Augmented Reality on Building Information Models

Augmented Reality (AR) is emerging as a technology with a multitude of applications in education and entertainment. In this paper, we discuss its potential in visualizing the information captured in Building Information Models (BIMs). To date, BIM-enabled applications have been limited to desktops running proprietary building-design software; cloud platforms, however, enable the usage allows for of BIM models through any device, including mobile ones. Therefore, AR applications can use the geometric information of the BIM models for accurate scene rendering and also for augmenting the scene with additional information relevant to different stakeholders. To demonstrate this concept, we have developed a mobile-application prototype. The application downloads a BIM model from a remote server and superimposes it on the camera feed. To ensure the modeled and real world objects are synced, image tracking is adopted as the localization technique. This provides the application user with the ability to move freely about the environment, which most previous research does not fully allow. Rather than simply displaying the model, BIM model properties are utilized so that certain aspects of the model can be hidden or displayed. This allows the user to focus on the objects that are important to their task. This feature distinguishes the application from most mainstream AR applications, and provides opportunities for future research.