ProRak

Digital Technologies as Reformers of Construction Processes

In the changing construction industry, newest digital solutions and related development activities
have become more important than before to the competitiveness of the companies. For
example, the level of utilization of digital technologies and growth are linked to each other in
the Finnish construction sector.

Digitalization of Construction Industry

FAQ

• Q: What benefit is there in digitalization (for constuction industry actors)?
• A: As digitalization affects the development of society the construction industry actors have to adapt to the new environment where different advanced digital technologies affect the competition in the field. Green transition, material flows, energy efficiency, cost effectiveness and the practice of collecting and using the information of building’s lifecycle will become increasingly important topics in construction industry. Those who adapt to using digital technologies for developing their business processes will be ahead in the market.

• Q: What is gamification?
• A: Gamification is the process of adding game elements to non-game systems. These systems could be, for example industry software applications. With gamification one could add different elements like scoring, following user progress, visual effects and sounds to react user interactions, movement and enviromental interactivity.

• Q: What is Xamk’s Virrake research and development platform?
• A: Virrake is an Unreal Engine 5 based platform for researching and developing ways to improve construction processess. With Virrake you can create interactive gamified digital twins and virtual environments from building information models (BIM). In practice, this means that you can use Virrake to create a virtual game world where building models with their contained metadata are imported as interactive environments. With Virrake platform’s backend tool you can connect real world devices (Internet of Things or IoT) to the corresponding 3D-model to create digital twins.

• Q: What benefit is there in gamification (for construction industry actors)?
• A: A gamified building can be used as a new kind of 3-dimensional user interface for managing the building’s information during its lifecycle. A virtual environment of a building can also be used as a platform for hosting virtual meetings and different professionals can cooperate and plan construction in an interactive environment representative of the actual building. You can also use the game world environment to train builders to the upcoming construction project.

• Q: What benefit is there in gamification (for end users)?
• A: Research has shown that people want to participate in the development of their living and working environments. Traditional architectural drawings and plans are too complicated for the lay person to comprehend and understand. In a gamified environment the clients and end users can see the upcoming building in a completely new way that is much more visual and comprehensive. This way everyone can participate and express their opinion on the planning stage of the construction process. Gamified interactive environments also makes it possible to host A/B testing for users where they can display different versions and layouts of the building and its interiors and vote for their favorite. This way the clients and end users can get their voices heard and participate which also leads to more satisfied customers.

Facts