Integrating mobile Building Information Modelling and Augmented Reality systems: An experimental study
Introduction
Low levels of task efficiency have been and remain a pervasive problem for the Australian construction industry. Instead of focusing on people, increasing emphasis has been placed on the use and development of technical-based solutions associated with information and communication technology (ICT), specifically Building Information Modelling (BIM) to deliver ‘value’ in construction (e.g., [1], [2]). However, there is limited empirical evidence to substantiate claims that the use of BIM leads to increases in task efficiency; though, it should be acknowledged that pockets of research have demonstrated workflow improvements for precast and modular construction, scaffolding erection and safety within a BIM environment (e.g., [3], [4]). If BIM is to deliver ‘value’ then structures and processes need to be re-engineered to accommodate new workflows that are engendered by implementing BIM [5], [6], [7]. For asset owners who are dependent on the use of a building information model for operations and maintenance their ‘value proposition’ will need to be amended to adapt to the changes that will be required to their intra and inter-organizational business processes [5], [6].
While technology enabled systems such as BIM have their merits, the pace at which they are evolving and their capability to capture significant quantities of data, raises concerns as workers are confronted with too many information systems [8]. This can result in information overload, and negatively impact on task efficiency, with workers spending increasing amounts of time managing data on complex systems, rather than gaining the benefits [9], [10]. Consequently, for systems such as BIM, that are dependent on the transfer of information through models, utilization is affected, as workers perceive less value in the system due to the increased effort required to retrieve information [11].
To improve the access and utilization of information, Augmented Reality (AR) has been identified as a technology that can be used to enhance the process of information extraction from building information models [12], [13]. AR is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information of an artefact when viewed through a device such as tablet or smartphone camera [14]. However, research demonstrating AR effectiveness or usability from a scientific perspective remains scant [14], [15]. In addition, there is a distinct lack of developments that demonstrate ‘proof-of-benefit’ to construction tasks [13], [15]. This is further compounded by difficulties associated with developing AR systems, as they tend to exist on non-standardized hardware and software, which has hindered their adoption by the construction industry [15]. According to Wang et al. [15] AR and BIM are complementary technologies, but their integration has tended to be examined and evaluated from a technical standpoint rather than examining their potential to enhance the performance of work tasks.
Researchers and practitioners within the construction industry rarely possess the knowledge base required to solve the prevailing issues that exist to effectively utilize AR technologies (e.g. software and hardware development). Consequently, Meža et al. [13] has suggested AR applications from disciplines such as gaming, media and marketing should be used as a source of innovation for construction. Against this contextual backdrop, the research presented in this paper utilizes a design science research approach to evaluate the effectiveness of BIM and AR system integration that is designed and developed to enhance efficiency through improving the information retrieval process during construction. By adapting existing AR development kits/tools that would typically be used for non-construction purposes, this research demonstrates the appropriateness of using pre-existing functionalities from commercially available AR software and hardware. In addition, the benefits for future researchers of leveraging performance capabilities from existing defined software applications are identified.
Section snippets
Digitization in construction
The last decade has seen significant improvements in the digitization (i.e. process of converting information into a digital format) of information in construction. The increased capabilities of new ICT systems to capture and manage information in projects, have, over time, created information intensive work environments. This has enabled construction personnel to gain near on-demand access to project data, plans, drawings, schedules and budgets [16]. Increased mobility due to technologies such
Research approach
The integration of BIM and AR systems has generally been evaluated from a technical performance perspective using bespoke platforms (e.g., [18], [29], [31]). Such platforms are not readily available and are cumbersome to use in practice. Akin to Meža et al. [13], who relied on existing AR software and amended it for the purpose of construction, this paper aims to integrate BIM and AR technologies to enhance construction workers ability to retrieve information and thus improve their
Characteristics, experience and quality of interactions
Table 2 presents the characteristics of the participants. The sample comprised 18 males and 2 females. As the use of AR has been demonstrated as equally effective for working memory between genders [42], different genders were not analysed. The mean age was approximately 26 years for both groups. The age range and years of experience working in construction industry were also similar. Noteworthy, the construction industry in Western Australia was in a ‘boom’ period when the students commenced
Research limitations
The strength of an experiment lays in its capacity to demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships. In this research, this relationship focused on the efficacy to retrieve of information and the use of AR-BIM tool. To establish a cause-and-effect, that is, task efficiency improves when using an AR-BIM tool to retrieve information, the researchers constructed a scenario to determine this relationship. While such an approach can provide internal validity (i.e. approximate truth about inferences
Conclusion
Research was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of BIM and AR system integration to enhance task productivity through improved information handling. The findings of the evaluation undertaken for the designed and developed cloud-based mobile BIM AR system improved the users' capabilities in undertaking information retrieval processes. This was found to be due to the systems capabilities to provide the participants with direct paths to information sources. As a result, this lowered the
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which enabled the quality of this manuscript to be improved. The authors would like to thank the staff and students from the Department of Construction Management at Curtin University in Australia who participated in this research.
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