Description
Last April I presented this project as a thesis for a second-level Master's degree (2024-2025) in BIM Management at the Polytechnic University of Milan.
The hypothesis put forward by my work is the development of a new, more advanced potential IFC standard (which I have called IFX, Industry Foundation eXtended) in which VR tools are natively implemented - (Until a few weeks ago, I was unaware that the new version of IFC5 would be called IFC5-X; it is a coincidence that I chose to call it IFX (Industry Foundation eXtended) in my thesis).
My idea of IFX stems from the hypothesis of natively integrating Virtual Reality within the IFC standard (IFX - eXtended). The goal is to harness the potential of VR not only as a presentation tool but as a concrete support for the BIM workflow for coordination and verification activities (LC1-V1, LC2-V2, LC3-V3).
The goal of my project is to provide the various disciplinary teams, always guided by the BIM Coordinator, the opportunity to visualize the federated work and analyze interferences, inconsistencies, and critical issues directly in a shared virtual environment, using Oculus, by activating the 'VR Mode' from the usual viewers currently in use. The levels of coordination and the verification activities of the models will no longer be static tasks performed independently by the BIM Coordinators with the issuance of reports, but a virtual experience that truly allows all team members to collaboratively understand the overall functioning of the federated work and to 'visualize' interferences, errors, or deficiencies immediately before BCF.
Consequential images that express the goal of integrating VR into the IFC standard:
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To practically bring this idea to life, a possible strategy could be the definition of entry points, views, interactions, and VR metadata. Introduce a native PropertySet (e.g. Pset_IFX_VR) with the following properties:
IFX_VRButton(IfcBoolean): enable VR mode in the viewer.IFX_EntryPoint(IfcCartesianPoint): starting point in the VR scene.IFX_Viewpoints(IfcTable): default views with position/rotation.IFX_Interactions(IfcTable): definition of interactive elements (triggers, buttons).IFX_URL(IfcLabel): link to external viewers (optional fallback).
Objective:
- Activation of VR directly from the IFC viewer with a simple 'Activate VR' button (e.g. BIM Vision, Solibri, usBIM).
Attached is the abstract of my thesis, the link to my website, and some links to my articles on online platforms related to OpenVR:
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Infobuild: https://www.infobuild.it/approfondimenti/bim-e-open-vr-strategia-integrazione/
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BIMportale: https://www.bimportale.com/bim-openvr-studio-strategia-integrare-le-funzionalita-della-vr-nei-processi-bim/
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My website, page "Logbook of my research on Openvr": https://www.federicopalumboarchitetto.com/ricerca