In its quest to transform the building construction industry through better building, MiTek is embracing futuristic technology to help improve the collaboration of value-chain partners. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been used for entertainment purposes for many years, and now this technology is being utilized in the Design phase of the Design-Make-Build approach to construction.
“Anything we’ve modeled can be pulled into a virtual and augmented reality experience to allow our customers the opportunity to have visibility and interact in a real-time environment with their product during the design phase,” said Benjamin Tabolt, Global Product Portfolio Manager of MiTek Services. “This allows issues and opportunities to be identified early in the process, and changes can be made in the computer, as opposed to waiting until they’re manifested as problems in the field.”
At this year’s Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) in Omaha, Nebraska, MiTek featured an immersive VR and AR experience. The technology gave component manufacturers, BCMC’s target audience, the opportunity to walk through a truss plant and a single-family home and interact with designs and products inside.
VR is a simulated experience that can be like or different from the real world. A person using virtual reality equipment can look around the artificial world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features or items.
“Beyond what we’re creating from a design perspective for a building itself, we can optimize and automate the layout of their plant and automation equipment and give them every opportunity to make every decision possible,” Tabolt said.
AR, on the other hand, enhances the real physical world using digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology.
The United States military has considered AR and VR technology to help in training. The U.S. Army is exploring “Tactical Augmented Reality” (TAR), an eyepiece that helps soldiers precisely locate their positions and the locations of others. The U.S. Navy is looking into how virtual reality could be used to perform remote maintenance assistance on ships.
Tabolt demonstrated the AR technology by featuring a virtual house design on his cellphone, making it appear from the screen that the home was on the showroom floor.
“Augmented reality provides some additional opportunities for our clients,” Tabolt said. “Imagine being able to take a home model out to a lot and visualize what that house would look like on that property. You can even begin to scale the model up larger and begin to maneuver and manipulate features within the house.”
Tabolt said this technology opens endless opportunities to serve the client because it brings multiple trades together to collaborate on a single model.
“The component manufacturer is able to interact more with the modeling components of an architect and other engineering sources, to make them a value partner, to bring this type of technology and bring what they design into a holistic single source of truth model and allow them to have a seat at the table,” Tabolt said. “This technology can also be collaborated with remotely allowing multiple members of the design and construction team the ability to virtually interact even when they may not be physically present in the same room with one another.”
The end consumer, like a home buyer, can also benefit from this technology. In a home design, a builder could bring in the buyer and help them select appliances, finishes, and colors.
Tabolt said the VR technology is as immersive as it gets. When someone puts the headset on and steps into the virtual world, it’s like they are transported to another place.
“It’s the closest thing to having the facility that you’re in or the frame system that you’re walking through,” Tabolt said. “The whole idea is upfront transparency and the opportunities for people to realize the capabilities of this technology, and hopefully begin to embrace its uses as we move forward in the future.”
Tabolt said for some, they are hesitant when they first put on the VR headset because of the uncertainty of what they’re about to experience. Once they step inside and they become immersed in the design, there is an instant “wow factor” that needs to be experienced to fully understand.
“It was amazing. It was like you were there,” said one visitor to the MiTek booth who identified as an Engineering Manager. “You’re standing on top of the roof looking down, and it’s like, do I dare take another step, or do I just stay here?”
“I did not expect it to be as real as it was,” said another visitor who identified as a Group Sourcing Manager. “As soon as they removed the floor, it looked like I was going to fall through it.”
Both visitors could see the benefits of the VR technology being used in the real world and they look forward to having it out in the field.
“When bringing a new product to the field, you’re usually prototyping and testing and working out the kinks and the bugs,” the Group Sourcing Manager said. “If you can walk through it in the design phase before you start the build process, I think you could eliminate a lot of problems before we ever actually put the first stick in place.”
“I went through and started looking at some of the framing techniques. I started catching some of the issues that were intentionally installed in there,” the Engineering Manager said. “Being able to see that before you’re in the field means we can fix them then, and you can be on the roof without the risk of being on the roof, right?”
MiTek is working to transform the building industry by championing better building methods through the Design-Make-Build approach. MiTek’s innovative and integrated solutions enable its partners to transform the way the industry designs, makes, and builds.
Explore more of MiTek’s VR and AR capabilities by engaging with MiTek Services. MiTek’s dedicated project services teams offer flexible and highly skilled options including visualization, 3D modeling, BIM estimating, drafting, and more.