Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality is a fully immersive computer-simulated environment that gives a user the feeling of being in that environment instead of the one they’re actually in. You experience a computer-simulated environment through a head-mounted display (HMD). VR replaces the real world with a simulated one in 3D, without the boundaries of a monitor or computer screen. Whatever way you look, the screen mounted to your face follows you. A system called 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) plots your head in terms of your X, Y, and Z-axis. Immersive environment with actual scale (1:1) is what VR differs from just seeing 3D models on your screen; once you put the head-mounted display (HMD) hardware (such as Oculus Rift or HTC Vive), you’re getting immersed in that 3D space environment.

VR’s impact on the AEC industry. Virtual reality wasn’t created with the idea for construction to use it. It was more for a gaming engine, flight simulation and other industries. Then companies are starting to adapt and develop specific software for VR in construction. The main reason VR is having an impact on the AEC industry is price. If something is too expensive or complicated to do in reality, you can do it in virtual reality at first. VR lets you visualize the end product of your project – in real-time; you make changes in your BIM model and see those changes reflected in your visualization. For example, you can experience a simulation of a building interior you’ve designed – with people walking, equipment running, etc.

Evolution since the 2010s. The idea about VR as a technology system came in 1960s. Back then, it wasn’t called VR. In 2010s, VR influenced the AEC industry. At the beginning, the workflow looks like this: you export BIM models to 3D modeling software (like 3Ds Max); you add some materials in it and try to make models look prettier; then you transfer it to Unity; it’s a gaming engine workaround, and then push it to Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Nowadays, with the specific construction software, this process is literally taking minutes if not seconds. Anyone can create a virtual reality environment from the BIM models that you get from architects or from design team.