8CIOReview | | FEBRUARY 2022IN MY OPINIONHOW VIRTUAL REALITY CAN HELP REAL ESTATE CLIENTS MAKE FASTER, SMARTER DECISIONSBy Will Adams, Emerging Technologies Developer, MortensonThe AEC industry has been experimenting with the use of virtual reality (VR) for well over 20 years, and while the medium has successfully provided value and return on investment for many projects, the form factor, technical requirements and user friction for delivering walkthroughs has prevented VR from realizing its potential as an accessible and broadly-used communication and collaboration tool. Now, the new generation of standalone, six degree-of-freedom (6DOF) headsets is ushering in a new era of VR utility in the AEC industry. It's allowing for the simultaneous and low-friction application of VR environments for larger groups of people to walkthrough sizable spaces. This pushes the technology from a primarily individual visualization tool to a collaborative meeting and walkthrough tool. Various hardware and software improvements, such as inside-out positioning, hand tracking and the portability of headsets, are facilitating comfortand reducing friction for users. These improvements have resulted in groups of people remaining immersed together for longer periods of time than was previously possible. Users are experiencing the environments intuitively, as if they are walking or working together in a space, discussing issues and features naturally. This development signals a paradigm shift for the use of immersive VR in the AEC industry, ushering it from a technical curiosity to an invaluable tool.As a builder, developer and partner, Mortenson is constantly seeking to be on the leading edge of innovation and technology.Physical mock-ups are expensive, time consuming, require significant space and involve many people. Altering them is also time intensive and costly, and they are often demolished, which wastes material. The use of virtual reality mock-ups allows stakeholders to make faster, smarter decisions while dramatically reducing cost, time and physical waste.What follows, is a few of the other advantages.Maximize ValueThe use of VR saves money in many ways, beyond avoiding the need and expense of building a physical mock-up. Mortenson was selected to build Seattle's new sports and entertainments arena at the Seattle Center, future home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) latest expansion team, the Seattle Kraken. Our experience as builders of sports venues (recently the Raider's Allegiant Stadium and the Golden State Warrior's Chase Center) has taught us the importance of conveying a clear conceptual vision of the physical realities of the design direction to ownership groups. Using the Oculus Quest VR headset, Mortenson developed four club spaces, multiple suites, press bridge, arena bowl, superstructure and atrium space. Because the customer's business is focused on the smooth and successful operation of this facility, and due to the short turnaround time from project completion to the first concert and Seattle Kraken's first puck drop, familiarizing the facility management team with the space early on is highly advantageous. This will maximize fan value by allowing staff to thoroughly plan for events from the user's perspective. The customer also requested that Mortenson create a virtual environment that focuses on suites and clubs for their sales team, which was very successful in helping to sell corporate spaces long before completion of the project. The simulated environment was also a factor in helping to sell naming rights to Amazon, which named it the Climate Pledge Arena ­ the first International Living Future Institute certified zero carbon arena in the world.Increase Collaboration Regardless of Your LocationBased in the Netherlands, hotel owner-operator citizenM had the goal of rolling out 20 hotels in the U.S. by 2025. Their existing process for designing facilities involved several firms communicating internationally back and forth ­ repeatedly creating concepts, determining feasibility and revising designs. This "death spiral" of decision-making led to lots of headaches and was slowing down the schedule. Mortens on developed a Using the Oculus Quest VR headset, Mortenson developed four club spaces, multiple suites, press bridge, arena bowl, superstructure and atrium space
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