Nobuyoshi Yabuki

Development and Application of a Product Model for Shield Tunnels

Building Information Modeling is a prevailing methodology in the building industry and half (by length) of the worlds shield tunnels are in Japan. Accordingly, for shield tunnels from 2005 to 2007, we developed a product model called IFC-ShieldTunnel, which is based on Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), in order to meet the future demand for such a product model. IFC-ShieldTunnel was developed by adding new elements that are specific to shield tunnels and that are not included in the original IFC. The added elements include shafts, segments (A, B, and K types), waterproofing elements, segment joint elements, and ring joint elements. Furthermore, soil layers and void elements were created. Recently, we updated the product model by re-organizing the entities and correcting errors. We deployed the updated IFCShieldTunnel model in the construction of an actual shield tunnel in Tokyo for about a year from August 2010 in order to check its feasibility. In the verification process, first, segments were modeled using Autodesk Revit Structure 2011 and property data were assigned to each segment element. Next, a mapping between the original attributes of the entities of IFC and properties of IFC-ShieldTunnel segments was developed. Using this mapping and IFC’s IfcBuildingElementProxy function, we were able to convert the IFC data from Revit Structure 2011 to IFC-ShieldTunnel automatically. Segment data were also converted from Revit Structure to Google SketchUp by IFC-ShieldTunnel. Furthermore, the construction scheduling and cost data were converted from Revit Structure to EXCEL for 4D and 5D analyses of construction. We interviewed engineers who used IFC-ShieldTunnel and received positive comments about the utilization of the product model. Overall, our test demonstrated the feasibility of IFC-ShieldTunnel. In future work, we plan to apply IFC-ShieldTunnel to more projects and test its practicality.

Collaborative and visualized safety planning for construction performed at high elevation

To eliminate unsafe conditions and to reduce a number of accidents at construction sites, engineers and supervisors in charge should have knowledge related with the requirements of safety procedures and safety facilities of construction activities performed at high elevation. Since the level and amount of knowledge and experience depend on the person, engineers and supervisors should discuss various aspects of hazards and safety collaboratively. While supervisors should visit construction sites, they are usually too busy to pay a visit to site. Thus, an innovative approach is needed to provide the engineers and supervisors with a collaborative platform where some engineers are at the site and some supervisors are the office and where they can see the options of safety measures as well as the real construction site, for discussing safety measures. This study aims to develop a visualized and collaborative approach for simulating the construction activities operated at high elevation using Augmented Reality. This research is on-going and the prototype system is under development. The prototype will be tested at a real construction site.

Signage visibility analysis and optimization system using BIM-enabled virtual reality (VR) environments

The proper placement of signage greatly influences pathfinding and information provision in public spaces. Clear visibility, easy comprehension, and efficient placement are all important for successful signage. We propose a signage visibility analysis and optimization system, utilizing an updated Building Information Model (BIM) and a game engine software application to simulate the movement of pedestrians. BIM can provide an up-to-date digital representation of a building and its assets, while computer simulation environments have the potential to simulate the movement of pedestrians. Combining these two technologies provides an opportunity to create a tool that analyzes the efficiency of installed signage and visualizes them in VR environments. The proposed tool contains algorithms, functions and predefined scenarios to calculate the coverage and the visibility of a buildings signage system. This system assists building managers to analyze (visually or by using statistics) the visibility of signboards, to assess their proper placement, and to optimize their placement. The applicability of the method has been validated in case studies performed in subway stations in Japan.

Incorporating H&S into Design and Construction: The Case for Integrating Serious Games Engines Technologies and 4D Planning for Collaborative Work

The construction industry has problems with implementing and complying with health and safety approaches and procedures. This area has seen a number of papers analysing how it can effect production and how health and safety can be improved within the industry.

Collaborative Visualization of Environmental Simulation Result and Sensing Data Using Augmented Reality

Thermal environment deterioration is a serious problem. To solve this problem, qualitative and quantitative evaluation is necessary. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis result and sensing data should be represented more comprehensively so that novice people can understand and join discussion on environmental design. In this research, therefore, a visualization technique is proposed, combining visualization of CFD analysis result or sensing data with Augmented Reality (AR), which can superimpose virtual objects onto the video image. By using this system, multiple users, wearing head mounted displays (HMD) can view the analysis result or sensing data onto the video image of outdoors and can investigate countermeasures to solve environmental problems cooperatively. So far, an AR-based outdoor CFD analysis result visualization system has been developed by adopting our accurate registration technique for outdoor AR using point cloud data. An AR-based outdoor sensing data visualization system is under development.

A Development Methodology of Virtual Reality Models for Urban Light Rail Transit Projects

To solve recent urban problems such as decline of downtown areas, aged society, congested roads, etc., light rail transit (LRT) is gaining much attention among municipal agencies and urban planners. For building consensus among stakeholders in the process of design and construction of LRT, a virtual reality (VR) system is often used. Usually, as the data size of a virtual urban model increases and more mobile objects are in the model, its presentation gives more realistic impressions. However, at the same time, this causes longer data loading time and low rate of frames per second (fps), which may hinder the actual use of VR for workshops and meetings. In this research, thus, requirements of VR systems for LRT projects were studied, and a methodology for development of VR model was proposed from the perspective of traffic, landscapes, and urban planning. This methodology was applied to an actual LRT project in Japan and showed its feasibility and practicality.

Visualization of Indoor Thermal Conditions Using Augmented Reality for Improving Thermal Environment

Temperature in an air conditioned room is not usually even and it is generally known that “the higher, the warmer” in winter and “the closer to the AC, the cooler” in summer. In order to conceive countermeasures to such unevenness, distribution of temperature and humidity in the room should be monitored. Typical line charts and table representation of sensing data would not be efficient for human to understand the situation if the number of sensors increase. Thus, in this research, a system which visualizes the information obtained in real time with AR technology by monitoring the indoor thermal environment by using Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) was developed. This system allows users to observe thermal environment in a 3D space, in order for them to intuitively grasp updated distribution status of temperature and humidity. The feasibility of this system was studied as an environmental improvement method by an experiment.

A heatstroke prediction and prevention system for outdoor construction workers

BackgroundRecently, the number of heatstroke cases is increasing among construction workers. To prevent heatstroke at construction sites, it is necessary to accurately predict both the thermal environment of construction sites and the physiological condition of workers, which is presently difficult to achieve.MethodsWe have therefore developed the Construction Workers’ Heatstroke Prevention (CWHP) system specifically for outdoor construction workers. The CWHP system consists of the Thermal Environment Prediction (TEP) system, which predicts changes in the thermal environment based on forecast values obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency and results of computational fluid dynamics and solar insolation simulations, and the Core Body Temperature Prediction (CBTP) system, which predicts changes in worker core body temperature based on the TEP system results. The CWHP’s heatstroke risk notification system indicates the risk of worker heatstroke considering the work site and schedule, so that construction managers can appropriately schedule work or install appropriate facilities such as tents, electric fans, and cold water tanks before work starts. The system is flexible enough to accommodate situations differing from meteorological agency forecasts.ResultsIn summer 2011 the CWHP system was applied at Osaka University campus under hypothetical situations using the Virtual Reality Avatar Thermal Environment (VRATE) system, previously developed by the authors.ConclusionsThe system accurately predicted the time history of construction worker core body temperatures and informed users of times of heatstroke risk, allowing work sites and worker schedules to be modified such that new plans showed no risk for that day.

Cooperative Information Sharing between a 3D Model and Structural Analysis Software for Railway Viaducts

Much effort has been being done to realize the concept of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in building industry. In the civil infrastructure domain, however, BIM has not been prevailing so much yet. To promote BIM in this domain, advantages by adoption of the new methodology, especially the cooperative aspect, must be clearly illustrated. In this paper, cooperative information sharing methodology between a 3D model and structural analysis software for railway viaducts is described.

A Management System of Roadside Trees Using RFID and Ontology

As roadside trees are important asset of road infrastructure, standardized inspection and diagnosis guidelines and records have been proposed in Japan. However, the ledgers and records are usually paper-based and the database, if employed, is often weak and poor. Thus, the recorded data has not been used for maintenance, remedy, and renewal of roadside trees effectively by road administrators. Furthermore, each governmental or municipal agency has its own ledger or database, they use different terminologies, units, tree registration systems so that it is very difficult to compare or combine two or more roadside ledgers or databases. Therefore, in this research, a roadside tree diagnosis system is being developed using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) in order to facilitate inspection and diagnosis. In addition, the ontology of roadside tree management is being developed in order to compare and analyze various roadside tree databases. The prototype systems will be applied to real roadside trees and the proposed methodology will be validated.