Research in Visualization Techniques for Field Construction
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 137, Issue 10
Abstract
Field construction can be planned, monitored, and controlled at two distinct levels: (1) the activity or schedule level; and (2) the operation or process level. Graphical three-dimensional (3D) visualization can serve as an effective communication method at both levels. Many research efforts in visualizing construction are rooted in scheduling. They typically involve linking activity-based construction schedules and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models of facilities to describe discretely evolving construction product visualizations (often referred to as four-dimensional CAD). The focus is on communicating what components are built where and when, with the intention of studying the optimal activity sequence, spatial, and temporal interferences. The construction processes or operations actually involved in building the components are usually implied. A second approach in visualizing construction is rooted in discrete-event simulation that, in addition to visualizing evolving construction products, also concerns the visualization of the operations and processes that are performed in building them. In addition to what is built where and when, the approach communicates who builds it and how by depicting the interaction between involved machines, resources, and materials. This paper introduces the two approaches and describes the differences in concept, form, and content between activity level and operations level construction visualization. An example of a structural steel framing operation is presented to elucidate the comparison. This work was originally published in the proceedings of the 2002 IEEE Winter Simulation Conference. This paper expands on the original work by describing recent advances in both activity and operations level construction visualization.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The work presented here has been supported by the National Science Foundation through multiple grants awarded to investigators Kamat, Martinez, Fischer, Peña-Mora, and Savarese. NSF’s support is gratefully acknowledged. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
References
Adjei-Kumi, T., and Retik, A. (1997). “Library-based 4D visualization of construction processes.” in Proc., 1997 IEEE Information Visualization Conf., IEEE, Piscataway, NJ.
Akbas, R. (2003). “Geometry based modeling and simulation of construction processes.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford Univ., Palo Alto, CA.
Akinci, B., and Fischer, M. (2000). “An automated approach for accounting for spaces required by construction activities.” in Proc., 6th Construction Congress, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Azuma, R., Yohan, B., Reinhold, B., Steven, F., Simon, J., and Blair, M. (2001). “Recent advances in augmented reality.” IEEE Comput. Graph. Appl., 21(1), 34–47.
Behzadan, A. H., Timm, B. W., and Kamat, V. R. (2008). “General purpose modular hardware and software framework for mobile outdoor augmented reality applications in engineering.” Advanced Engineering Informatics, Elsevier Science, New York, 90–105.
Behzadan, A. H., and Kamat, V. R. (2009). “Automated generation of operations level construction animations in outdoor augmented reality.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 23(6), 405–417.
Campbell, D. A. (2000). “Architectural construction documents on the web: VRML as a case study.” Automation in construction, Vol. 9, Elsevier Science, New York.
Cleveland, A. B., Jr. (1989). “Real-time animation of construction activities.” Proc., 1st Construction Congress, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Dong, S., and Kamat, V. R. (2010). “Robust mobile computing framework for visualization of simulated processes in augmented reality.” Proc., 2010 Winter Simulation Conf., IEEE, Piscataway, NJ.
Eisenhower, B., Mezic, I., Maile, T., and Fischer, M. (2010). “Decomposing building system data for model validation and analysis using the Koopman operator.” Proc., SimBuild 2010 Conf., International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), New York.
Fukai, D. (2000). “Beyond sphereland: 4D-CAD in construction communications.” Proc., 6th Construction Congress, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Gethin, R., Evans, A., Dodson, A., Denby, B., Cooper, S., and Hollands, R. (2002). “The use of augmented reality, GPS, and INS for subsurface data visualization.” FIG XIII Int. Congress, International Federation of Surveyors, Paris.
Golparvar-Fard, M., and Peña-Mora, F. (2007). “Development of visualization techniques for construction progress monitoring.” Proc., ASCE Int. Workshop on Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Golparvar-Fard, M., Peña-Mora, F., Arboleda, C. A., and Lee, S. H. (2009a). “Visualization of construction progress monitoring with 4D simulation model overlaid on time-lapsed photographs.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 23(6), 391–404.
Golparvar-Fard, M., Peña-Mora, F., and Savarese, S. (2009b). “D4AR—A 4-dimensional augmented reality model for automating construction progress data collection, processing and communication.” J. Inf. Technol. Constr., 14, 129–153.
Golparvar-Fard, M., Peña-Mora, F., and Savarese, S. (2010). “D4AR—4 dimensional augmented reality—Tools for automated remote progress tracking and support of decision-enabling tasks in the AEC/FM industry.” Proc., 6th Int. Conf. on Innovations in AEC Special, Emerald, College Park, PA.
Golparvar-Fard, M., Sridharan, A., Lee, S., and Peña-Mora, F. (2007). “Visual representation of visual representation of construction progress monitoring metrics on time-lapse photographs.” Proc., Construction Management and Economics Conf., Taylor and Francis Group, London.
Jongeling, R., Kim, J., Fischer, M., Mourgues, C., and Olofsson, T. (2008). “Quantitative analysis of workflow, temporary structure usage, and productivity using 4D models.” Autom. Constr., 17(6), 780–791.
Jongeling, R., and Olofsson, T. (2007). “A method for planning of work-flow by combined use of location-based scheduling and 4D CAD.” Autom. Constr., 16(2), 189–198.
Kamat, V. R. (2003). “VITASCOPE: Extensible and scalable 3D visualization of simulated construction operations.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
Kamat, V. R., and Martinez, J. C. (2001). “Enabling smooth and scalable dynamic 3D visualization of discrete-event construction simulations.” Proc., 2001 Winter Simulation Conf., B. A. Peters, J. S. Smith, D. J. Medeiros, and M. W. Rohrer, eds., IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 1528–1533.
Kamat, V. R., and Martinez, J. C. (2002). “Comparison of simulation-driven construction operations visualization and 4D CAD.” Proc., 2002 Winter Simulation Conf. , IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 1765–1770.
Kamat, V., and Sherif, E.-T. (2007). “Evaluation of augmented reality for rapid assessment of earthquake-induced building damage.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 21(5), 303–310.
Koo, B., and Fischer, M. (2000). “Feasibility study of 4D CAD in commercial construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 126(4), 251–260.
Langhoff, S., Martin, G., Barone, L., and Wagener, W. (2009). Workshop report on sustainable urban development, NASA/CP-2009-214603, NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.
Martinez, J. C. (1996). “STROBOSCOPE: State and resource based simulation of construction processes.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Rekapalli, P. V. (2008). “Discrete-event simulation based virtual reality environments for construction operations.” Ph.D. dissertation, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN.
Rekapalli, P. V., and Martinez, J. C. (2009). “Runtime user interaction in concurrent simulation-animations of construction operations.” J. Comput. Civ. Eng., 23(6), 372–383.
Riley, D. R. (1998). “4D space planning specification development for construction work spaces.” Proc., Int. Congress on Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Sawhney, A., Mund, A., and Marble, J. (1999). “Simulation of the structural steel erection process.” Proc., 1999 Winter Simulation Conf., P. A. Farrington, H. B. Nembhard, D. T. Sturrock, and G. W. Evans, eds., IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, 942–947.
Skolnick, J. F. (1993). “A CAD-based construction simulation tool kit for construction planning.” Proc., 5th Int. Conf. (V-ICCCBE) sponsored by the Technical Council on Computer Practices, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Talmaki, S. A., Dong, S., and Kamat, V. R. (2010). “Geospatial databases and augmented reality visualization for improving safety in urban excavation operations.” Proc., Construction Research Congress 2010: Innovation for Reshaping Construction Practice, ASCE, Reston, VA, 91–101.
Thomas, B., Piekarski, W., and Gunther, B. (1999). “Using augmented reality to visualize architecture designs in an outdoor environment.” Design computing on the net, Univ. of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Webster, A., Feiner, S., MacIntyre, B., Massie, W., and Krueger, T. (1996). “Augmented reality in architectural construction, inspection and renovation.” 3rd Congress on Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, Reston, VA, 913–919.
Zhang, Z. (2009). “Visualization and vision-based tool for infrastructure maintenance management.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford Univ., Palo Alto, CA.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 137 • Issue 10 • October 2011
Pages: 853 - 862
Copyright
© 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 1, 2010
Published online: Jul 1, 2010
Accepted: Jul 21, 2010
Published in print: Oct 1, 2011
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.