Perception of industry professionals about Mixed Reality for electrical prefabrication

Jad Chalhoub, Steven Ayer

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been steadily increasing in the building industry. This increase has led many project teams to assess design and constructability for projects in a 3D, BIM-based, environment. Despite this increased use, many projects still use traditional 2D documentation to communicate design concepts to various project participants. Mixed Reality (MR) can technically be used to visualize 3D design content without the need for 2D paper communication, but in practice it is not clear how users would feel about replacing traditional 2D drawings with 3D MR models. This research investigates the perceptions of industry professionals about replacing paper construction documents with a 3D MR based model. To evaluate behavioral and ideological patterns and changes, 18 electrical construction industry practitioners built two different conduit models using the same prefabricated pieces. In one iteration, they were provided with design communication through a MR visualization interface. In the other iteration, they used traditional paper plans. A pre-activity questionnaire was given to capture their ideas about a new technology being introduced and a post-activity questionnaire helped to evaluate their thoughts after using MR to build the conduit. During the conduit assembly activity, participants were video and audio recorded to capture any verbal comments related to their perception of the activity. Participants showed a wide array of reactions to the technology. Although participants unanimously reported that MR was easier to use than paper plans, some voiced other concerns. For example, some participants considered to only be effective as an educational tool. Some participants suggested it could supplement, but not replace, existing paper plans, while others thought it could indeed be used as the primary design communication method. Future research will study the relationship between perception and performance of the participants in this session.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017
PublisherCanadian Society for Civil Engineering
Pages1130-1139
Number of pages10
ISBN (Electronic)9781510878419
StatePublished - 2017
Event6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017 - Vancouver, Canada
Duration: May 31 2017Jun 3 2017

Publication series

Name6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017
Volume2

Conference

Conference6th CSCE-CRC International Construction Specialty Conference 2017 - Held as Part of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Annual Conference and General Meeting 2017
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityVancouver
Period5/31/176/3/17

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction

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