Largely adopted in the construction industry for their workflow advantages, technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, computing technologies, and building information modeling, are ripe for adoption in other fields. A new study in the Journal of Pipelines Systems Engineering and Practices looks at using some of these technologies to enhance asset management strategies.
Authors Hossam Tarek and Mohamed Marzouk combine CCT, AR, BIM models, and facility management software into a single solution that helps facility engineers maintain and easily acquire reliable reports on underground utilities. Their AIRfield mobile application provides maintenance engineers new ways to access facilities data (like maintenance history, manufacturer info, and responsible organization). Learn more in the abstract below, or by reading the full paper in the ASCE Library, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)PS.1949-1204.0000616.
Abstract
In the construction industry, technology plays a significant role. Techniques such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), holograms, and other visualization techniques have been primarily concerned with sectors such as sales, marketing, and real estate. This paper aims to develop a handheld mobile application that assists facility engineers in visualizing all underground utilities enriched with all inspection data using building information modeling (BIM) technologies. It outlines a process for developing a smartphone AR application that visualizes infrastructure networks to improve infrastructure operation and maintenance (O&M) workflows. Localizing precision is a significant issue for two reasons. The first is that virtual 3D graphics models are not stable via most AR applications. The second is that they make the user believe that the virtual model floats or does not represent reality. The BIM 360 Docs application is used to store and manage all project data such as drawings, reports, and 3D models, whereas BIM 360 Build is used in completing and sending inspection forms. Vuforia and ARCore software development kits (SDKs) are being comparatively researched. This study aims to measure the scaling and flickering of the ARField mobile application, virtual model consistency, and the mobile devices it supports. A survey was conducted between managers/engineers of installations and visualization experts. This survey emphasizes the usability, technicality, and probability of the application distribution. The findings show that 80% of visualization experts realized that the application developed by ARCore SDK is more robust than the application developed by Vuforia. It is worth noting that the proposed research is considered an integrated AR construction technology that facilitates asset management professionals’ tasks by providing an easy-to-use reliable solution.
Read the full paper in the ASCE Library: https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)PS.1949-1204.0000616
