Utilizing a 3D game engine to develop a virtual design review system

A design review process is where information is exchanged between the designers and design reviewers to resolve any potential design related issues, and to ensure that the interests and goals of the owner are met. The effective execution of design review will minimize potential errors or conflicts, reduce the time for review, shorten the project life-cycle, allow for earlier occupancy, and ultimately translate into significant total project savings to the owner. However, the current methods of design review are still heavily relying on 2D paper-based format, sequential and lack central and integrated information base for efficient exchange and flow of information. There is thus a need for the use of a new medium that allow for 3D visualization of designs, collaboration among designers and design reviewers, and early and easy access to design review information. This paper documents the innovative utilization of a 3D game engine, the Torque Game Engine as the underlying tool and enabling technology for a design review system, the Virtual Design Review System for architectural designs. Two major elements are incorporated; 1) a 3D game engine as the driving tool for the development and implementation of design review processes, and 2) a virtual environment as the medium for design review, where visualization of design and design review information is based on sound principles of GUI design. The development of the VDRS involves two major phases; firstly, the creation of the assets and the assembly of the virtual environment, and secondly, the modification of existing functions or introducing new functionality through programming of the 3D game engine in order to support design review in a virtual environment. The features that are included in the VDRS are support for database, real-time collaboration across network, viewing and navigation modes, 3D object manipulation, parametric input, GUI, and organization for 3D objects

AnArU, a virtual reality framework for physical human interactions

Virtual Reality has become, once again, a popular and interesting topic, both as a research and commercial field. This trend has its origin in the use of mobile devices as computational core and displays for Virtual Reality. Android is one of the most used platform in this context and Unity3d is a suitable graphic engine for such platform. In order to improve the immersive experience, some electronic devices, Arduino especially, are used to gather information, such as the movement of the user's arms or legs. Although these three elements are often used in Virtual Reality, few studies use all of them in combination. Those who do, do not develop a reusable framework for their implementations. In this work we present AnArU, a framework for physical human interaction in Virtual Reality. The goal of AnArU is to allow an easy, efficient and extensible communication between electronic devices and the Virtual Reality system.XIII Workshop Computación Gráfica, Imágenes y Visualización (WCGIV)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

AnArU, a virtual reality framework for physical human interactions

Virtual Reality has become, once again, a popular and interesting topic, both as a research and commercial field. This trend has its origin in the use of mobile devices as computational core and displays for Virtual Reality. Android is one of the most used platform in this context and Unity3d is a suitable graphic engine for such platform. In order to improve the immersive experience, some electronic devices, Arduino especially, are used to gather information, such as the movement of the user's arms or legs. Although these three elements are often used in Virtual Reality, few studies use all of them in combination. Those who do, do not develop a reusable framework for their implementations. In this work we present AnArU, a framework for physical human interaction in Virtual Reality. The goal of AnArU is to allow an easy, efficient and extensible communication between electronic devices and the Virtual Reality system.XIII Workshop Computación Gráfica, Imágenes y Visualización (WCGIV)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

AnArU, a virtual reality framework for physical human interactions

Virtual Reality has become, once again, a popular and interesting topic, both as a research and commercial field. This trend has its origin in the use of mobile devices as computational core and displays for Virtual Reality. Android is one of the most used platform in this context and Unity3d is a suitable graphic engine for such platform. In order to improve the immersive experience, some electronic devices, Arduino especially, are used to gather information, such as the movement of the user's arms or legs. Although these three elements are often used in Virtual Reality, few studies use all of them in combination. Those who do, do not develop a reusable framework for their implementations. In this work we present AnArU, a framework for physical human interaction in Virtual Reality. The goal of AnArU is to allow an easy, efficient and extensible communication between electronic devices and the Virtual Reality system.XIII Workshop Computación Gráfica, Imágenes y Visualización (WCGIV)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Methods for optimizing the performance of Unity 3D game engine based on third-person perspective game

Game optimization is one of the most important aspects of their creation. The article describes methods to optimize Unity Engine using third person perspective game as an example. Various methods that rely on offloading graphics card, by increasing the use of CPU and memory were used in order to check how the game performance changes

AnArU, a virtual reality framework for physical human interactions

Virtual Reality has become, once again, a popular and interesting topic, both as a research and commercial field. This trend has its origin in the use of mobile devices as computational core and displays for Virtual Reality. Android is one of the most used platform in this context and Unity3d is a suitable game engine for such platform. In order to improve the immersive experience, some electronic devices, Arduino especially, are used to gather information, such as the movement of the user’s arms or legs. Although Android, Arduino and Unity3d are often used independently in Virtual Reality investigations, few studies use all of them together. Furthermore, each time these technologies are used in a new project, the developers have to think about a new way of communication between them. In this work we present AnArU, a framework for physical human interaction in Virtual Reality. The goal of AnArU is to allow an easy, efficient and extensible communication between the hardware and software involved in the Virtual Reality System.Facultad de Informátic

AnArU, a virtual reality framework for physical human interactions

Virtual Reality has become, once again, a popular and interesting topic, both as a research and commercial field. This trend has its origin in the use of mobile devices as computational core and displays for Virtual Reality. Android is one of the most used platform in this context and Unity3d is a suitable game engine for such platform. In order to improve the immersive experience, some electronic devices, Arduino especially, are used to gather information, such as the movement of the user’s arms or legs. Although Android, Arduino and Unity3d are often used independently in Virtual Reality investigations, few studies use all of them together. Furthermore, each time these technologies are used in a new project, the developers have to think about a new way of communication between them. In this work we present AnArU, a framework for physical human interaction in Virtual Reality. The goal of AnArU is to allow an easy, efficient and extensible communication between the hardware and software involved in the Virtual Reality System.Facultad de Informátic

AnArU, a virtual reality framework for physical human interactions

Virtual Reality has become, once again, a popular and interesting topic, both as a research and commercial field. This trend has its origin in the use of mobile devices as computational core and displays for Virtual Reality. Android is one of the most used platform in this context and Unity3d is a suitable game engine for such platform. In order to improve the immersive experience, some electronic devices, Arduino especially, are used to gather information, such as the movement of the user’s arms or legs. Although Android, Arduino and Unity3d are often used independently in Virtual Reality investigations, few studies use all of them together. Furthermore, each time these technologies are used in a new project, the developers have to think about a new way of communication between them. In this work we present AnArU, a framework for physical human interaction in Virtual Reality. The goal of AnArU is to allow an easy, efficient and extensible communication between the hardware and software involved in the Virtual Reality System.Facultad de Informátic

Integrating BIM and gaming to support building operation: the case of a new hospital

Moving into a new hospital requires healthcare professionals to adapt to a new work environment. Workflows, processes, and competencies become obsolete and need to be tailored for the new hospital. This paper explores a role-play serious game developed for the purpose of familiarizing professionals with their new work environment. A three-dimensional virtual prototype of the new hospital building created from Building Information Modeling technology, served as the graphical environment in which the game was staged. The game, namely the “Ward”, is intended to provide healthcare professionals with a virtual training ground for exercising new work processes. We conducted a series of interviews with the client, healthcare experts, and the software developers involved in developing the games. Our intention of doing so was twofold: attaining an understanding of how Building Information Modeling data has been integrated into the game and exploring how the game’s functionalities had been fitted to best support the healthcare professionals in their learning. By exploring the process of the game’s development we were able to point out shortcomings in current practice and to suggest areas for improvement. These are (1) use of crossover modules, (2) increased collaboration, (3) clear communication of information needs, and (4) better contractual agreements. The gameplay could be further improved by increasing the amount of non-player characters. Moreover, we just begin to understand how pedagogical concepts for games conveying architectural designs can be built. This indicates that developing such concepts is an intriguing avenue for further research. We argue that the findings are useful for practitioners and researchers interested in integrating BIM and gaming technology

Structural Performance Monitoring Using a Dynamic Data-Driven BIM Environment

Structural health monitoring data has not been fully leveraged to support asset management due to a lack of effective integration with other datasets. A Building Information Modelling (BIM) approach is presented to leverage structural monitoring data in a dynamic manner. The approach allows for the automatic generation of parametric BIM models of structural monitoring systems that include time-series sensor data; and it enables data-driven and dynamic visualisation in an interactive 3D environment. The approach supports dynamic visualisation of key structural performance parameters, allows for the seamless updating and long-term management of data, and facilitates data exchange by generating Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) compliant models. A newly-constructed bridge near Stafford, UK, with an integrated fibre-optic sensor based monitoring system was used to test the capabilities of the developed approach. The case study demonstrated how the developed approach facilitates more intuitive data interpretation, provides a user-friendly interface to communicate with various stakeholders, allows for the identification of malfunctioning sensors thus contributing to the assessment of monitoring system durability, and forms the basis for a powerful data-driven asset management tool. In addition, this project highlights the potential benefits of investing in the development of data-driven and dynamic BIM environments