Aouad, G F; Child, T; Brandon, P S and Sarshar, M (1998) Linking construction information through VR using an object oriented environment. In: Hughes, W (ed.) Proceedings of 14th Annual ARCOM Conference, 9-11 September 1998, Reading, UK.
Abstract
The fields of virtual reality and object orientation are evolving rapidly. In the last few years, many firms in the construction sector, in the UK and world-wide, started to link their databases into VR environments in order to offer superior marketing and processing capabilities. The use of an integrated object oriented database is, however, still of limited use. The industry is willing to invest in this technology provided that better information interfaces are provided. This paper responds to this need by developing a VRML (Virtual reality modelling language interface) based interface to an integrated object oriented database which can support the design, planning and estimating of buildings. The database is implemented in Object Store where the information is stored and retrieved from. The user does not need to understand the structure of information within the database. Instead, he/she interacts with a VR model that is generated from the database. Queries that are used to interact with the model are performed within the VR interface. The user can click on a wall and retrieve information about it in terms of texture, cost and time. Such information is stored in the Object Store database. As VRML is a web-based standard, information can then be retrieved remotely from the database over the Internet. This provides a new dimension to construction firms that tend to work in various geographical locations. This paper describes the VRML-based interface and discusses the potential benefits of linking VR and object oriented databases. Case examples generated from the implemented prototype application will be used to illustrate the developed approach. In particular, cases related to visual cost estimation and planning will be included in order to demonstrate the benefits VR can offer to the construction management domain. The prototype demonstrator presented in this paper has been developed through a series of workshops attended by the industrial collaborators of the research project who specified the requirements of such a prototype.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | integration; object orientation; VR; vrml |
| Index terms: | cost estimating, workshop, construction firm, database, prototype, marketing, virtual reality, integration, estimating, construction sector, dimension, modelling, internet |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, data management, organizational analysis, health monitoring assessment and metrics, analytical methods, financial and cost management, modelling and simulation, computing systems, organization, virtual reality, business, construction type |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here