Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Information Display
Some researchers have attempted to improve the display of information in order to
provide more readable and well-visualized information for engineers, taking advan-
tage of both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to display the
information. VR is commonly applied to a computer-simulated environment
that enables users to interact with a virtual environment or a virtual artifact. AR
can be viewed as an extension of VR that inserts virtual objects into a predominantly
real world scene, and enhances an individual's perception of his or her environment.
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Virtual Reality (VR):
Exploiting VR technology for construction planning has
gained popularity as desktop computers are able to support more sophisticated
graphics capabilities. A more typical application is similar to the virtual
construction way of thinking - visualizing planned construction using desktop
PC virtual environments to create graphic simulations of construction pro-
cesses, perhaps even including equipment operations (Leinonen and
Kahkonen, 2000). Kumi and Retik (1997) presented a framework based on
VR technology for the realistic visualization of construction projects simulated
at the activity and component levels. Murray
et al
. (2000) described a virtual
environment to support the building construction process. Maruyama
et al
. (2000) proposed the concept of virtual and real-field construction
management systems (VR-Coms) to evaluate productivity and safety in virtual,
simulated, and real-field constructions. Hadikusumo and Rowlinson (2002)
developed a design-for-safety-process (DFSP) tool to identify safety hazards.
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Augmented reality (AR):
Some investigators have used AR technologies to
display construction information. Dunston
et al
. (2002) conducted an exper-
imental study of an AR system that they had developed to support design
activities for mechanical contracting. Wang and Dunston (2006) provided
theoretical validation for the augmented reality (AR) technique, a technique
that deals with the combination of real world and computer generated data and
that can reduce the amount of mental workload required of engineers for AEC
tasks. They indicated that AR can facilitate communication and information
sharing among architectural design team members, provide better spatial
cognition than traditional design tools, and improve design creativity and
problem solving in the architectural design process (Wang
et al
., 2008). Kamat
and El-Tawi (2007) discussed the feasibility of using augmented reality (AR) to
evaluate earthquake-induced building damage. Behzadan and Kamat (2007)
addressed the registration problem during interactive visualization of con-
struction graphics in outdoor AR environments. Golparvar-Fard
et al
. (2009)
discussed a methodology for generating, analyzing and visualizing progress
with D4AR (Four Dimensional Augmented Reality) models. The examples
mentioned above all demonstrate a rational interest in developing AR systems
to serve the computer interfacing needs of the AEC industry.
Wearable and Mobile Devices
Some investigators have taken advantage of the rapid development of wearable and
mobile devices, and have employed them in construction sites. Mobile devices now
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