BIM and augmented reality – taking stock

The advantages are obvious: where digital data and images can be displayed not just two-dimensionally but three-dimensionally and, above all, located in space, the user’s cognitive effort is greatly reduced. This automatically increases the capacity for the essentials.

One area in which AR solutions are almost inevitable is the construction industry. Thanks to the very detailed 3D data already available, it is virtually predestined for the adaptation of augmented reality.

Together with our partner smino, we therefore hosted the “Workshop Talk 2020”. This was a workshop with representatives from the construction industry at which we wanted to find out more about the status of digitalization as well as opinions and ideas on augmented reality.

Last Friday, a very exciting mix of client representatives, architects, project managers with various specializations and planners gathered at the Baumittelzentrale Zurich. The focus of the attendees’ day-to-day activities already made it clear that the industry has understood the direction in which construction is moving: buzzwords such as digitalization, BIM and data management were regularly mentioned during the introductory round.

The general consensus among those present was that digitalization in the construction industry does indeed open up enormous opportunities and can improve many things. However, the associated risks were also quickly discussed.

One particularly tricky point is the focus on actually simplifying processes. Many companies run the risk of optimizing existing processes with new tools, but creating new tasks in the process and ultimately not improving the situation at all. This is despite the fact that many of the new tools are seen as very practical. However, it is not uncommon for new efforts to cancel out the advantages gained. What would help here would be better integration of new software into the existing infrastructure or better combinability, for example through standardized interfaces.

However, it is not only on the software side that challenges still need to be solved in the course of digitalization. It is also important to build up skills within the team. Not only do they now need to have specialist skills, they also need to master all the new tools and workflows. Of course, this still creates stumbling blocks here and there.

Experience with augmented reality is still sparse in the industry, but the first tests are underway with a few workshop participants. These are cautiously optimistic, but two things quickly become clear:
On the one hand, the solutions on the market are still not mature enough, but on the other hand, there is a consensus that many important use cases are emerging that will greatly simplify work in the construction industry.

AR can improve many things, especially in the planning phase. For example, much can be optimized in communication with customers or clients through improved visualization. The earlier in the construction process that ideas and sketches can be placed in real space, the better. Many clients are not used to dealing with construction plans and interpreting them correctly. AR solutions could therefore help to better understand proposals and variants and avoid additional work and costs resulting from wrong decisions later on.

Regardless of the technology, simplicity is a very strong need. On the one hand, this relates to hardware, where tablet and smartphone solutions are preferred over AR glasses such as the HoloLens. On the other hand, experts would also like to see a general simplification in the type of data used. Currently, many visualizations such as 3D renderings are still too complex and therefore static. The ability to manipulate the plan live, to show unfinished sketches and to show and hide different variants would simplify many things.

In addition to the planning and visualization of ideas, augmented reality is also expected to do a lot in verification. One workshop participant is currently running tests in which the construction plans are superimposed on the construction site using augmented reality. This is used to check whether construction is still taking place according to plan. In this example, AR helps to identify deviations from the construction plan at first glance and to intervene.

It is pleasing to see how positively the construction industry views the topic of augmented reality in general. It seems as if people are eagerly waiting to finally be able to take advantage of the many benefits. However, there are still too many limitations. Corresponding developments – and all workshop participants agree on this – would be extremely welcome.

We at Bitforge are of course aware of precisely these points. That’s why we work every day to provide the construction industry with better solutions. However, we are firmly convinced that good software is not created in a developer’s closet, but in collaboration with the industry.

This is exactly where we come in with our augmented reality partner program. We have developed a five-stage process that companies go through on their way to becoming an augmented enterprise. This leads from initial interest to a prototype and from a showcase to productive software. The advantage of this is that we share the costs with our partners, giving them access to the world of AR in a cost-effective and efficient way.

All information about the partner program and an excerpt from the current projects can be found under Business Augmented Reality.