Industry leaders from Lenovo, VREX, and Jotun speak on increasing the value of VR in 3D workflows
Industrial sectors are a storied hotbed for the integration of emerging technologies. Given the amount of capital and time required to kick off, collaborate on, and complete a large-scale project, such as the construction of a complex facility, adopting new technologies to strive towards new positive ROI results is crucial.
Firms like Lenovo are working with a deep list of partners and customers to ensure that global industrial and construction firms are ready to tackle upcoming projects with the utmost efficiency.
Industrial companies commonly use 3D files and content to ensure accuracy when developing and managing a facility. XR technology is, therefore, poised to optimise such a workflow, and Lenovo’s enterprise technology portfolio, which includes XR devices, cloud services, and 3D rendering solutions, is ready for this enterprise usage.
To provide vital insight into this enterprise use case, Oliver Wohler, Lenovo‘s EMEA XR Development Manager, Trond Vandli, the COO of VREX, and Wiebke Uhlenbruch, the Teamlead of BIM/3D, Jotun, joined XR Today to discuss how virtual reality is shaping the industrial sector.
Using VR to Enhance 3D Content Delivery
Wohler noted that “VR headsets are only a medium where you can experience’ 3D workflow content, supported by a deep technology stack that translates the content onto an XR end-device, offering greater insight compared to 2D screens. Lenovo is working to cover this production process from the creation of the 3D content to the consumption of 3D content; “this is a very important and unique point because we can cover the full range of possibilities that you have in this [virtual] environment.”
Woehler highlighted the transformative potential of VR, emphasizing that it enables users to immerse themselves in a three-dimensional environment to explore and evaluate their creations during the design and construction phases.”
Vandli also noted that in the industrial sector, collaborating on a project between stakeholders “from different departments or even different companies” during construction projects can become “very complex” due to different expertise and objectives.
Traditionally, collaboration methods came via digitally sharing a screen, either remotely or in person in a meeting room. Vandli added:
“It’s just generally not a good way of giving anyone a proper understanding of a construction project. It often leads to misunderstanding, which causes mistakes, or it just leaves key stakeholders out of the questions totally. So that’s where we saw the opportunity to use VR technology to bridge the gap of understanding. So, create an immersive environment where everyone, regardless of their technical knowledge, can explore and discuss these projects together intuitively on a one-to-one scale.”
Enhancing Industrial Design Reviews and Collaboration
Uhlenbruch noted that Juton leverages VR for design reviews and collaboration, allowing the design team to review a facility before it is built, “so we do user workshops where the future users can investigate the workplace, give comments, and make suggestions for improvement.”
Uhlenbruch continued:
“We had 2D drawings and a 3D model for the large facilities that we were building. We have been working with them for quite a while, but that was all on the flat screen. Now, inviting people into the [virtual] building and putting on VR goggles gives even more value for us.”
Vandli also explained how VR can “improve communication early on in the project,” leading to better project feedback to the project.
Vandli also said:
“You get better discussions, and you end up making decisions on a more informed basis. The result for the industrial sector would be that they minimize the operational downtime in the facilities and let them go to full production. – They do that by resolving the issues earlier and then don’t have to do costly rework and delays later in the construction projects because that’s when it’s absolutely time consuming and costly.”
Wohler highlighted how in the industrial sector, “very often there’s already 3D content” due to industry professionals already leveraging 3D workflow for creating and collaborating during construction projects. Therefore, Wohler remarked that bringing 3D design data onto VR headsets is as simple as pressing a button.
Moreover, Wohler noted that by supporting VR possibilities, design teams “do not need to travel anymore,” meaning industry professionals can “make decisions faster and quicker.”
From 2D, to 3D, and Towards the Future
Vandli also added that VR makes facility development processes more efficient because clients can observe risk reduction virtually and gain “the proper insight to make confident decisions.”
Uhlenbruch spoke on her experience in the sector by adding:
“Before, we had BIM models on a flat screen. So, in theory, you can also walk through them, but it’s on the flat screen. When we did the first workshop, the first trial, we also asked the user if it added any value by having the VR goggles. The answer from all our users was yes, it is. It is adding value.”
Uhlenbruch explained that the added value comes via an immersive-led broader perspective. When a client reviews a building on a 2D screen, they only see a small part of it, “but when you’re wearing the goggles, you can look around, you see much more, and you have much more context,” she remarked.
Wohler concluded by stating that “VR is a key technology to drive productivity and innovation in the future,” and as businesses require the rendering of higher resolution 3D models to match construction goals, headsets will not take this on this processing requirement, instead external sources will render this data via systems such as cloud computing, therefore, allowing headsets to reduce in form factor while still taking on complex rendering tasks.
Wohler said that Lenovo can provide the framework to easily create and consume 3D content “via your headset or via your 3D screen, and there we see the future,” he said in closing.
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