Dr Sunila Lobo and Prof Jennifer Whyte won the ‘best paper’ award at the international conference of the ‘International Research Network on Organising by Projects’ (IRNOP), which was recently hosted in UCL, London, bringing together ‘scholars and practitioners with a common passion for projects, project organising and temporary organisations’. The winning paper was on “How firms build project capabilities to deliver complex projects: The case of digital delivery.”

In this meeting, Dr. Maxwell Mallia-Parfitt presented the 3D MOVE: A Mobile Visualization Environments for Construction Applications.

This project builds on previous research to enable 1:1 scale simulation of 3D models and built environments. However, this particular technology is designed for easy deployment and transportation to and from site. Maxwell discussed technical aspects of the 3D MOVEs development, installation and initial user testing, as well as the improvements that come from using models at life-size.

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Join us on February 18 for Dr. Maxwell Mallia-Parfitt’s presentation of the 3D MOVE: A Mobile Visualization Environments for Construction Applications.

Click here to register!

So far, over 40% of registrants for this meeting have indicated that their organization has considered the use of advanced visualization technologies such as augmented or virtual reality tools, and they have also expressed a medium to high level of familiarity with them. Building on this interest from the industry, Maxwell’s presentation will provide an overview of how this immersive visualization environment is being tested for its implementation in the design and field office.

This project builds on previous research to enable 1:1 scale simulation of 3D models and built environments. However, this particular technology is designed for easy deployment and transportation to and from site. Maxwell will discuss technical aspects of the 3D MOVEs development, installation and initial user testing, as well as the improvements that come from using models at life-size. Main takeaways from this meeting include:

• Applications of mobile visualization environments
• Process for deploying mobile visualization environments in field offices
• Context of site testing, installation and operation
• Benefits from interaction with BIM models in this type of environment

Presentation Background
This research at the University of Reading has focused on multi-user interaction in a Collaborative Virtual Environment (CAVE). Support is provided for various types of Virtual Reality systems, mainly concentrating on CAVEs, down to desktops and head-mounted display. The 3D MOVE project aims to bring fully immersive collaborative visualization to both design and field offices. Applications of this technology could include team training in potentially hazardous unreproducible scenarios, marketing applications demonstrating consumer/environment interaction, group physiological assessment and social interaction/entertainment.

The latest University of Reading enrichment week was a big success with lots of students getting the chance to experience of our fully immersive CAVE facility.

The students learnt how to navigate through and interact with models in the CAVE. Some pictures of students working together:

As part of our commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 35% by 2016, the University of Reading is installing a new Energy Centre that will use Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technology.

The new gas-fuelled Energy Centre will contribute almost 10% of the carbon savings needed to hit our 35% target and save over £250,000 in utilities costs annually.

This timelapse video spans the first 10 months of the construction project.

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Video by: Dr Maxwell Mallia-Parfitt

Music by: BenSound

On Monday the 6th October 2014, the Design Innovation Research Centre hosted a Technology Showcase event in partnership with the Thames Valley BIM Hub.

Dr Chris Harty gave a short introduction and overview to BIM-related research currently underway in the School of Construction Management and Engineering, followed by presentations from five technology providers in the Construction Sector.

During these presentations, Dr Maxwell Mallia-Parfitt demonstrated technical capabilities of the University of Reading’s CAVE (Collaborative Automatic Virtual Environment) which gave visitors the chance to experience total immersion within a BIM model, at a 1:1 scale, of the new Whitechapel Station development part of the £14.8bn Crossrail project.

Pictures from the event:

The inaugural ‘International Data and Information Management Conference (IDIMC 2014)’ was held at Loughborough University’s Design School, on 17 September 2014. Dr Sunila Lobo presented her work on how learning about information management across construction projects can be mobilized and embedded in future project practice. It was organized by Loughborough University’s Centre for Information Management in collaboration with the British Computer Society’s Data Management Specialist Group and attracted senior people from industry and academia. The organisations that attended include English Heritage, BBC and Ford. The keynote speeches from Profs. Sue Newell and Jacky Swan as well as a senior executive from Ford and a leading academic from the University of Cambridge were very interesting and interactive. It was envisioned that such events as this would bring together different strands of research and practice, which in combination could make a huge impact on the information society and knowledge-based economy.
For more information, please contact Dr Sunila Lobo.