Zero latency: Real-time synchronization of BIM data in virtual reality for collaborative decision-making

Virtual Reality (VR) has attracted increasing attention of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facility Management (AEC/FM) industry in recent years, as it shows a great potential to improve workflow efficiency through enhanced common understanding. A problem with current VR applications in AEC/FM is that the manual conversation from official design data (e.g., a BIM model) to VR displays is difficult and time consuming. There is a lack of automated and efficient data transfer approach between BIM and VR. In this paper, we will introduce a BIM VR real-time synchronization system called BVRS, which is based on an innovative Cloud-based BIM metadata interpretation and communication method BVRS allows users to update BIM model changes in VR headsets (such as Oculus Rift DK2) automatically and simultaneously. We tested BVRS in a variety of design change scenarios including changing object dimensions, changing object locations and changing object types. Results confirmed the usability and efficiency of BVRS.