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Seeing the Future from Inside
Everyone wants to see the future. In the early stages of
any construction project, designers and engineers put
tremendous effort into their drawings and renderings
of the finished structure. These depictions are critically
important: owners need to see them before they can
approve the design, and contractors need to see them
before they can plan their work.
Of course, even the most carefully planned construction
projects rarely go off without a hitch. Contractors at
the site often encounter unexpected clashes between
the placement of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing
components. Owners often find that their new building
has a different look or feel than they had hoped.
In many cases, these problems can be traced to a lack
of communication or collaboration on the final design.
Despite the sophistication of today’s Building Information
Modeling (BIM) systems, a two-dimensional drawing
or small three-dimensional rendering can never fully
represent a completed structure. When different project
teams create their designs independently, the chances
for errors and misunderstandings are multiplied.
However, there is a way to avoid many of these problems.
Engineers, architects, and builders have begun to use an
innovative technology known as a Building Information
Modeling Computer-Aided Virtual Environment, or BIM
CAVE, to get a more lifelike view of a planned building.
A BIM CAVE is a room equipped with wall-sized video
screens that partially or completely surround the viewer
inside. A three-dimensional model of a building is displayed
on the screens, allowing the viewer to navigate through the
design and see building elements from multiple angles.
BIM CAVE technology allows all of a project’s stakeholders
to get a more realistic view of a design before construction.
Architects and designers can use these virtual environments
to discuss design concepts with owners, and contractor
teams can use them to “walk through” their designs together
and fix design clashes without creating construction delays
or generating change orders.
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The Value of Immersion
A growing body of research indicates that immersive
visualization actually enhances the human brain’s ability to
process information, allowing users to gain insights and make
connections that might not otherwise have been possible. For
this reason, immersive environments are gaining popularity
in a wide range of fields, including chemical engineering, oil
and gas exploration, theoretical mathematics, and medicine.
When applied to construction planning and BIM analysis, an
immersive environment provides a wide range of benefits:
nn An immersive environment allows the user to move
around within a BIM model, creating a lifelike experience
that can aid in the early detection of design clashes and
facilitate innovative solutions to difficult design problems.
nn Planned building elements can be viewed in
1:1 scale, allowing users to make faster, more
accurate assessments of a potential design.
nn If the room is designed to accommodate multiple people
at once, the planned building’s owners, designers,
and other stakeholders can review the plan together in
real time. Collaborative sessions of this sort are a key
element of the increasingly popular IPD (Integrated
Project Delivery) approach to design and construction.
nn In addition to solving potential problems with a
building’s infrastructure, BIM CAVE visualization
can help identify potential aesthetic or usability
issues that might not be apparent in two-dimensional
drawings or small-scale 3D renderings.
Contracted Engineering Development is applicable to a wide
range of projects, including the development of automated
systems, manufacturing equipment, control systems,
assembly and test equipment, and audio/visual systems.
A CED engagement can begin as early as a project’s
concepting phase, or as a final step before a customer
releases an RFP.
The wall-sized display screens of an
immersive visualization environment
allow users to view large amounts of
building information at once, but the
benefits of an immersive environment
go well beyond that.
Obstacles to
BIM CAVE Adoption
Immersive visualization environments have been in use in
one form or another for more than 20 years, but despite
their wide range of applications, they have primarily been
constructed only at large universities and other well-funded
research institutions.
As the technology needed to create a BIM CAVE has
become more affordable, businesses such as engineering
firms, architecture firms, and construction companies
have begun to explore the possibility of using visualization
spaces for design and planning. However, companies
face two obstacles that can make an in-house BIM CAVE
impractical:
nn Creating and operating a visualization environment
requires specialized equipment and software.
Universities and other large organizations often
employ their own scientists and engineers
to build and maintain a CAVE, but very few
construction or engineering firms have personnel
on staff who are familiar with the technology.
nn A typical implementation is single-purpose, meaning
that the room is dedicated entirely to BIM CAVE use
and has no other function. This may not be feasible for
companies with limited office space, or for companies
that would only make occasional use of their room.
In order for more companies to take advantage of the
power of BIM visualization, the technology needs to be
implemented in a manner that allows users to exploit
the room’s capabilities to meet multiple business needs,
without requiring extensive reconfiguration between uses.
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nn Three-dimensional BIM visualization — using all three video screens
nn Two-dimensional drawing review — using one or more screens
nn Videoconferencing — using one or more screens
nn Internal meetings — using one or more screens
nn Training sessions — using one or more screens
The Flexible Solution
The Flexible Immersive Visualization Environment™ (FIVE™) concept is a significant advance in BIM CAVE technology, in which
a single room can be used for BIM visualization, video conferencing, training, and other purposes.
At the core of the FIVE concept is an innovative design featuring movable video walls that can be rotated out to create a
three-sided immersive visualization environment, and rotated back to create a more traditional space for meetings and training
sessions. These adjustable video walls, together with advanced conferencing equipment and video switching technology,
allow for a wide range of configurations and activities.
While a traditional BIM CAVE has only one purpose,
a FIVE™
allows for five distinct uses, each of which
can involve multiple configurations of the room’s
resources:
The versatile nature of a FIVE eliminates many of the financial concerns and usability issues that might prevent a design or
building firm from taking advantage of BIM CAVE technology today. In addition, the FIVE concept involves an integrated
approach the room’s audio, video, and computers systems, allowing users to configure and control the environment without
the need for specialized training.
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FIVE™
Comes to Life
Construction Phase
The Morse Group™ FIVE™ is a 28-foot
by 42-foot meeting room, retrofitted to
accommodate three modular PLANAR video
walls. The video walls are mounted on an
automated mechanical structure that allows
users to convert the room into an immersive
visualization environment when needed,
and fold the video walls back against the
wall when not in use.
An equipment closet adjacent to The
Morse Group FIVE houses the room’s video
switching equipment, lighting controls, and
controls for the movable video walls.
The FIVE™ concept was developed through a collaborate
effort between multiple divisions of The Morse Group™.
Not every meeting requires three wall-sized video screens, or even one. The FIVE
concept features movable video walls that can be rotated 90 degrees to create an
immersive environment, and rotated back out of the way to provide an open space
for staff meetings, informal working sessions, and a wide range of other uses.
FIVE™ in use as a BIM
visualization environment. The
room’s occupants can view
the mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing infrastructure of a
planned building in 1:1 scale
and can move through the model
using a control interface within
the room.
The same room being used to
host a clash detection meeting.
After walking through the current
model in three dimensions, the
project team use the room’s large
screens and videoconferencing
tools to review MEP drawings
and make changes to the model
in Revit based on their findings
during the BIM visualization.
A camera mounted above the
center conference table can be
used to display printed drawings
on the video walls.
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Creating a BIM CAVE is a true engineering achievement,
and a flexible visualization environment is an even
greater challenge. Here’s a look at some of the technical
considerations that go into building and operating
a FIVE™.
Video Walls
The distinguishing feature of the FIVE™ concept is the
inclusion of moveable video walls that allow the room to be
configured for several different uses. Video walls can be
sized to fit the dimensions of the room and to create and
optimal viewing experience.
The video panels themselves can be constructed using
many different display technologies. PLANAR displays have
several advantages, including exceptional picture quality,
simplified processing needs, and small bezels that help
create a near-seamless appearance within the wall.
Movement of the walls is accomplished through an automated
mechanism designed specifically to create a versatile space
for immersive visualization. Controls for the wall mechanism
can be located in a secured closet to ensure the safety of the
room occupants and the equipment.
3D Rendering
BIM software, while an essential element for visualization,
does not have the ability to display a building model that
can be navigated in a virtual environment. Before a model
Behind the Scenes
can be viewed in a CAVE, it must first be exported to a
gaming engine (such as Unity3D), which renders the
model as a three-dimensional environment in which the
viewer can move around and interact with the objects in
the model. A third software component allows for multiple
camera perspectives, ensuring that building elements are
displayed properly across all three screens.
Switching and Controls
Primary controls for a FIVE room’s systems, including wall
controls, video switchers, and audio components, should
be contained in a secure equipment closet, either inside
the room or adjacent to it.
Inside the room, a podium and a presenter’s table
each contain controls for navigating through the virtual
environment when the room is used for BIM visualization.
These stations also allow operators to select video inputs,
set up video conferences, and adjust the room audio.
