Towards cloud Augmented Reality for construction application by BIM and SNS integration

Huge progress has been made on 'Augmented Reality' (AR) techniques such as registration, tracking, and display hardware. However, a construction AR system should be more convenient and combined with in-use applications to support multi-disciplinary users throughout construction lifecycle. This paper presents a video-based on-line AR environment and a pilot cloud framework. The contribution lies in two aspects: firstly, an environment utilizing web3D is demonstrated, in which on-site images are rendered to box nodes and registered with virtual objects through a three-step method; secondly, it is further extended to be cloud through federation of BIM (building information modeling) and BSNS (business social networking services). Technical solutions to key issues such as authoring, publishing, and composition are designed. The proposed environment is seamlessly integrated into in-use information systems and therefore enjoys greater usability. Implementations demonstrate how this framework and environment work. Although preliminary, it is conclusive for proof of concept. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.