team was focused on the development of 4D/VR
study. prototype simulator using VBA modeling supported on the
database of AutoCAD 3D models;

2 4D/VR MODEL AND 4D/BIM MODEL • Sampaio et al. [7] implemented a prototype based on VR
technology applied on construction planning. The geometrical
4D CAD models, that integrate physical 3D elements with time, AutoCAD 3D model of distinct steps of the construction
have been used to visualize construction processes in several activity is linked to the construction planning schedule,
projects worldwide. 4D models have been used during the defining a 4D model. VR technology allows the visualization
construction phase and have been shown to have benefits over of different stages of the construction, and the interaction with
processes that span the entire lifecycle of a project such as the construction activity, resulting in a valuable asset in
collaboration with stakeholders, making design decisions, monitoring the development of the construction activity. The
assessing project constructability, identifying spatial conflicts in prototype makes use of MS Project, AutoCAD and EON
construction [5]. Concerning the creation of 4D applications, as a Studio software. The 4D/VR application clearly shows the
support to follow construction planning, several studies can be constructive process, avoiding inaccuracies and building
found, linking VR technology to 3D geometric models and reports errors, and so improving the communication between partners
related with the generation of 4D/BIM models without the in the construction process;
addition of VR (Fig. 1):
• Sampaio and Mota [8] created a 4D/BIM model using
Autodesk software (Revit and Navisworks) and MS Project.
The 4D model allows the addition of time associations to the
3D elements, grouped in sets related with each task, allowing
the visualizations and analysis of the activity sequence for the
construction. The Navisworks software allowed the
interconnections amongst the 3D models created in the
planning where this solution built the interconnection of 3D
models with planning in MS Project. The ability to navigate
through the model allows analyzing each corner and each
location of the model. Navisworks also has the potential to
provide support in the analysis and detection of conflicts
amongst the specialty projects;

3 4D/VR/BIM MODEL
Recent developments in virtual reality have encouraged the
utilization of interactive architectural visualization in the design,
construction and facility management of building BIM projects.
Du et al. (2016) [4] find that the interpersonal interaction in the
VR environment is more critical to the effective communication
in a building project, as it creates a shared immersive experience,
and developed a BIM-enabled VR environment to realize
multiplayer walkthrough in virtual buildings. The multiplayer
virtual walk allows real time interactions of remotely located
project stakeholders in the same environment, with a shared
immersive walkthrough experience [9]. CAVE-like platforms
have been developed for immersive VR experience as they track
user’s head and control wand usually with 6 degrees of freedom,
to navigate inside the virtual environment and interact with the
contents. Due to its immersive experience and intuitive
Figure 1: Screen shots of 4D/VR simulation processes [6] [7] manipulation capability, it quickly gained popularity in both
and of 4D/BIM application [8]. research and industry community [10].

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4D/BIM model linked to VR technology VRIC’17, March 22–24, 2017, Laval, France

The basic concept of BIM is a consistent 3D model of buildings the process by allowing all team members to collaborate in an
containing all main data as base for collaboration for all accurate and efficient way. Unlimited extension of the use of BIM
disciplines. Since BIM-software is normally run on single information combines BIM-based software with other advanced
workstations, the potential for direct collaboration is somehow technologies. These advanced technologies link the digital to the
limited. The focus of research conducted by Kieferle and physical entities and research has already been conducted to
Woessner [11] was to provide a platform for development and investigate the combination of BIM and other technologies such
optimization by combining BIM and VR (linking Revit with as VR for quality defect management [3]. Some of the VR
COVISE, a VR software). They have been able to implement a software adapted to BIM and the main capacities are listed below
range of interactions but however they detected some limitation in (Fig. 2):
the process. • Enscape is Revit plugin that creates a VR walkthrough
Some progress has been made on VR techniques such as with one click, based on BIM data. There is no need to
registration on tracking and display hardware, but only recently download or learn how to operate additional software.
the link to BIM methodology have being made. However, a VR All materials, geometry and entourage come from the
system should be more convenient and combined with in-use Revit project and can be changed during the VR
applications to support multi-disciplinary users throughout simulation. This flexibility allows spontaneous
construction lifecycle. Jiao et al. [12] presents a pilot cloud presentations with the real-time rendering quality you
framework regarding an environment utilizing web3D, BIM and know from modern games, but from within the
BSNS (business social networking services). Technical solutions architectural design workflow. Combined with the
to key issues such as authoring, publishing, and composition are Oculus Rift, customers can virtually walk through the
designed. The proposed environment is seamlessly integrated into Enscape project and experience it as if it were already
in-use information systems and therefore enjoys greater usability. built [14];
Combining BIM with VR is expected to envision efficient • Augment is software that can be used in smartphone or
collaboration, improved data integrity, intelligent documentation, tablet allowing the user to view the 3D model in the real
distributed access and retrieval of building data and high quality environment in real time from multiple perspectives.
project outcome through enhanced performance analysis, as well BIM with VR enables project stakeholders to create
as multidisciplinary planning and coordination [13]. VR research information-rich virtual models that help better visualize
considers not only the technological development; a very building projects. Data-rich virtual information is
important part of the research also concerns the application of the available on site through connected devices in real time.
technologies and their adoption by the practices. In BIM, while Site managers can overlay the BIM model on the project
the potential benefits of the technologies may seem evident, the site. Construction issues can be addressed in real time,
industry adoption rate of BIM varies and now the importance of saving time and resources. Similarly, internal assets can
adding VR benefits must be a research point. be illustrated to facilitate installation and layout [15];
The BIM includes semantics into the construction process (e.g., • Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality device that
structure, air conditioning/ventilation, mechanical, electrical, allows exploring virtual worlds at the construction site
plumbing, etc.) and data for simulation (materials/structure or during meetings. To use Gear VR during construction
resistance, energy consumption, thermal calculations, lighting, phases and facility management purposes two paths are
acoustic simulations, etc.). These issues must be addressed needed: BIM model and construction site picture based,
throughout the construction project but mainly, at the beginning and users must be familiarized with Revit software and
during the design phase to fulfill the customer’s requirements, 3ds Max software for visualizing and rendering, or to
during the construction work to anticipate technical constraints on navigate inside game engines like Unity3D with
site, and during the maintenance phase to control the building Android Studio are need [16].
[13]. Introducing VR interactive capabilities into 3D/BIM models
in the construction process is a main way to test virtually and
correct a construction project before the realization, as the 4 CONCLUSIONS
walkthrough is available as well the visualization of data linked to For architects and designers, VR+BIM enable them to better
each parametric object, improving the necessity collaboration communicate design intent. A challenge for architects is that of
within the design team. So, BIM/VR applications can contribute communicating concepts and visions for buildings. The advantage
to reduce costs due to the construction of a real mock-up, and to to using VR is in the communication of ideas, concepts and the
avoid mistakes on site that generates material wastes. vision for their building. This enables all the parties to more
VR combines a device for interaction creating virtual environment quickly reach a full appreciation of the building plan. When
and the current aim is study how to use device or establish links everyone shares a common understanding of the design, the
for the presentation of information contained in a BIM models. project is executed more efficiently from the outset. This current
BIM with VR topic require dissemination; application in real
Following that perspective, commercial software houses have
cases and pointed out, in reports, achievements and limitation;
been developing advanced BIM/VR products. The use of BIM
following the technologic advances that supports the BIM use and
technology on construction projects has the potential to improve the visualization of data, in real time while the interacting with the

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 VRIC’17, March 22–24, 2017, Laval, France A.Z.. Sampaio

model made possible by VR technology. BIM + VR provide an applicability of 4D CAD on construction projects, Automation in Construction
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Construction and maintenance planning supported on virtual environments,
Book: Virtual Reality - Human Computer Interaction, Ed. Xin-Xing Tang,
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Figure 2: Screen shots of BIM/VR software [14] [15] [16].

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