Tämä on kierrätys numero 2/2, kun ei ole mitään uutta kerrottavaa.
Kävin puhumassa puhdastilasuunnittelun seminaarissa "R3 Nordic Symposium" Virtuaalitodellisuuden käytöstä suunnittelussa.
Tässä abstract.
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Virtual Reality Models in Cleanroom Design
Tero Järvinen
Granlund Oy, Finland
May 2018
Extended
Abstract
The use of Virtual Reality
(VR) possibilities has increased in recent years due to technology
improvements. The driving force has been the gaming industry. The construction
sector has been able to benefit from the technology leaps carried out by other
industries.
Building Information Models
(BIMs) have been in use by architects and structural and mechanical designers
since the early 2000’s. In the Nordic countries, using BIMs is a normal way to
design and the construction companies are able to utilize these models quite
easily.
By combining BIM processes and
current VR technologies we are in the situation that the use of VR glasses can
be a common means with which the design in construction projects can be
promoted.
When combining the VR glasses
with models, the end users can obtain a better understanding of what architects
and engineers are designing than based only on combined models on a computer
screen. With VR glasses on, the users can walk inside the rooms and see objects
in real scale.
When the construction process
goes further and we have a real environment built up, we can start using
Augmented Reality (AR) possibilities. With AR, you can add objects to the camera
view of tablets, phones or smart glasses. AR models can utilize the same BIMs as
VR is using. Unfortunately, technology in AR systems and software still needs improvements.
VR models are easy to set up but AR models need a lot more preparation to work
in real-life use cases.
Examples of possible
use cases with VR models in the design and construction phases:
·
Checking process functionalities inside Clean Room,
moving things in VR
·
Checking service/maintenance possibilities
·
Checking equipment/device locations in the design
phase
·
End user approvals/rejections to design team
·
Visual inspection of different lighting environments
·
Multi-user meetings inside Clean Room (attendance from
multiple locations)
·
Training of people (device maintenance or processes
etc.)
Examples of
possible use cases with AR models:
·
Seeing through walls/ceilings (using BIM)
·
Locating equipment/devices (with indoor location or
tags attached to devices)
·
Serving additional information to end user for
operating devices/to follow protocols (with preloaded material in the cloud)
·
Seeing additional information on top of gauges etc.
(using object recognition)
·
Seeing and operating virtual user interfaces on top of
QR code etc.
·
Using voice commands for operating AR software (if you
need both hands)
Picture: Examples of functionalities in VR models
Processes
The construction process
produces BIMs in multiple different formats. Efficient use of VR needs
straightforward processes. Access to BIM information is available through an open
BIM format called IFC (Industry Foundation Classes). All native BIM modeling
software can export IFC-models and these models can be viewed through numerous
other software.
Using IFC models as the basis
of a VR environment is the most powerful way to create and update VR
information during a construction project. With IFC, different disciplines can
combine each other’s models and make their own VR models for other use cases from
the same source and content.
If the whole design team is
using the same native BIM software, IFC is not needed in the process. But in
Finland, that’s not a normal case by any means.
Picture:
VR/AR models are created from a single source
Devices
VR/AR devices are developing
rapidly nowadays. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have been the best VR glasses for a couple
of years. Microsoft launched its “Windows Mixed Reality” platform at the end of
2017 and the cost of VR headsets decreased dramatically. Now there are multiple
hardware manufacturers in the market.
Picture:
Examples of Windows Mixed Reality Glasses
In the AR sector, there are
many different approaches to utilize models.
The easiest way is to use your
phone or tablet but in the Clean Room environment that’s not always possible. There
needs to be a technology that brings the AR view to your visor or smart glasses.
One working and tested
solution is using smart glasses.
Picture:
Example of Smart Glasses, Vuzix M300 with Android operating system
In Granlund, we made prototype
software using smart glasses with a virtual dashboard.
With that technology, the user
can give a simple command using only hands to operate AR functionalities.
Functionalities were made for Facility Management purposes, using cloud FM
database information, but can also be made with any cloud information that has an
interface to connecting data sources.
The software recognizes the
hand of the user and draws a virtual dashboard on top of the hand. The user can
push the buttons on the virtual dashboard and see more information about the selected
topic. The user can change pages by swiping a hand in the air or give
“accepted/rejected” commands with a thumb up/down. [1]
It is also possible to use
voice recognition, but that was not tested in the Granlund prototype.
Picture:
Screenshots from AR Smart Glasses
Information
content
When using VR or AR models, the
information inside BIMs is still very important. Therefore, access to BIM
information is very important for use cases where the information of models is
used. Using an open IFC format, information content is understandable to
various software platforms.
With IFC, you can build a BIM
environment where you can see multiple discipline models in a single, coordinated
model. This kind of environment is ideal for VR purposes.
The downside of using the IFC
format is that it contains static information. IFC is exported from designers’
native BIMs and is therefore always “old” information, because designers are
making updates to native BIMs. In the design and construction phases this is
not a big problem, because these phases are used to having iterative
information flow in their processes. The designer is publishing a new IFC model,
for example, every week to the construction site.
After the construction project
– in the Facility Management phase – this kind of process is not possible.
Updates to models must be done instantly when something has been changed. To
achieve this, we need a Digital Twin of the building or clean room.
Digital
Twin
Digital Twin is a
representation of a real building, its components, systems, measurements and
functionalities. Digital Twin can act as a user interface for AIM (Asset
Information Model) [2].
With static asset information
from BIMs and a dynamic IoT-sensor or system information from manufacturers’
environments we can build up a system that can be monitored and updated through
cloud services. Information from multiple different systems can be seen and
operated through a single interface.
With possibilities in cloud software,
there is a possibility to update the information in the IFC model seamlessly,
without the need of opening complex native BIM software. Native BIM software is
needed only when there is a change in graphical objects – you need to move a wall
etc.
Using REST API technology, there
is a possibility to connect multiple different systems and gather dynamic
information from them.
Picture:
Example of Digital Twin user interface to monitor temperature, humidity and
performance of spaces. This information is also available to a VR/AR
environment through REST API.
Picture:
Concept of Digital Twin during facility lifetime
With Digital Twin, there are
more VR and AR use cases in the future. The digital model comes alive when the user
can see dynamic information of clean room in the visor or smart glasses.
References
2. PAS 1192-3, AIM; “Asset
Information Model”. Defined for guideline of using BIM models in operational phase of
construction project by BSI, British Standards Institute. https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Asset_information_model_AIM
