Creating New Prospects – AR and VR in Infrastructure| TechXR

Augmented and virtual reality enables architects to take their designs to a whole new dimension, opening up extensive opportunities for the construction industry. According to current projections, worldwide construction spending will reach $15.5 trillion by 2030. By 2028, when its market share is expected to reach $250 billion, the trending AR-VR technology could create a revolution in this sector. The newest AR-VR technologies can cut building costs by up to 90% and save the construction industry up to $15.8 billion by preventing errors caused by inaccurate or insufficient data as AR-VR is built on top of existing technologies to give construction teams more information at their disposal and help them plan better.

Now let’s see how AR-VR technology can be used in the construction industry to improve its workflow.

Cost Effective and Time-Saving

Construction companies can utilize AR-VR technology to plan a project from beginning to end, systematize the processes involved in building projects and decrease guesswork, thus saving time and money while providing considerable design insights to clients and architects, and assuring that everyone is on the same page.

Training

Most of the jobs in the construction industry involve heavy machinery, which can be dangerous without proper training. Trainees ought to be experienced, but it’s impractical or unsafe to train them on real equipment. With the margin of error so low in many real-world situations, it’d be best for workers to familiarize themselves with the controls and operations in a safe environment. That’s where virtual reality training simulators enter the scene. VR simulators allow workers to get a real feel of the equipment they’ll be using every day in a safe, highly controlled environment. The application gives trainees a chance to accustom themselves to the gigantic machines before trying their hand at the real thing.

Improvised Communication through Virtual Collaboration

Construction is a highly collaborative industry, often involving agreement by multiple disparate groups of stakeholders for work to progress on schedule. Virtual and augmented reality makes it feasible and possible without the need for physical meetings. Both AR and VR can enhance collaboration among project stakeholders before the construction work actually begins. A construction manager or contractor would be able to use AR to do a walk-through of a site whilst viewing an overlay Building Information Model on top of the physical view to assess and review project documentation. They would then be able to instantly take pictures or video record the AR walk-through and send it back to the design team for clarification if an issue arises. For example, Boston-based Suffolk Construction recently partnered with New York-based InsiteVR on a platform that allows the firm’s engineering teams to collaborate remotely on projects. Workers access the platform using their mobile device or desktop computer and can view project designs and site plans through a VR headset. This enables teams to leverage their collective creativity and spot and address potential issues in a simulated environment.

Remote Maintenance

AR-VR lets workers share what they can see with an off-site expert, effectively allowing the experts to be in multiple places at once. By wearing a VR headset or a set of AR goggles, workers in the field can get live guidance from technicians who are better equipped to identify problems when they can look through the worker’s eyes. This saves time and reduces the chance of errors.

Error Detection

AR-VR can allow the construction team to detect errors ahead of time to avoid expensive mistakes. VR technology allows the designs of a site to be created into scaled-up virtual models which can be walked through to check for errors in the plans before the build begins.
AR allows real-time visualizations of projects, through which an architect can hold up a smartphone or tablet with the camera facing the site and can view a scaled-up model of the design. This allows stakeholders the space for more insight into the finer details which is else very tedious with the conventional 2D drawings.

Improving Safety Standards

Using AR-VR technology, job Safety can be vastly improved within the construction sector. Job site conditions can be examined without physically subjecting managers or workers to safety hazards. Construction firms like Bechtel Innovation Center are now implementing VR immersion safety training courses where dangerous situations or intensive procedures are simulated to users. The usage data from the training courses can be gathered and integrated with geographic data, safety records, and requirements in order to optimize real-world safety programs and practices.

An Example : The Wild – VR Collaboration for Architecture and Design Teams

Conclusion

AR-VR innovations have the potential to become integral to the construction sector, especially in light of external shocks of the Covid Pandemic which showed the importance of incorporating digital solutions to operate remotely. Although only large construction businesses are completely utilizing AR-VR so far, with the affordability of technology and 5G networks, the industry shall expand becoming more dynamic and competitive.

TechXR Innovations brings a wealth of experience in AR-VR technology development. The motto of the company is to democratize the access of merging technologies like AR and VR by making them affordable and accessible to the common man. The firm also provides affordable i-HUB IIT Rourkee recognized courses in AR-VR development, allowing anybody to master AR-VR App Development. Click here to enroll in TechXR’s AR-VR courses.