Thomas Hilfert

Bio: Thomas Hilfert is an academic researcher from Ruhr University Bochum. The author has contributed to research in topics: Virtual reality & Trench. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 6 publications receiving 194 citations.

Low-cost virtual reality environment for engineering and construction

Abstract: Presenting significant building or engineering 3D-models is a crucial part of the planning, construction and maintenance phases in terms of collaboration and understanding. Especially in complex or large-scale models, immersion is one of the major key factors for being able to intuitively perceive all aspects of the scene. A fully immersive system needs to give the user a large field-of-view with reduced latency for lifelike impression. Technologies such as VRwalls and shutter glasses can deliver high refresh rates, yet fail to give a large field-of-view. Head-mounted-devices for virtual reality fill this gap. Head tracking mechanisms translate movements of the user’s head into virtual camera movements and enable a natural way of examining models. Unlike a stereoscopic representation with projectors, point-of-view tracking can be achieved separately for each individual user. Hardware costs for such systems were very high in the past, but have dropped due to virtual reality systems now gaining traction in the mainstream gaming community. In this paper we present a way to build a low-cost, highly immersive virtual reality environment for engineering and construction applications. Furthermore, we present a method to simplify and partly automate the process of reusing digital building models, which are already used in construction, to create virtual scenes, instead of having to do parallel content creation for visualization. Using the Oculus Rift head-mounted display and the Leap Motion hand-tracking device, we show the possibilities of naturally interacting within a virtual space in different use cases. The software, based on the popular game engine Unreal Engine 4, will be used as a basis for further research and development. Building Information Modeling data can be imported to UE4 with our presented plugin. Using an automated database for mapping materials to the geometry simplifies the process of importing Building Information Modeling entities. The refresh rate of the system stays within acceptable margins needed for virtual reality applications using head-mounted devices. Head-mounted devices present a great potential for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry, as a person can experience realistic first-person situations without having to care about injuries. Automated processes for the simplification of content creation, leveraging existing models, and the usage of visual programming languages enable even nonprogrammers to create scenarios to their needs.

First Person Virtual Reality for Evaluation and Learning of Construction Site Safety

Abstract: Early hazard recognition in the construction environment plays a pivotal role in accident prevention. Modern technological advances in the field of visualization and display hardware enable unrivaled situational experiences when using headmounted displays. Low-cost hardware, high refresh rates and increasing resolutions of devices enable immersion into a virtual world with useful safety applications for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Realistic particle effects and audio simulation support the perception of human test subjects experiencing a construction site from a first person view. Such test infrastructure and environment generate more accurate reactions to dangers emerging from hazardous site conditions. The scope of the presented work is developing the framework for gathering scientific data that, once analyzed, defines new approaches towards situational awareness and learning. The particular application we investigate is the understanding of the safety behavior of pedestrian workers performing tasks near heavy equipment. To create a realistic virtual reality environment, we are importing building information modeling (BIM) data into the Unreal Engine 4 for visualization with modern, lowcost HMD hardware. The developed first person virtual reality infrastructure allows us to test human behavior in several unsafe work scenarios that are common in practice. While the test subjects experience the hazards in a safe test environment, their learning is made analyzable through the use of computational logging operating on a multitude set of data records collected in the virtual environment. Results are presented that show the potential impact of the developed method on existing construction safety applications, including but not limited to rapid hazard evaluation and learning.

Evaluation of Building Use Scenarios by Crowd Simulations and Immersive Virtual Environments: A Case Study

Abstract: Virtual reality (VR) is becoming common in the AEC/FM industry, closely linked to BIM implementation. VR tools can be used to anticipate operational issues, simulating them in a virtual prototype since early design. The paper investigates such a topic in relation to access, space and use performance of an existing hospital facility. A case study has been developed considering a pavilion where both medical and food spaces are located, causing a clash between flows of end-users in critical time-slots. Crowd simulations and immersive virtual environments have been tested as occupancy evaluation tools. Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) data have been translated into a dynamic simulation of the existing occupancy conditions within the BIModel of the pavilion and considering various profiles of end-users. Subsequently, both the BIModel and the crowd simulation have been imported into a game engine to be visualised and experienced in a VRheadset, switching from the analysis of flows to the perspective of end-users (i.e. able-bodied users, person in a wheelchair, visually-impaired person). The use of VR enables a clear visualisation and communication of the existing conditions. Moreover, POE data translated into a dynamic simulation of the building use scenario could be applied for the preoccupancy evaluation of internal layout reconfigurations. Finally, the combined use of crowd simulation and immersive VR enables the users to perceive crowding in the occupancy evaluation and adds the user experience as design input, representing an innovative approach that goes beyond traditional resources such as personal experience and regulations.

Mobile Point Cloud Assessment for Trench Safety Audits

Abstract: Fatalities resulting from cave-in hazards during excavation work in the United States account for 48% of the trench fatalities in construction every year per Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) data. Recent trends indicate that fatalities from trench and excavation hazards in the US are increasing. Often the experience of safety inspectors and/or the designated competent person (CP) for trenching and excavation is vital when assessing sloping measurements with approved engineering survey tools. The degree of accidents, however, allows the conclusion that proper assessment and/or protection of excavation sites is not performed sufficiently in the field, or safety coordinators and/or adequately trained CPs are not on hand when needed. While existing assessment processes and protection methods are reviewed for potential improvement, this paper proposes a new compliance assistance prototype that incorporates state-of-the-art technology. The proposed prototype creates: (1) mobile field data acquisition with lowcost photo cameras to capture point cloud surveys of the as-built conditions of trenches, and (2) computational data processing to automatically extract trench height, width, and slope values. Early results to field-realistic experiments promise useful applications of the developed prototype for safety coordinators or adequately trained CPs.

A critical review of the use of virtual reality in construction engineering education and training

Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) has been rapidly recognized and implemented in construction engineering education and training (CEET) in recent years due to its benefits of providing an engaging and immersive environment. The objective of this review is to critically collect and analyze the VR applications in CEET, aiming at all VR-related journal papers published from 1997 to 2017. The review follows a three-stage analysis on VR technologies, applications and future directions through a systematic analysis. It is found that the VR technologies adopted for CEET evolve over time, from desktop-based VR, immersive VR, 3D game-based VR, to Building Information Modelling (BIM)-enabled VR. A sibling technology, Augmented Reality (AR), for CEET adoptions has also emerged in recent years. These technologies have been applied in architecture and design visualization, construction health and safety training, equipment and operational task training, as well as structural analysis. Future research directions, including the integration of VR with emerging education paradigms and visualization technologies, have also been provided. The findings are useful for both researchers and educators to usefully integrate VR in their education and training programs to improve the training performance.

Digital Twin in the IoT Context: A Survey on Technical Features, Scenarios, and Architectural Models

Abstract: Digital twin (DT) is an emerging concept that is gaining attention in various industries It refers to the ability to clone a physical object (PO) into a software counterpart The softwarized object, termed logical object, reflects all the important properties and characteristics of the original object within a specific application context To fully determine the expected properties of the DT, this article surveys the state-of-the-art starting from the original definition within the manufacturing industry It takes into account related proposals emerging in other fields, namely augmented and virtual reality (eg, avatars), multiagent systems, and virtualization This survey thereby allows for the identification of an extensive set of DT features that point to the “softwarization” of POs To properly consolidate a shared DT definition, a set of foundational properties is identified and proposed as a common ground outlining the essential characteristics (must-haves) of a DT Once the DT definition has been consolidated, its technical and business value is discussed in terms of applicability and opportunities Four application scenarios illustrate how the DT concept can be used and how some industries are applying it The scenarios also lead to a generic DT architectural model This analysis is then complemented by the identification of software architecture models and guidelines in order to present a general functional framework for the DT This article, eventually, analyses a set of possible evolution paths for the DT considering its possible usage as a major enabler for the softwarization process

A review of immersive virtual reality serious games to enhance learning and training

Abstract: The merger of game-based approaches and Virtual Reality (VR) environments that can enhance learning and training methodologies have a very promising future, reinforced by the widespread market-availability of affordable software and hardware tools for VR-environments. Rather than passive observers, users engage in those learning environments as active participants, permitting the development of exploration-based learning paradigms. There are separate reviews of VR technologies and serious games for educational and training purposes with a focus on only one knowledge area. However, this review covers 135 proposals for serious games in immersive VR-environments that are combinations of both VR and serious games and that offer end-user validation. First, an analysis of the forum, nationality, and date of publication of the articles is conducted. Then, the application domains, the target audience, the design of the game and its technological implementation, the performance evaluation procedure, and the results are analyzed. The aim here is to identify the factual standards of the proposed solutions and the differences between training and learning applications. Finally, the study lays the basis for future research lines that will develop serious games in immersive VR-environments, providing recommendations for the improvement of these tools and their successful application for the enhancement of both learning and training tasks.

The New Era of Virtual Reality Locomotion: A Systematic Literature Review of Techniques and a Proposed Typology

Abstract: The latest technical and interaction advancements that took place in the Virtual Reality (VR) field have marked a new era, not only for VR, but also for VR locomotion. Although the latest advancements in VR locomotion have raised the interest of both researchers and users in analyzing and experiencing current VR locomotion techniques, the field of research on VR locomotion, in its new era, is still uncharted. In this work, VR locomotion is explored through a systematic literature review investigating empirical studies of VR locomotion techniques from 2014–2017. The review analyzes the VR locomotion techniques that have been studied, their interaction-related characteristics and the research topics that were addressed in these studies. Thirty-six articles were identified as relevant to the literature review, and the analysis of the articles resulted in 73 instances of 11 VR locomotion techniques, such as real-walking, walking-in-place, point and teleport, joystick-based locomotion, and more. Results showed that since the VR revival, the focus of VR locomotion research has been on VR technology and various technological aspects, overshadowing the investigation of user experience. From an interaction perspective, the majority of the utilized and studied VR locomotion techniques were found to be based on physical interaction, exploiting physical motion cues for navigation in VR environments. A significant contribution of the literature review lies in the proposed typology for VR locomotion, introducing four distinct VR locomotion types: motion-based, room scale-based, controller-based and teleportation-based locomotion.

Small business awareness and adoption of state-of-the-art technologies in emerging and developing markets, and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract: Many challenges continue to hinder digital technologies' adoption by small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies. Comparatively, there are more success stories by SMEs in emer...