Using augmented reality and mixed reality to interpret design choices of high-performance buildings

Abstract

Evaluating building performances, such as the indoor daylight, is usually based on numerical simulation and 2D image illustration. It does not take advantage of emerging Augmented Reality (AR) or Mixed Reality (MR) techniques to intuitively aid the building design. The current study probes into the topic bringing building geometry information together with simulation results into AR/MR environments. After introducing some precedent work in the literature, authors recap the typical workflow and report its application on two case studies. The first case study displays the structural simulation of a high-rise building in AR, while the second case study shows the daylight simulation of a two-story house within MR. At last, reflections are conducted and future possibilities are identified. Authors deem that, in the aim of this study, only retrofitting projects are suitable for MR. The present work can help practitioners better understand this new approach, offering the added value of using AR/MR for building design.

Comparing threeXRtechnologies in reviewing performance‐based building design: A pilot study of façade fenestrations

“…The integration of AR and engineering simulation representation was thoroughly introduced in a literature review. 47 50 Ong & Huang reported the integration of finite element analysis (FEA) with a physical model, allowing users to apply virtual loads in AR on real structural frames and directly see superimposed FEA results. 51 Similarly, another group of researchers developed an AR APP and visualized both the beam geometry and FEA results virtually in AR.…”

“…59 Structural components and their behaviors are also co-visualized in MR. 60 Not restricted to static simulations, some studies used real illuminance sensors to measure indoor illuminance data and visualized it in MR. 46 By using a server-based system, one study allows multiple MR devices to simultaneously display 3D architectural models with daylighting simulations. 61 However, some researchers noted that showing virtual building design solutions in not-related physical surroundings has limited meaning because they do not have any practical correlation or interaction, wasting the main advancement of MR. 50…”

“…They found that completing the same design review task through different commercially available mobile devices and different apps can lead to various user actions. 50,60,61 To compare app's function ability in different equipment, the AR app is developed into two versions: the smartphone version and the tablet version. Users deploy the AR app on their own mobile devices.…”

“…Visualizing structural performance analysis in AR is another popular topic. Zhao et al introduced a virtual office tower model in AR whose structural components are rendered with different colors, representing respective strain energy density 50 . Ong & Huang reported the integration of finite element analysis (FEA) with a physical model, allowing users to apply virtual loads in AR on real structural frames and directly see superimposed FEA results 51 .…”

Automated integration of extract-based CFD results with AR/VR in engineering education for practitioners

“…Researchers have investigated the applicability of different 3D data formats to integrate the CFD simulation dataset with AR/VR. STL [26] [27], 3DS [28], VRML [29][30][31][32], FBX [31][32][33], DAE [34], and X3D [26] were commonly applied with several CFD solvers, post-processors, and 3D computer graphics software to achieve the integration. It is observed that complex structure of CFD dataset and arbitrary nature of data processing make a comparison among studies almost impractical.…”