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Intuitive Self-Inspection Techniques using Augmented Reality for construction, refurbishment and maintenance of energy-efficient buildings made of prefabricated components

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - INSITER (Intuitive Self-Inspection Techniques using Augmented Reality for construction, refurbishment and maintenance of energy-efficient buildings made of prefabricated components)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2017-06-01 al 2018-11-30

More than 70% of all buildings in the EU nowadays are based on prefab components. The critical bottleneck of industrialised EeB is during on-site assembly and commissioning. As a result, the energy-efficiency potential as designed is not realised in the new or refurbished buildings based on prefab components. To solve this issue, the INSITER Project Consortium has developed new methods, used advance measurement devices, and deployed various ICT solutions in order to detect errors during construction, estimate the performance implications of the identified errors, and educate construction workers and other professionals to prevent errors and to check the quality of their works on-site.

"Self-instruction" and "self-inspection" have become the 'magic words' in daily conversations among the INSITER consortium partners. We have been able to customise and optimise the measurement procedures using laser, thermal and acoustic devices to be eligible for use during construction process. This is a significant advancement compared to the standard procedures for laboratories or isolated environments only. We have also been able to use Augmented Reality (AR) to support self-instruction and self-inspection. Perhaps most importantly, we have proven that Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be used to integrate 3D scanned and measurement data from different devices and be applied on the construction site for self-instruction and self-inspection. We have tested our innovations in lab, factory and real construction site environments in various EU countries. We have involved experts and stakeholders from EU design, engineering and construction firms alongside factory and construction workers in live testing and demonstration of our technologies. We have also generated a preliminary business plan to exploit the innovation on the market in the EU.
Summary of work performed in the previous reporting periods:
- Listing building errors and EE impacts, inspection norms in EU countries.
- KPIs, self-instruction and inspection for critical building and MEP components; stakeholder and workflow analysis.
- Completed lab testing; software proof-of-concept.
- Data acquisition in 3D point clouds, thermal, sound images; soft-sensing measurement procedures optimised.

Work performed in the final reporting period, including an overview of the results and their exploitation and dissemination:
- Use cases and real field measurements within all field demo cases were implemented.
- INSITER software toolset and the SharePoint platform were operational.
- Online training modules were developed and filled-in with content.
- INSITER guidelines presented, including manuals for self-instruction and self-inspection. The coverage of the guidelines was extended to address all stakeholders in the whole construction flow, next to the main INSITER target group of construction workers and site supervisors. Practical examples derived from real demo cases (TRL 6) were included and retrievable through the Guidelines Mobile App.
- Methods for estimating the final performance based on inspection findings were developed.
- A stakeholder meeting was held, involving representatives from major construction firms, prefab building component manufacturers, a platform of public clients for BIM implementation, and European SME construction firm association.
- On-site demonstration of INSITER toolset and procedures in a real large-scale renovation project in Enschede.
Energy-efficient buildings real performance realisation and resolving the segmentation in construction:
- Integrated quality and performance assessment of building and MEP components; consolidated list of ‘most frequent errors’.
- Validation of as-built energy performance by BIM-based energy analysis.
- Method for estimating the final performance of the building taking into account the identified discrepancies / errors during construction.

Performance and quality assurance in construction industry:
- BIM, AR and software solutions for preventing errors during on-site construction / prefab assembly process: a) simulation of prefab assembly steps in parametric BIM; b) assembly manual in Augmented Reality (AR); c) self-instruction BIM-based process simulation and self-inspection based on embedded 3D thermal and acoustic checking; visualizing complex BIM models, planning and instrumentation data in AR; d) detailed BIM-based 3D AR scenes for architectural elements; e) detailed BIM-based 3D AR scenes for MEP/HVAC elements.
- INSITER Guidelines for new construction and refurbishment developed according to the 8-step methodology focusing on 9 EEB critical components with detailed content and real examples based on the demo cases. The content is accessible through desktop and mobile applications.

On-site inspection and building commissioning:
- BIM, AR and software solutions for controlling and ensuring the quality and performance during and after construction: a) on-site deployment of BIM: Real-time viewing the whole building and selecting building elements and properties; b) self-inspection of on-site prefab elements delivery: QR scan and product matching for logistic validation on-site; sending e-mail with QR and picture validation of the inspection – Prototype iPad app; c) self-instruction of the appropriate assembly procedure: Reviewing assembly manuals with description, pictures or videos – Prototype iPad app; d) self-inspection of the performed construction work: Checklist for technical inspection and validation – Prototype iPad app.

State-of-the-art ICT applications for on-site construction processes:
- AR solution for extensive and complex IFC BIM models for on-site self-inspection with referenced planning, self-instruction documentation and instrumentation data (deployed on tablets).
- Detailed self-instruction simulation and visualization (deployed on tablets, smart glasses, MS HoloLens).
- 3D laser, thermal and acoustic scan data from all real demo cases were integrated in the BIM models of the respective cases and visualised on desktop, mobile and AR applications.

3D scanning, detecting, sensing, measurement, positioning, imaging, and diagnostic equipment:
- Application of thermal camera for in-situ U-value estimation by Soft-Sensing approach (accuracy of about 2-4% higher than the accuracy of standard methods which is about 8%)
- Application of acoustic inspection techniques typically used in the automotive sector to the construction field (spatial leak detection in the order of 30 mm)
- 3D laser scanner for humidity assessment related to the change in the reflectivity index of moist surface.
- Tailored plug-in INSITER-DLL to combine 3D data with 2D imaging making it usable into BIM.

BIM that is accessible for all actors, and updated throughout the building’s lifecycle:
- Creation of accurate as-built BIM: setup general Model Guidelines, create Project specific Guidelines, create as-built model; verifying as-built model through 3D laser scan.
- BIM-based self-instruction models were created using the developed configurator software tool. Self-instruction guidance was visualised in Augmented Reality for real demo cases.

Trainings for self-inspection and use of advanced portable systems:
- Two training curricula and modules of workshop materials were developed: 1) Awareness training; and 2) Skill training. Some of the modules were also published as e-learning accessible through the synergy with the Build Up Skills programme.
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