3D visualization of simulated construction operations

Significant advances have been made in the field of construction process modeling. However, no convenient graphical support tools exist that can depict the modeled operations in 3D. This results in the “black box” effect being experienced by many simulation output analysts who have reservations about the credibility of the analysis based solely on the text and chart based output provided by most simulation software. The process visualization/animation tools currently available commercially are restricted to two dimensions, inherently lacking in the real world 3D capabilities that are indispensable for the realistic visualization of many construction operations. This paper describes on-going research at Virginia Tech that focuses on the development of a general-purpose, 3D text file-driven visualization system. This system enables visualization of both the construction processes and the evolving products in 3D. The input to the program is an ASCII text file consisting of sequential animation commands. This file can be generated automatically by a variety of simulation software capable of writing formatted text during simulation runs. Due to the flexibility of the command set and the independence of the tool from any particular simulation modeling software, the system has numerous potential applications in fields other than construction, such as in the manufacturing and service industries