BIM-based immersive collaborative environment for furniture, fixture and equipment design

Abstract

One of the most critical issues related to the current application of virtual reality during design appraisal is the inability to have a collaborative virtual environment where a group of geographically remote stakeholders can interact and communicate effectively in real-time. This paper addresses this shortcoming by proposing a collaborative furniture, fixture and equipment virtual environment (COFFEE) that allows concurrent multi-users to interact, communicate and collaborate virtually during the design appraisal of interior furnishings of a facility The testing of the proposed system among various construction stakeholders (n = 26) to demonstrate the usability and functionality showed high degree of acceptance by stakeholders as a result of improved visualisation, multi-user communication, and collaboration in the virtual environment. In practice COFFEE is expected to assist interior design stakeholders to make informed decisions and create shared understanding before commencement of construction activity.