Virtual Reality and Construction Industry: Review of Current State-of-Practice and Future Applications

Virtual reality systems are making significant headway in the construction industry for design, training, planning, and management applications. With research continuing to show the virtues of adopting virtual reality in blue-collar occupational environments, the industry is making rapid and substantial investments to facilitate institutional innovation that supports adoption. Despite a push from both the research and professional community, the widespread adoption of virtual reality remains hindered because details on practical application remains unclear. This study used a social constructionist approach to capture the perspectives of industry professionals on the challenges and opportunities associated with use of virtual reality for construction safety applications. The interviews with professionals revealed that the application of virtual reality in the workplace is currently in its infancy stage and lacks standardization primarily due to scalability and quality concerns. Additionally, the cost associated with large-scale adoption also remains prohibitive to date. The experiential learnings of professionals are used in this paper to determine where future research and practice efforts need to focus to pave the way for future of virtual reality within the construction industry.

Automated summary

Virtual reality systems are making significant headway in the construction industry, but face challenges such as standardization, scalability, and cost.