Modern Steel Construction • June 2021 • Augmenting Productivity

Augmented reality is showing potential for increasing productivity when it comes to designing and building steel projects.

There isn’t a singular root cause for this issue, though technology—or a lack thereof—is likely the largest factor.

The bespoke nature of design and construction projects, along with the fragmented nature of the construction industry, makes it particularly difficult to adopt new technologies at both large and small scales. Nevertheless, it’s absolutely critical for individual players in the industry to explore and attempt to leverage new technologies as they become available.

Technology as a term can encompass quite a lot and can be interpreted in many ways—and there are multiple opinions on how long something can be considered “new.” Here, we’ll discuss one of the more exciting, high-reward, and relatively newer technologies that can facilitate more efficient steel construction projects: augmented reality (AR) via smart glasses.

So what is AR? Is it like VR (virtual reality)? Somewhat. Where VR creates a simulated environment, AR combines elements of such an environment with the real world, typically overlaying a virtual object onto a real environment. It may sound exotic, but you’ve almost certainly seen it—particularly on Saturdays and Sundays if you ever happen to watch college or professional football—in the form of the yellow first-down line. Or perhaps you partook in the Pokemon Go phenomenon that was all the rage a few years back. And if AR can be used for entertainment purposes such as these, it’s not hard to imagine how a more sophisticated version could be useful in the structural steel industry.

There are actually several opportunities for implementing AR in a steel project.

Visualization and field coordination are probably the simplest applications of AR and include overlays of work to be installed on top of work that’s already in place, as well as visualization of complex connections. There are a number of applications and programs that allow for visualization and coordination of 3D models both on-site and remotely.

Fit-up and layout work can also benefit from AR. Shop machinery performing these tasks can potentially be mated to smart glasses technology (more on that in a minute) so that layout work is transferred directly to a steel element rather than having to go through a more tedious marking process. AR hardware is also capable of measuring the physical area of an object like a steel member, though AISC is still investigating whether it is accurate enough for steel fabrication (stay tuned for updates).

Training. AR can also be used as a training mechanism for skilled labor students and employees (consider flight simulators, for example). For example, it can be used to simulate the operation of heavy equipment or tasks like welding, which is much more costly when using actual equipment. In addition, it allows the training to take place in a safe, controlled environment.

Safety. Finally, AR can also bring safety advantages to the field, especially when enabled by a library of data and images of unsafe conditions, helping to identify potential hazards in the field before they come to fruition.

While the environment that AR creates is very, well, augmented, the hardware that brings it to life is very real and takes a few different forms:

Smart glasses/headsets, such as Microsoft HoloLens 2, Google’s Glass Enterprise Edition 2, Vuzix products, and others. While some, like HoloLens 2, are more immersive, similar to donning a mask, and functionally act as a computer on your head, others like, Google Glass Enterprise (not to be confused with the first edition, which was aimed at consumers), look more like traditional glasses and require connectivity to a computer. Pricing for AR headsets typically ranges anywhere from $500 to $4,000, with the low-end representing consumer-grade headsets with less functionality. At the other end of the spectrum is HoloLens 2, which retails for $3,500 or nearly $5,000 when coupled with Trimble’s XR10 hard hat via Trimble Connect. Autodesk also offers an AR app that links Revit with HoloLens 2.

Handheld devices. Basically, implementing AR technology on your smartphone or tablet—e.g., virtually seeing how new furniture might fit in a room or how new paint colors might look on walls.

Combination. There are AR headsets designed with a slot to hold your smartphone and create an AR or VR environment.

Heads-up display. This is probably most familiar to users in the form of dashboard information on a touch screen in a car, perhaps being used for navigation purposes.

As promising as AR is, it is still a relatively young technology, and there are limitations:

Accuracy. As with almost any application, the workflow is significantly easier when building widgets as opposed to one-off steel frames. AISC has partnered with the University of Wisconsin to demonstrate proof of concept for AR in the steel industry—i.e., to ensure that the hardware being used is capable of identifying steel beams and assemblies with sufficient fabrication- level accuracy to be of use (typically, accuracy within 1⁄16 in.) for purposes such as visualizing cuts, holes, or weld marks on a beam. This is largely governed by a headset’s ability to track and monitor eye movement to ensure that AR overlays remain in a constant position relative to any movement of the wearer. We’ll release more information on the findings of this partnership as they become available.

Field view. Most currently available AR headsets have a field view in the range of 40° to 50° and some only 10° (a typical human peripheral vision is 170° to 180°).

Connectivity. While some smart glasses products are standalone and, again, include a computer within the device, others may need to be tethered to a computer or smartphone via WiFi, Bluetooth, or mobile networks such as 5G. This has obvious implications for more remote job sites or fabrication shops where access or bandwidth is a concern. These devices can be used offline, but without a connection there is no ability to collaborate.

Battery. Like many other pieces of technology, smart glasses and AR headsets are tied to their battery life. Depending on their use, some may have a battery life of two hours or less, while others might have a battery life of up to eight hours.

Safety. Most headsets aren’t explicitly designed to be used with hard hats (with the exception of Trimble’s XR10), which can make for clunky fits and a reduced field of vision.

Despite these issues, AR via smart glasses shows plenty of promise and is already seeing use on real-life projects— and this use will only increase. But it needs to be accurate enough to provide useful overlays and information. And while most current hardware is accurate enough to give a good picture of a 3D model BIM overlaid on an actual construction site, it’s not yet accurate enough to meet fabrication tolerances. But again, the aforementioned partnership between AISC and the University of Wisconsin is hoping to verify that hardware will be able to achieve steel fabrication shop-worthy tolerances.

So while it is currently suitable for “big picture” application in steel projects, know that AR is on its way to being useful when it comes to the more detailed aspects of a steel project as well. And when that happens, we will begin to see a dynamic productivity improvement when designing and constructing steel buildings and bridges.

Have you used AR in any capacity on a steel project? If so, let us know! Email me at faulkner@aisc.org.

Luke Faulkner (faulkner@aisc.org) is AISC’s director of technology initiatives.

AISC’s Need for Speed initiative recognizes technologies and practices that make steel projects come together faster. Check out aisc.org/needforspeed for more.