Immersive Technology Implementation in the Construction Industry: Modeling Paths of Risk

Abstract

The purposes of this paper are to identify risk factors impacting the successful implementation of immersive reality technology (ImT) in the construction industry, analyze these risk factors (impact and probability), assess the relationships among different categories of risk factors, and provide recommendations to improve ImT implementation. A literature review, a pilot test based on expert interviews, and a questionnaire survey were used. First, the risk factors of ImT applications were identified by consulting the relevant literature on virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality; these were subsequently grouped into five categories—technology, operation, individual/worker, investment, and external. Next, a questionnaire survey was designed and distributed to relevant construction practitioners in South Africa (usable response = 175). Twenty-one ImT implementation risk factors were identified, and risk criticality scores ranged from 2.02 to 3.18. High investment cost, the need for extensive worker training, and the possible introduction of new risks for workers were rated as significant risks. The present study confirmed three statistically significant hypothesized risk paths—namely, those between external issues and individual/worker’s concerns, between external issues and investment limitations, and between individual/worker’s concerns and technology concerns. The present study contributes to the literature regarding the adoption of construction technology by providing a list of critical risk factors that could be used to develop models and tools for assessing ImT adoption and guide practitioners involved in integrating ImTs.

Identifying Emerging Technologies and Skills Required for Construction 4.0

“…The workspace can also be simulated virtually with AR and VR to train or predict risk situations. Moreover, as already mentioned, integrating these technologies with BIM has improved design and management processes [26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

“…The digitalization of design, construction, and management processes is already a consolidated reality through the use of Building Information Management (BIM) [95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108]. The integration of BIM with other technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) means an advance in the visual representation and simulation of construction processes, allowing everything from improvements in business strategies (sales and contacts with potential customers) to the prediction of risk situations for workers [26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

“…Automation processes in construction manufacturing [19,20] have been identified as a key point in transforming the construction industry towards Construction 4.0. Furthermore, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cyber-physical systems [21][22][23][24][25], virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) [26][27][28][29][30][31][32], artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning, and machine learning [33][34][35][36], and blockchain and cybersecurity [37][38][39][40][41][42] are some technologies originating from Industry 4.0 that have been mentioned in research on the construction industry in the context of Construction 4.0. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the main process pointed out by the industry and the academy that allows digital integration planning, construction, and operation of buildings and infrastructure [43,44].…”

Barriers to the digital transformation process in the Turkish construction industry

“…13 Hardware and software errors in Hardware and software errors that occur in digital technologies [13,16,24,27,32,34,43] 7/38 technological structures are not the type of errors that can be easily intervened. The problem should be resolved by experts on the subject.…”

Projeto imersivo e novas competências digitais no contexto da reabilitação e valorização do património

“…Apesar do conceito já existir desde meados do século passado, onde diversas tecnologias para este fim foram exploradas, só com o enorme desenvolvimento da indústria dos videojogos nas últimas décadas, a mesma ficou facilmente acessível a todos e numa escala reduzida, em comparação com uma sala de cinema, por exemplo. No setor AECO, diversas análises têm sido publicadas acerca do uso destas tecnologias, apontando desafios [4], limitações, necessidades [5] e riscos de implementação [6].…”