This project will investigate the requirements that will enable the 3D animation of a construction operation to be automatically generated from the kinematic properties of the resources (e.g. equipment, craftsmen) that perform that operation, and the geometry of the infrastructure. This will be achieved by designing an analysis technique that considers an articulated resource to be a system of linkages that can be analyzed as an open kinematic chain. This will allow the implement of such a resource (e.g. excavator's bucket, mason's arm, etc.) to be considered as the kinematic chain's end-effector that can be manipulated and controlled using goal-oriented techniques based on inverse kinematics. The goals of the end-effectors themselves, i.e. positions where a resource's implement should be at key instances during an operation will be automatically extracted from interoperable 3D product models of facilities.
A simple, software-authorable, object-oriented language to define articulated resources will be designed and implemented. A discrete-event simulation model (or any other external software process) will be able to instantiate resources defined in this language inside 3D virtual worlds, and instruct them to perform operations using a high-level, construction work-like terminology. This will enable the automated 3D animation of construction operations of any length and complexity. The resulting capability will significantly improve the verification, validation, and communication of discrete-event simulation models, and make them more credible and thus used in operations planning and decision-making. Performance of actual field operations will be improved by allowing proper communication of the planned work prior to its execution. In addition to communicating what may happen in the future (by visualizing simulated operations), it will be possible to automatically re-create in virtual worlds what happened in the past, and what is currently happening (from real-time data). Such benefits will also accrue in other fields such as manufacturing, aviation, mining, and ship-building where the need to visualize operations is as acute as in construction.
The enabled technology will allow educators to effectively teach operations planning, analysis, and design to students in construction and other domains. The tools resulting from the research will be used to enhance the construction courses being currently taught at the University of Michigan, and will be made publicly available to educators at other institutions. This work will also significantly impact the infrastructure for research by providing an effective technology for investigators to study operations, safety, and educational issues in construction and other fields. In summary, the societal benefits of the project are: 1) the reductions in construction life-cycle costs that will be possible through proper planning and design of construction operations; 2) the career development of the personnel participating in the project; and 3) the effective education and training of future construction engineers.
