A Construction Progress On-site Monitoring and Presentation System Based on The Integration of Augmented Reality and BIM

An on-site construction progress monitoring and presentation system is herein developed that overlays the virtual building information model (BIM) onto the real-time scene of the construction site using augmented reality (AR). The system utilizes the novel AR technology of simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), which is a real-time positioning technology based on visual-inertial odometry and point cloud map construction. Based on the scanned 3D environment point cloud and the adopted plane detection method, the indoor positioning is first initialized by attaching a virtual BIM component, which is set up on the centerline for alignment, to the corresponding real component at the actual site environment. Then, according to the completion surface of the actual object, the parameters of the position offset are kept adjusted at different construction stages, so the model can remain in position with the current scene. In this manner, the 3D BIM will be superimposed and displayed on the real-time view of the site based on the device's understanding of the environment through the recorded point cloud map using SLAM. In addition, the system also provides application modules for monitoring the project progress on-site. The on-site engineer can perform data collection through the designed system by interacting with virtual objects, with visual feedback provided for monitoring progress and evaluating project performance. To monitor the progress of a construction project on-site in real time, a method is proposed to quickly update the SLAM-based indoor positioning for adapting to a changeable construction environment. This compensates for the lack of visualization in the current construction management methods.