Lessons learned from the development of immersive virtual reality-based collaborative architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) education environment

Zia Din

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Construction Engineering Division Technical Session 5
Page Count: 12
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--40888
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/40888
Download Count: 815

Paper Authors

biography

Zia Din University of Houston

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Zia Din, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Department of Construction Management, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 77021. Tel: 713-743-4436; Fax: 713-743-4793; Email: uziauddi5@central.uh.edu

Dr. Zia Din is an assistant professor in the Department of Construction Management at the University of Houston. Dr. Din's research interests include constructability analysis, construction safety, innovative pedagogies, and construction information technology. He is particularly interested in using immersive visual technologies to improve construction safety and productivity. His current research focuses on using augmented and virtual reality technology to improve the effectiveness of risk identification in construction. One of his current research projects looks into making construction-related three-dimensional model-based information available to workers via handheld devices for job hazard analysis (JHA). The second project focuses on presenting model-based information in a virtual reality environment for job hazard analysis, where new and experienced participants can collaborate.

He possesses a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, Pakistan and a Master of Science degree in Construction Engineering and Management from Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea, and a Ph.D. in Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering from Arizona State University – Tempe, AZ. In addition, Dr. Din completed two years of postdoctoral training at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

Since joining the University of Houston in 2019, as a Principal Investigator, and Co-Principal Investigator, Dr. Din has participated in three research projects for a total amount of $424,322 sponsored by McElhattan Foundation, CPWR, the Center for Construction Research and Training, and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in the last three years.

Dr. Din is an author or co-author of more than 31 journal and conference papers and reports. He serves as a technical reviewer for prestigious journals such as the International Journal of Construction Management, Frontiers in Built Environment, and ASCE Construction Research Congress proceedings.

Dr. Din takes great pride in his teaching. Since 2017, he has taught various undergraduate and graduate courses at Arizona State University and the University of Houston.
In recent years, Dr. Din has taught courses such as "Project Controls," "Building Information Modeling Applications for Construction Management," and "LEED and Green Construction Principles in Construction Management."

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Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) applications have made significant progress in the previous few years in many domains, including games, surgery, and flight simulators. VR is also gaining the attention of the AEC professionals for mostly design review and safety training. However, its use in construction education is minimal. One explanation for the low adoption rate in education is that VR application development and implementation are not as straightforward as other consumer plug-and-play applications and tools. VR implementation requires the development of VR applications which is primarily a computer programming intensive effort. There is a shortage of resources, including development tools, guidelines, and system architectural knowledge, for non-programmer construction educators interested in developing VR apps for classroom usage. This paper documents the design and development processes of a VR-based collaborative learning application for construction education. It describes the design and development of a virtual reality-based collaborative environment for construction students that allows immersive project-based teaching and learning. Following a review of the literature and consultations with construction instructors, the authors specified the objective of the VR application. The application will allow students to collaboratively solve problems, such as project safety plans and constructability assessments. The VR application was developed using the Unity game engine. The VR application was run using the Oculus Quest head-mounted device. To implement collaborative learning, a cloud platform called Photon server was deployed. Autodesk Revit was used to create three-dimensional digital models, which were then used to create a variety of scenarios in the VR environment. The authors plan to assess the usefulness of VR applications with construction students in the future. The paper's contribution is documenting the application development process, which includes many software and hardware tools and best practices for designing and developing the application. The paper also offers insights on guidelines and common pitfalls in the VR development process. This work advances the application of VR in construction education one step closer to the ultimate aim of creating completely immersive teaching and learning environments wherever possible. This paper is based on a work in progress.

Citation
Format

Din, Z. (2022, August), Lessons learned from the development of immersive virtual reality-based collaborative architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) education environment Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40888

TY - CPAPER
AB - Virtual reality (VR) applications have made significant progress in the previous few years in many domains, including games, surgery, and flight simulators. VR is also gaining the attention of the AEC professionals for mostly design review and safety training. However, its use in construction education is minimal. One explanation for the low adoption rate in education is that VR application development and implementation are not as straightforward as other consumer plug-and-play applications and tools. VR implementation requires the development of VR applications which is primarily a computer programming intensive effort. There is a shortage of resources, including development tools, guidelines, and system architectural knowledge, for non-programmer construction educators interested in developing VR apps for classroom usage. This paper documents the design and development processes of a VR-based collaborative learning application for construction education. It describes the design and development of a virtual reality-based collaborative environment for construction students that allows immersive project-based teaching and learning. Following a review of the literature and consultations with construction instructors, the authors specified the objective of the VR application. The application will allow students to collaboratively solve problems, such as project safety plans and constructability assessments. The VR application was developed using the Unity game engine. The VR application was run using the Oculus Quest head-mounted device. To implement collaborative learning, a cloud platform called Photon server was deployed. Autodesk Revit was used to create three-dimensional digital models, which were then used to create a variety of scenarios in the VR environment. The authors plan to assess the usefulness of VR applications with construction students in the future. The paper's contribution is documenting the application development process, which includes many software and hardware tools and best practices for designing and developing the application. The paper also offers insights on guidelines and common pitfalls in the VR development process. This work advances the application of VR in construction education one step closer to the ultimate aim of creating completely immersive teaching and learning environments wherever possible. This paper is based on a work in progress.
AU - Zia Din
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Lessons learned from the development of immersive virtual reality-based collaborative architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) education environment
UR - https://peer.asee.org/40888
DO - 10.18260/1-2--40888
ER -