SPIE is developing a mixed reality solution to use on its construction sites

Saint-Denis, 6 October 2020 – The Tertiaire division of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire subsidiary of the SPIE group, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, has developed a new mixed reality solution, in collaboration with NEXT-BIM, which uses the full potential of BIM on construction projects to facilitate its on-site operations.

An innovative solution suited to SPIE's core activities

For nearly two years, SPIE and NEXT-BIM, the specialist developer of augmented reality software solutions, have been working together to create a mixed reality solution suited to the environments and technical constraints prevalent on construction sites operated by the Tertiaire division of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire. "The solutions available in the marketplace did not meet our needs: the visual model could only be generated using a system of QR Codes which had to be positioned with exact precision on the walls. However, the walls and partitions on a construction site are not always all in place when we arrive on site and it is therefore impossible to place QR Codes on them. What is more, that system has severe limitations as it requires meticulous preparation of the site before each visit. ", says Anna Truong, Innovation Manager at the Tertiaire division of SPIE Industrie & Tertia.

SPIE and NEXT-BIM therefore teamed up to devise a solution which did not use QR Codes. Our solution exploits the advantages of an intelligent 3D digital model visualised through Microsoft's HoloLens 2 smartglasses. In concrete, the solution uses mixed reality technology in which the glasses position the virtual model in the real environment using two walls as a starting point. The smartglasses user can then move around the site in mixed reality and the model is automatically and continuously repositioned within the real environment.

Simplifying site operations

This new tool simplifies our on-site operations, for both new and renovation projects. It has multiple uses: checking that casings built by large construction firms are compliant, previewing the placement of equipment in a technical area and helping prepare the site before work begins, measuring the progress of a site, validating compliance of the finished works or even checking and monitoring remedial work, etc.. All of this can be checked continuously against the very latest version of the digital model.

For example, the mixed reality solution has recently been used in the construction of a Data Centre for a banking group, or to engineer a Climate Control system used to create a set of clean rooms for a pharmaceuticals group.

"It was essential for us to be able to connect the design work directly to what was happening on the site itself. With this technology, teams can quickly and easily project themselves on the field ", says Kevin Kernn, Director of Business Development and Strategy at the Tertiaire division of SPIE Industrie & Tertiaire. "Using this immersive solution, we can now flesh out the model from within the site itself. It makes our on-site teams much more efficient! ", he added.

Being able to visualise the BIM model in mixed reality is also very useful for training new site operatives. It quickly provides them with a good understanding of their work environment.

This project has won an internal award at SPIE France’s Innovation Challenge.