Building Inspector XR: Streamlining Scan-to-BIM with Virtual and Mixed Reality

Abstract

Digitalization in the construction industry is increasingly striving to create digital twins in order to continuously exploit optimization potential in the management and utilization of existing buildings. Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based as-is or as-built documentation represents a promising basis in this context, which requires creating a geometric model for example based on point clouds as well as semantic enrichment in a Scan-to-BIM workflow. Conventionally, this is carried out manually by specialists on 2D screens and often is time-consuming and costly. The project "Building Inspector XR" addresses these issues and presents an intuitive solution for BIM-based as-is/as-built documentation using X-Reality (XR). In Virtual Reality (VR), BIM models are created off-site from point clouds and then are verified in Mixed Reality (MR) on-site. By integrating (partially) automated methods and targeting user-friendliness in our solution, Scan-to-BIM can be realized more efficiently and intuitively. In this paper, the focus lies on the innovative aspects of our XR application which encompass VR and MR environments, automation support, modeling schemes in compliance with BIM standards, and the registration of models in reality for MR. Additionally, the paper shows the interconnected toolchain that facilitates an efficient Scan-to-BIM workflow