Collaborative Mobile Visualisation in Construction (mobviscon) Framework Development and Validation

Mobile technologies and wireless communication experienced a rapid development over the last decade, with many industrial sectors realising the benefits of mobile collaboration. The advantages of using mobile computing are in the ability to share data remotely in real time, reduce rework and paperwork, being able to solve problems on site, construct accurate databases by the timely and continuous collection of data, improve the quality of information, and decrease operational costs. Mobile technologies are now widely available offering good opportunities to the construction industry to work collaboratively. Due to the limitation in computational resources of mobile devices, the use of visualisation of design documents through mobiles has not been investigated in detail. However, mobile devices for the visual representation of design documents and specifications may offer new opportunities for accessing and monitoring the construction remotely. The latest developments in mobile hardware and software enable unconditional access to 2D and 3D design information and corresponding documents. Mobile visualisation and visual communication may completely change collaboration between the project stakeholders during the execution of the construction activities. The main aim of this research is to investigate the use of mobile communication and visualisation technologies during the exchange of information between design teams based in the office and construction sites with a focus of achieving real-time collaboration. This paper presents the development of a “Collaborative Mobile Visualisation in Construction (MobVisCon)” framework based on knowledge from the literature, results of a detailed industry survey, and construction scenarios. Results from the application of the MobVisCon framework on a live construction project case study are also presented.