Enhancing project planning with virtual reality and game engines

Planning is challenging. It requires imagining necessary steps, exploring solutions, and evaluating costs. Traditional planning software systems in the AEC (architectural, engineering and construction) industry are often complex, time-consuming and unusable directly by experienced project leaders. This paper contributes a novel framework for easily accessible preliminary project planning with virtual reality (VR) and game engines. It includes: (1) new integration and workflow models, (2) specifications for game engine, physics engine and multi-player functionalities, and (3) newly defined levels of detail that align simulation capabilities with planner needs. To examine the framework's potential efficacy, application domains are identified and corresponding use cases were developed and analysed. It was found that in those use cases, the VR controls were easy-to-learn, and the simulation was powerful for visualisation and useful to detect clashes and line-of-sight issues. However, vertigo affected some users. The game engine facilitated efficient creation of simulations with adequate physics, collision detection and multiplayer capabilities. Thus, the framework is demonstrated to facilitate potentially faster exploration and iteration through plan options, intuitive manipulation of virtual environments, enhanced collaboration and immersive communication with clients.