A conceptual framework for integrating building information modeling with augmented reality

During the last two decades, designers have been embracing building information modeling (BIM) to improve the quality of the documentation that is produced as well as constructability. While BIM has become an innate feature of the design process within the construction industry, there have been limited investigations that have examined how it can be integrated into real-time communication on-site. In addressing this gap, this paper proposes a conceptual framework that integrates BIM with augmented reality (AR) so as to enable the physical context of each construction activity or task to be visualized in real-time. To be effective, it is suggested that AR should be ubiquitous (including context awareness) and thus operate in conjunction with tracking and sensing technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), laser pointing, sensors and motion tracking. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.