"Using 3D Technology to Architect Communities" Not unlike a conference such as Serious Play, Construction is a production. Lots of different people work with big toys (dump trucks and tower cranes) to put big (and small) building components together (concrete walls, asphalt roofs, door handles and electrical sockets). The production of buildings requires work and play at many levels: architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, consultants, trades, users, developers, and operators all engage the project in different and important ways. Consequently, modern construction projects are multi-player games where communication is critical to success. In this talk we share how a collaboration between academia and industry explored gaming platforms, Virtual Worlds, with emerging construction modeling tools known as Building Information Modeling (BIM) for better collaboration, communication, and team engagement.

1. Using 3D Technology to Architect
Communities
Carrie Sturts Dossick
In World: Anne Anderson and Helen Juan
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S k a n s k a U S A B u i l d i n g • U n i v e r s i t y o f W a s h i n g t o n • V i r g i n i a Te c h

2. NEED TO SHARE VISUALIZATIONS
Construction is heavily reliant on visual media
for communication.
Distributed teams are challenged with finding an
effective way to coordinate construction over
distance, mediated by technology.
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3. Problem statement - example #1
July 27, 2012
Grand Staircase Coordination
VDC Manager on the phone with a
superintendent (after several
minutes of conversation):
“Oh, you are talking about the thickness!”
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4. Problem statement - example #2
July 27, 2012
Floor Trench Coordination
[PE is sharing his desktop with VDC Manager via screen-sharing]
PE (in Everett): “…right here.”
VDC Manager (in Seattle): “I can’t see what you are pointing at if
you are pointing.”
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5. Partnership Development
CIRC 2011: CyberGRID
Experiments
Skanska/UW/VT
Innovation Award
Sococo/CyberGRID Use
SecondLife/CyberGRID
Demo Development
NSF Studies
2010 - 2013
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6. Study description
FIVE participants
– Skanska employees
– Working on Boeing EDC
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7. Study description
THREE collaboration technologies
– Sococo (2D)
– CyberGRID (3D)
– Second Life (3D)
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8. Phase I: Sococo
• Voice
• Text chat
• Screen sharing
• Video
conferencing
• Avatar icons
July-August2012

9. Phase I: Sococo
July-August2012
Easy to use, share screens
Supported existing workflow processes
Passive viewing of models from shared screen

10. • Voice
• Text chat
• Team Walls (screen
sharing and white
board)
• Thought bubbles
• C-mail
• File Repository
• Building Model
Imports
• Avatar location and
position
Phase II: The CyberGRID (Unity)
December2012
CurrentEDCimport–July2013

11. Phase II: The CyberGRID
EarlyEDCimports–December2012
First-person perspective and independence
Ability to use translated Revit model
Inability to gesture
Time consuming to insert colliders

12. Phase II: The CyberGRID
CurrentEDCimport–July2013

13. Phase III: Second Life
April2013CIRCExpo
• Voice
• Text chat
• Screen sharing
• Avatar location and
position

14. SecondLife (CM + iSchool – 2B3D)
Photo Credit: Helen Juan
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15. Phase III: Second Life
April2013CIRCExpo
First-person perspective and independence
Gestures and emotion abilities
Manipulated space/features/object in real-time
Rebuilt in Second Life to take advantage of features
Needed to rent virtual space to host building
Potential for persistent space: virtual war room,
design phase, leasing phase

16. Key Takeaways
Photo Credit: Helen Juan
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Copresence: “being there together”
Teams who are able to self-navigate a BIM in the same
interactional space may be able to communicate
ideas more efficiently and effectively using avatar
location/position.
Skanska’s firewall requires working with IT to open ports
before attempting to launch new technologies
Bandwidth/connectivity at jobsite trailers may hinder
use of some technologies
Difficult for the PEs to be in the virtual world and the
physical world at the same time