Why integrate virtual reality into design?

December 4, 2022
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Take advantage of the Virtual Reality in the design is one of the latest frontiers of the AEC sector. Here are the advantages for designers and which technologies to associate with BIM and virtual reality.

What is Virtual Reality?

There virtual reality, also known as RV or VR, is a digital simulation of reality, created on the computer and to be explored through the use of systems such as visors, which make theimmersive experience.

How BIM and Virtual Reality Connect

We can consider virtual reality as a natural evolution of BIM.

The 3D model proposed by BIM is in fact a digitization of the real building, which can be:

  • Viewed and navigated via PC, tablet or smartphone;
  • Explored in virtual reality through a headset.

The new frontiers of virtual reality in design and BIM

Today technology is making great strides even in the AEC sector and virtual reality can be integrated with other immersive technologies available to designers, for example:

  • Collaborative virtual tools such as virtual studios, which allow all figures involved in the project to work and present 3D models in the same virtual environment in real time;
  • Immersive software to coordinate work at every stage of the project lifecycle, creating optimized workflows;
  • Technologies and software from the world of video games, like the serious game, which bring gamification to the construction world and thus allow for improved processes and also for immersive and effective training;
  • Metaverse, in which physical people are transported thanks to the use of avatars and can work simultaneously and in real time with multiple software, improving collaborative processes.

Why Virtual Reality is Useful for Designers

Thanks to virtual reality and new technologies it is possible create an immersive experience, useful for both clients and end customers, who thus have a more realistic idea of the work right from the design stage, which for the designers themselves.

Using virtual reality in design offers numerous benefits to designers, which from the early stages of conception can:

  • Integrate information between BIM and Virtual Reality, thus being able to read all the information relating to the project through the individual objects;
  • Know every detail about the building and on its internal structures;
  • Explore the building in 1:1 scale;
  • Have all the information about the building in real time, to plan and manage work;
  • Identify, report and correct defects and errors;
  • Anticipate possible changes and implement them from the very first moments;
  • Working in a single environment with other figures involved in the project, improving communication and coordination;
  • See in preview what the building will look like once finished;
  • Improve your workflow and cure every detail at its best.

In addition to all these advantages, there are also:

  • Benefits related to the maintenance of the work, programmable already in the design phase;
  • A best customer approach, to whom the virtual work completed in every detail can be shown from the very first stages, to manage any changes right from the design stage and offer the customer a more complete experience.