Augmented Reality is making inroads, quite literally in the Construction sector. This is a very crucial sector involving infrastructure, industry and domestic construction projects. The universality of AR and its effective deployment using smartphones has made it possible to use this cool technology in a variety of applications.
Augmented reality for construction projects is being applied in the design, construction and maintenance of structures, buildings and facilities everywhere. To exploit its advantages, construction engineers and managers need to fully understand the nature and capabilities of AR.
Augmented Reality helps to overlay contextual digital information on the surrounding environment that is viewed using devices such as AR goggles, smartphones and tablets. Imagine, you are a construction project manager who needs a visual tour of the construction site along with real time updates on the current status, project planning progress, schedule constraints, next steps and final appearance. After all, seeing is believing!
All this and more can be quite effectively delivered to you with a few clicks on a handheld device. The information would not only be timely but also accurate. It would also enable you to make faster decisions if needed and eventually help in completing a project with cost, schedule and budget.
Move away from bulky reports, presentations and drawings that often take considerable time to prepare and present to senior leadership on a project’s status. Embrace AR and its capabilities to transform construction.
Every construction site is abuzz with activity requiring cross-functional teams to coordinate and work together to accomplish construction. Each group may need to wait for another to complete the required tasks. Using an Augmented Reality construction app, the under-construction part is viewed through the lens of a handheld tablet.
The application is opened and it reveals the current status. Without the need for a guide, the application provides a superimposed image of the construction to be completed, indicating the time and budget remaining.
It can also tell when subsequent groups need to be engaged and automatically communicate alerts to ensure their readiness.
Deploying AR Technology in Construction with Fusion VR
AR in construction has more use cases to be considered. Evidence of wrong construction and the corrections required can be provided immediately to the user with a 3D model of the proper construction superimposed on the real construction with Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems. Early identification and rectification of such issues with a BIM model helps avoid unnecessary delay and saves cost.
This is an effective application of augmented reality in construction. Detailed technical data and resources available on the cloud can be leveraged to provide maximum information to remedy or assist in a situation. What is more, when complex situations arise, an expert team can be “virtually mobilized” to lend their suggestions and expertise on the issue at hand.
These experts can be anywhere across the globe, but AR enables them to be at the right place simultaneously. They could indicate visually corrective actions and provide on-the-job guidance as well.
AR can also be effectively used to assist in the construction processes and tasks. A quick audio-visual overview of everything that needs to be done can be viewed before beginning a task. It helps to mobilize the required resources, tools and equipment necessary and brings the entire team on the same page to accomplish it.
Overall project management at a construction site is enhanced with accurate progress measurement and reporting. This helps to predict the estimated time to complete the project and the cost incurred till date.
Employee safety is enhanced with tutorials and guidance during task execution. Workers from different backgrounds, safety cultures and languages can be brought together to understand tasks and build an effective team with little or no communication barriers. The net result of deploying AR will be significant savings to the bottom line. It’s important that construction managers and project directors reach out to competent solution providers to get kick-started with using AR technology for construction.
Fusion VR is just a click away to help provide consulting services and solutions to interested companies wishing to deploy AR. Explore our website and reach out to us, right away!
