The application of Augmented Reality (AR) in the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry

Augmented Reality (AR) as a concept has been in use for many years and prevalence of new mobile technologies, such as smartphones and handheld devices, have facilitated the concept of AR becoming fully realized. Various fields are exploiting the increasing feasibilities the concept of AR can offer; one of these being the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry. This paper introduces a research project that investigates benefits and limitations of AR for use in AEC industry. It starts with a brief background to the research before presenting a critical literature review, which forms the basis for the development and design of an AR experiment and a questionnaire for participants in the study. Results are provided with an in-depth discussion on their possible significance, before a conclusion is presented. The results suggest that although the participants believed that AR can offer a wide range of benefits to different tasks and at different stages of a project, it seems more beneficial to some specific tasks or at some specific stages than the others. Using the specific findings of this study future research in this field is proposed in different areas