By Grace DonnellyThis blog from Autodesk delves into how by combining the extraordinary power of virtual reality (VR) tools with business information modelling (BIM), firms can streamline processes and increase productivity, reduce costs and maximise profits.
VR offers unique and powerful ways for us to connect, collaborate and work and, unsurprisingly, is a growing industry. Discover how VR can work with BIM to provide numerous business benefits.
VR is a simulated 3D environment that lets people explore and interact with virtual surroundings. Together with augmented reality (where a virtual image is super-imposed on our actual view of the world) and mixed reality, in which we experience both the real and a virtual world simultaneously, it offers a whole new suite of extended reality tools.
These immersive tools offer us new ways to connect, collaborate and work. According to the Fortune Business Insights report, the global VR market is expected to grow from USD16 billion in 2022 to USD227 billion by 2029.
From the preliminary design phase right through to laying the first brick, extended reality (the collective term for augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality) helps streamline processes, improve safety and minimise errors. It can fundamentally change how people interact with their data and one another.
Working with life-size models
VR helps you view your BIM model accurately and easily. Instead of looking at scale models on your computer screen, you can work in life-size structures in a VR environment.
When used together, these powerful tools allow teams to view and walk around a 3D model, as well as spot errors or design limitations before construction begins. They also help all those involved to connect, collaborate and communicate on another level. Let’s take a closer look.
- Plan and prepare your project
VR comes in useful from the get-go in the planning and permission stages of a project. Combined with 3D modelling and BIM, VR enables you to produce interactive models of projects, helping to make sure the plans align with your client’s needs before any building begins.
“New technologies have taken the concept of 3D modelling to the next level and made it more accessible,” says Michael Goehler, Customer Success Manager for Autodesk Construction Cloud. “VR models can be quickly shared across teams and stakeholders, making sure everyone is on the same page.”
- Detect errors and reduce rework
Problems discovered during the construction phase can leave you over budget and behind schedule. VR lets you visualise your 3D model at the beginning of your construction project and identify potential costly errors, safety issues or clashes further down the road.
“Even at the conceptual stage, VR can be an effective way to explore spaces, like the impact of light on a room at different times of the day or views from different floors,” says Michael Goehler, Customer Success Manager for Autodesk Construction Cloud. “With a physical scale model or BIM model on screen, you need to imagine what it would be like to be inside the space, but with VR, you get to experience the scale.”
- Put safety at the core
Simulated site scenarios using VR can significantly improve safety. A virtual walkthrough helps the team identify potential hazards, improve safety features and avoid expensive mistakes in a fully immersive, risk-free environment.
“VR is also an invaluable tool when it comes to designing emergency routes,” says Michael Goehler, Customer Success Manager for Autodesk Construction Cloud. “By virtually comparing distances and travel times, route designs can be amended accordingly.”
Simulated site workspaces can also enable better health and safety training. Whether they’re spotting hazards or learning how to operate heavy machinery, teams can become familiar with their new workplace by virtually immersing themselves in the site before they start work.
- Save time and cut costs
VR offers you tools to help reduce your running costs and avoid delays by identifying how and where to save time and money at every step. By visualising BIM data through VR simulation, you can plan a project from beginning to end, explain your ideas and challenges and remove guesswork.
With BIM technology and immersive VR headsets, architects and designers can get a better sense of a space and can plan their approach. Not only that, but when you’re bidding for new business, you can take stakeholders on an appealing and engaging virtual tour.
- Sing from the same hymn sheet
A digital mock-up helps everyone understand the complexities of large-scale projects. VR software lets you see your BIM model in a real-life environment, allowing everyone to visualise any challenges or needs that lie ahead.
“Take a hospital, for example,” says Michael Goehler, Customer Success Manager for Autodesk Construction Cloud. “There are the healthcare staff, security and visitors. All use the same facilities with various objectives, so a good understanding of the different spaces and uses is crucial.”
- Create a more collaborative workspace
To succeed, construction projects rely on smooth processes and solid communication, but managing multiple stakeholders in multiple locations can be a challenge.
While BIM has vastly improved and streamlined processes, when you add in VR, you create an even more immersive and collaborative environment. Regardless of their location, teams can now walk through the project, share data and suggest changes as if they were all on-site together.
- Provide a better customer experience
BIM and VR open new doors for your customers, bringing them closer to the project than ever before. They can virtually visit the property to see how it will look, understand the layout, track progress and make decisions without relying on diagrams or drawings. And while this empowers the client, it also improves all parties’ abilities to meet expectations.