Daniel P. Rosário

3D virtual environment used to support lighting system management in a building

The main aim of the research project, which is in progress at the UTL, is to develop a virtual interactive model as a tool to support decisionmaking in the planning of construction maintenance and facilities management. The virtual model gives the capacity to allow the user to transmit, visually and interactively, information related to the components of a building, defined as a function of the time variable. In addition, the analysis of solutions for repair work/substitution and inherent cost are predicted, the results being obtained interactively and visualized in the virtual environment itself. The first component of the virtual prototype concerns the management of lamps in a lighting system. It was applied in a study case. The interactive application allows the examination of the physical model, visualizing, for each element modeled in 3D and linked to a database, the corresponding technical information concerned with the use of the material, calculated for different points in time during their life. The control of a lamp stock, the constant updating of lifetime information and the planning of periodical local inspections are attended on the prototype. This is an important mean of cooperation between collaborators involved in the building management.

Construction and Maintenance Planning Supported on Virtual Environments

The main aim of a research project (Sampaio and Gomes, 2011), now in progress at the Department of Civil Engineering of the Technical University of Lisbon, is to develop virtual models as tools to support decision-making in the planning of construction management and maintenance, PTDC/ ECM/67748/ 2006, Virtual Reality technology applied as a support tool to the planning of construction maintenance. A first prototype for the lighting system had already been completed (Sampaio et al., 2009). A second prototype concerning construction planning is now complete (Santos, 2010) and two Virtual Reality (VR) models concerning maintenance of the closure of interior (Rosario, 2011) and exterior (Gomes, 2010) walls are also finished. This chapter describes these three later models created as part of the overall research project.

Monitoring Interior and Exterior Wall Inspections within a Virtual Environment

This paper describes two prototype applications based on the Virtual Reality (VR) technology for use in maintenance planning of buildings. In a building, the paint coating applied to interior walls and the different types of materials applied to facades convey their aesthetic character and also perform an important function of protection. This a construction component which is exposed to agents of deterioration related to its use, needing the regular evaluation of its state of repair. The applications support the performance of such periodic inspections and the monitoring of interior and exterior wall maintenance, using the VR technology. Used during an inspection visit, the applications allow users to consult a database of irregularities, normally associated with the coating, classified by the most probable causes and by the recommended repair methodologies. In addition, a chromatic scale related to the degree of deterioration of the coating, defined as a function of the time between the dates of the application of the paint and the scheduled repainting, can be attributed to each element of coating monitored. This use of the VR technology allows inspections and the evaluation of the degree of wear and tear of materials to be carried out in a highly direct and intuitive manner.

Management System Integration Supported on Virtual Reality Technology: The Building Lighting Devices

A virtual model to support decision-making in the planning of construction maintenance was developed. It gives the capacity to transmit, visually and interactively, information related to the physical behaviour of a specific component of a building, defined as a function of the time variable. The model helps to identify needs related to the lighting equipment of a building, namely, the cost involved in lamp replacement and control of stock, warnings of the need for periodic inspections and minimization of times when broken bulbs are left in place.

CAD and VR technologies used in civil engineering education

Virtual Reality (VR) technology could be applied as a complement to three-dimensional (3D) modelling, leading to better communication whether in vocational training, in education or in professional practice. Techniques of 3D modelling and VR were applied to the development of models related to the construction process. The 3D models created to support rehabilitation design emerge as an important tool for the monitoring of anomalies in structures and to assist decisions based on the visual analyses of alternative solutions. The VR model created to help the management of lighting systems in buildings allows the visual and interactive transmission of information related to the physical behaviour of the elements, defined as a function of the time variable. Didactic interactive models showing construction works were also developed. The introduction of CAD and VR techniques in school is helpful to students in order to prepare them to consider these technologies as important supports, later in their professional practice.