Taking BIM to the next level
1 July 2015
QODA has long been advocates for BIM and the benefits it brings to construction. The opportunities for coordination and clash detection are generally accepted as are the benefits of scheduling cost management. These are all tasks that are aimed to make our life easier – “proper design”, minimal change and efficient construction. Whilst clients want to see less risk and lower construction costs, delivered through these efficiencies, they also want to see the finished product before signing off on a huge budget – wouldn’t you? We all like to try before we buy! So Virtual Reality (VR) has to be the next big thing – let’s call it 8D BIM. In collaboration with an undergraduate at Swansea University (studying computer game design – what a great course – we are all jealous!) we have developed our first prototype of a VR environment. By exporting the Revit model to a “game engine” we have been able to show the client some virtual flythroughs, whilst that’s not ground breaking, the next obvious step is to add a 360 degree controller and a VR headset and then take a tour, change the colour, lighting, furniture, all before you buy the building! What an exciting future lies ahead of us! View the flythroughs on our YouTube channel.