This week we take a look at virtual reality (VR) in construction. What does it mean for us, and what is the potential benefit of this technology?

If you’ve ever reviewed a construction drawing set, you should have an idea of the design coordination required. Each trade needs to communicate and collaborate on the plan for the design.

There are so many parts in a single project that the information often does not get passed. You’ll see discrepancies occasionally, which ultimately costs the project owner.

These issues could have been avoided were there proper collaboration.

Being on the contractor’s end, I don’t know exactly what goes into creating a complex set of drawings. I figure it’s just a lack of communication, or someone is not properly reviewing the plans before it’s issued.

That’s where VR comes into play.

Imagine this, you’re the architect, and you develop the outside of the building. Then you figure out the floor plans, ceilings, walls, etc. Next, you need to get MEP involved.

The mechanical engineer reviews the design and lays out the piping and equipment. No big deal; he has all the room in the building to work with.

Your electrical engineer got the drawings, but they didn’t think to look over what the mechanical drew. Conduit routes and new equipment are in the exact location of the mechanical equipment.

Your contractor gets these drawings and finds the discrepancy after the contract award. Who pays for this change? The owner.

Sometimes the engineer will be financially responsible for changes, but this depends on their contract with the project owner.

Let’s look at this exact scenario, but this time, we introduce VR.

Your mechanical and electrical both finished their design drawings. The architect decides to review the design using VR.

He will enter into the space where they modeled and begin to identify any of these conflicts up close in 3D.

He then points out the issues he finds to the MEP team to resolve. After everything has been reviewed and corrected, the plans can be sent for bid.

You enter the project with few design issues, and the project runs smoothly.

That’s the power of VR.

I know it might be hard to visualize what I might be talking about. But allow me to show you some companies bringing this technology to construction.

IrisVR by Autodesk

​IrisVR has already made this dream a reality for us. The good thing is that Autodesk owns them.

Why? Because of the integration with their current software.

In the construction world, Revit is extensively used in the industry to create 3D models of buildings. It helps to determine the final product’s appearance before construction begins accurately.

Autodesk also owns Revit, which means that with IrisVR, you can jump right into your Revit model.

To see this in action, the team at IrisVR has created some videos online so you can see the capabilities of this technology. Click here if you want to see a video of the VR software.

It is nice because it should mean that viewing the model in VR should be seamless. Since their parent company is Autodesk, they’ll be working to ensure their software is compatible.

I haven’t personally had a chance to use IrisVR, but I have seen the capabilities of Revit.

The company I am with now uses Revit heavily for all of our HVAC projects.

We use this with the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), formerly PlanGrid.

Most of the time, the integration between Revit and ACC is clean. Viewing models from a tablet works well and is helpful for the field crew.

If we had a way to use VR, our field guys would know exactly how the construction would occur. Not saying that they can’t figure it out from the plans, but VR would be a helpful tool.

Just a word of caution, you need to make sure that the people who are making your 3D models are knowledgeable. Meaning they need to know what they are building in the 3D space.

It’s crucial to save time and maintain the budget for your project.

IrisVR is not the only company bringing this technology to the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) world. There’s another company called The Wild.

Surprisingly, The Wild is also owned by Autodesk. I know it’s confusing why they decided to purchase both companies, but they must see the value the tech can offer.

The Wild company has an in-depth video of how the software works. I’ve provided the link to the video below if you’re curious.

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Conclusion

All this to say, I’m here for VR. If you’re in the industry, I’m sure you will hear about VR for construction at some point.

Yes, there’s a time and place for the software, but I think it can make a big difference in design collaboration.

I don’t know about you, but I am excited about what the future holds for us.

Thanks,

Alex