With its ability to give the real world a digital assist, mixed reality can be much more useful than the insular cocoon of VR. Microsoft is showing again how HoloLens can help designers via a collaboration with the University of Cambridge’s construction IT lab. “We’ve never been able to bring 3D models from buildings and bridges off our screens and onto the real structure,” says Cambridge’s Ionnis Brilakis. Using the HoloLens, however, engineers can overlay a design onto a real world bridge or building (or vice-versa), making inspections simpler and safer.
The researchers showed two potential use cases for the HoloLens. In the first, called “automated progress monitoring,” inspectors can actually “bring the design information to the construction site” via Microsoft’s HoloLens Sketchup Viewer, says grad student Marianna Kopsida. That way, they can visualize relevant engineering data onsite in order to check building progress and take corrective actions where needed.
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Source: Engadget