Optimal path finding in 3D environment: Application for the exhibition space through 3D visualization and BIM

Abstract

The application of 3D visualization technology in building construction has also increased. The study used Revit software to construct a 3D building information model (BIM) for the exhibition space of Chuzhou Higher Education City Development Collaborative Innovation Center to achieve a 3D visualization display; based on the 3D visualization, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm was used to find the optimal path for the exhibition space, so as to achieve the layout design of the exhibition space. The PSO algorithm was optimized in terms of inertia weight, acceleration coefficient, and initial population to obtain the improved PSO (IPSO) algorithm. The experimental results showed that the optimal path found by the IPSO algorithm was 78.56 meters in distance, 98.2 seconds in time consumption, and 50.11% in smoothness, which were better than the other two algorithms. Meanwhile, the IPSO algorithm had a lower value of particle fitness function, indicating that the IPSO algorithm had the highest performance and the strongest path finding ability among the three algorithms. It is confirmed that it is feasible to use the IPSO algorithm for optimal visit path finding in 3D environment. It is effective to visualize the exhibition space in 3D by constructing a BIM.