{"id":43392,"date":"2018-07-10T15:36:38","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T14:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=43392"},"modified":"2018-07-12T14:59:54","modified_gmt":"2018-07-12T13:59:54","slug":"ebmr-helmet-lets-builders-visualise-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/ebmr-helmet-lets-builders-visualise-plan\/43392\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed-reality helmet lets builders visualise architects plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Construction professionals can now \u2018see\u2019 a building in place and in rich detail before a single brick has been laid thanks to the Engineering Building Mixed Reality (EBMR) helmet<\/h2>\n

The EBMR helmet uses technology from\u00a0Xsens<\/a> that has been applied to a new venture between construction engineering company Dura Vermeer<\/a> and augmented reality software developer Recreate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The helmet provides for the first time a 3D, real-time holographic rendering of an architect\u2019s plan overlaid on the user\u2019s view of the building site. Standing on an empty building site, the user can see the structure, correctly positioned, as though it had already been built.<\/p>\n

The construction industry has to deal with the variances between the ideal plan on paper \u2013 in the form of an architect\u2019s drawings \u2013 and the reality on the ground. The architect\u2019s design is a vision, but the job of realising this vision is the builder\u2019s.<\/p>\n

For centuries, the main way in which architects have communicated their vision to builders is in the form of a plan, or drawings: a 2D, abstract representation of 3D reality. Even today, when digital systems have replaced paper-based methods in so many domains, builders are still tied to computer renderings of an architect\u2019s plan \u2013 drawings which are still 2D when viewed on a display screen.<\/p>\n

Mentally projecting a flat, abstract representation on to 3D reality requires skill, judgement and interpretation on the part of building professionals. Inevitably, this creates scope for error, miscalculation and miscommunication between members of a construction project\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

The EBMR helmet allows the user to forgo errors which can occur from traditional 2D plans. As the user moves, their view of the structure moves. The user no longer has to imagine how the building will look, based on an understanding of the drawings: the EBMR helmet shows the user exactly how it will look, without ever having seen the drawings.<\/p>\n

Using ultra-accurate satellite positioning data, the helmet knows exactly where the user is on the surface of the earth. From the drawings, it knows exactly where on the surface of the earth the structure is to be built. It can then \u2018build\u2019 the structure in virtual reality and present it to the user, accurately positioned and oriented.\"EBMR<\/p>\n

How beneficial is the EBMR helmet?<\/h3>\n

The EBMR helmet has already been used in pilot projects, such as the construction by Dura Vermeer of a bridge in The Netherlands, and has provided three valuable benefits in them:<\/p>\n