Immersive Virtual Reality Prototype for Evaluating 4D CAD Model

Abstract

Abstract 4D CAD model is a media used to communicate a construction project schedule to a wider amount of people in a project team. This model takes advantage of 3D geometry visualization to describe each construction activity. This 4D model can be potentially improved by adding within it an element interactivity. Several parameters must be defined to determine whether element of interactivity or immersion is needed. In particular, his study aims to identify the benefits of virtual reality implementation in 4D modeling which can be used to identify errors in the construction project sequence. Based on a preliminary study conducted prior to the experiment, two common mistakes were identified in the process of planning a construction sequence aspect. The two common mistakes are omission and illogical sequence. The research developed several scenario by incorporating them into a 4D CAD model. Participants were tasked with identifying the mistakes using both a Virtual Reality prototype and a commercial 4D modeling application. It was concluded that with a proper technique, the use of virtual reality for 4D model could be more efficient that a normal 4D model. Specifically, observation of structural elements and MEP related activities are more efficient in VR than non-VR methods