Using Gaming Technology to Link Construction Projects

As part of the ENR Future Tech Conference Sue Klawans, vice president with Gilbane Building Co., a longtime BIM user, is starting to use other rapidly improving digital tools, including laser scanning and gaming software—and hardware—to enhance current construction and design approaches.

One of Gilbane’s newest additions to the digital toolbox is the Oculus Rift, a 3D gaming headset device, for instance.

John Myers, a VDC engineer with Gilbane, demonstrated how he had used the headset with Unity, a gaming visualization software, to display a navigable, 3D immersion experience to visually explore a Connecticut office-building atrium design. The atrium idea was a late-stage owner-driven design change to enclose and bridge a space between two buildings. By the time the design was complete, the actual site was heavily occluded by scaffolding and equipment for other work, making visualization of the design on site nearly impossible.  By using the Oculus Rift, Meyer was able to give the project’s field staff a realistic, navigable view of the complex design.

View the Unity 3D engine here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38iJulduXNA

To see the Oculus Rift in action on a 3D construction site view here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSOm5rBnAq0