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Augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR)<\/strong> are in the headlines, thanks to the recent mobile gaming boom. How are these emerging technologies applicable to construction? In this blog post, I present six application areas to consider.<\/p>\n In AR\u2014like Google Glass<\/em> or Pok\u00e9mon GO<\/em>\u00a0on a mobile device\u2014the visible natural world is overlaid with a layer of digital content. In MR technologies, like Microsoft\u2019s<\/strong> HoloLens<\/em><\/a> or Magic Leap<\/a><\/em>, virtual objects are integrated into and responsive to the natural world. In my earlier post<\/a>, I wrote about virtual reality (VR), where the real world is replaced by a computer-generated environment.<\/p>\n All the virtual technologies are still in relatively early stages of development. However, they already demonstrate the potential to change how we design, build, commercialize, and use the built environment. I brainstormed six application areas for AR and MR in construction.<\/p>\n Designers use photo or video montages to show how, e.g., a new building, material, or a piece of furniture will sit in an existing environment. With AR, a designer can overlay an interactive design model on the real, live environment.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t need special equipment to use AR in construction. Augment<\/strong><\/a>, for example, uses tablets and smartphones as AR devices. Using their app, a printed drawing of a house can be overlaid with an interactive 3D-model.<\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s HoloLens is a headset that supports applications that mix holographic images with the real environment that the user is in. It scans the user\u2019s environment and adds computer-generated surfaces, graphics, and objects into the real scene. Depending on the application, a designer can, e.g., manipulate objects, use voice commands, and move inside the designed environment.<\/p>\n Seeing things at scale is helpful, even for a trained designer. I think that MR will finally free the designers from their desks or offices and possibly bring them to the site of a new or renovation construction. I\u2019m convinced that these opportunities will also lead to innovations in design and construction.<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/1gmkJqW0WFQ<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen tablets at construction sites, but the possibility of integrating digital content with the real world opens up new possibilities for planning work, quality management, safety, and inspection.<\/p>\n Almost two years ago, I interviewed<\/a> Mallorie Brodie<\/strong>, co-founder of Bridgit<\/strong><\/a>. At the time, the company was prototyping an interesting app that combined Google Glass and Thalmic Lab\u2019s<\/strong> Myo armband<\/em>. The app allowed a worker to browse through specs and design documents with Google Glass using hand movements, even with gloves on.<\/p>\n Another AR app that I\u2019ve written about is DAQRI Smart Helmet<\/em><\/a>. It has a display visor that connects the user to the work environment and provides relevant information instantaneously. Since everybody on a construction site is already wearing a helmet, adding AR or MR capabilities to the helmet is a very natural choice.<\/p>\n Safety is a big issue in construction. At the AEC Hackaton 3.2 Helsinki<\/strong>, one of the hack teams, Team Safety<\/strong>, used BIM,\u00a0HoloLens, and Trimble Connect<\/em> to plan, analyze,\u00a0adjust, and verify\u00a0safety on a construction site (see the video).<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/qazLCXVndhk<\/p>\n Construction project teams are often dispersed. There are already many digital ways to collaborate over a distance. AR and MR will add a new dimension to digital collaboration.<\/p>\n Software developer Object Theory<\/strong> has shown<\/a> how MR can be used to gather a project team in one space around a 3D model of a building, as avatars. A construction firm, CDM Smith<\/strong>, has already used this technology successfully.<\/p>\nArchitectural and engineering design<\/h2>\n
Construction sites<\/h2>\n
Project collaboration<\/h2>\n