Augmented Reality for Building Authorities: A Use Case Study in Austria

Abstract

The widespread usage of BIM and technological advances in augmented reality (AR) paves the way for Construction 4.0. This digital transformation has reached the construction industry and requires consideration of all life cycle phases. The approval phase has been little researched to date. In Vienna, the analogous process takes up to 18 months. This long duration inhibits progress in the building industry. One reason for this is objections from parties who are nonexperts and have difficulty understanding the project solely from its 2D plans. Therefore, the City of Vienna wants to redesign the building authority processes through the use of BIM and AR in the BRISE-Vienna research project. This article examines possible applications for public authorities. AR can be utilised at the interface between authorities and stakeholders and is intended to accelerate processes through better communication. For the City of Vienna, 12 AR use cases were developed from process analyses and expert interviews. In addition to the conception of the AR use cases for public authorities, a study was carried out regarding their benefits and feasibility. The use cases have the potential to increase the understanding of the project for experts and nonexperts. The best-rated AR use cases (plan checking and hearing during the permission process) will be further developed in the research project. The AR use cases should help to significantly accelerate processes in Vienna and, thus, serve as a basis for other cities and countries.

Adapting to an OpenBIM Building Permit Process: A Case Study Using the Example of the City of Vienna

“…In BRISE-Vienna, a focus was also set on including openBIM in these later stages of the permit process. This was realised by combining AR (augmented reality) and the IFC models to better distribute the information about the planned building to non-experts [33,34].…”

‘Buildability’ in the Digital Age: A Phenomenological Discourse of Industry Practitioners’ Perceptions

“…For instance, the study evidenced that the key driver of buildability is "knowledge sharing", within which "technology" was the most accentuated theme. Although mainstream adoption of new technologies within the construction industry is said to be slower, the recent past has seen the satisfactory implementation of modern technologies such as BIM [82], Augmented Reality [83], 3D Concrete Printing [84,85], and applications of (Big) data analysis [86] to great benefit. Therefore, the future of buildability is likely to involve greater use of advanced technologies which can curtail the intensive association of people and improve the efficiency of processes.…”