Alternative reality is being used more frequently and purposely within the construction industry, but businesses are still slow to adopt, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

According to GlobalData, the construction industry is slowly shifting from years of the wait-and-watch stance to adopting digital technologies to improve the overall project lifecycle from conceptual design to construction.

Considering such developments, alternative reality technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are increasingly finding their use cases to improve accuracy, efficiency and safety of construction projects, the analysts state.

GlobalData senior disruptive tech analyst Venkata Naveen says, “While the alternative reality technologies have been used in the gaming and entertainment industries for years, they started to make waves in the construction by merging the digital and physical view of job sites to address various bottlenecks.

“The demand to complete projects within budget and on time has propelled construction companies to leverage AR and VR technologies to save time, reduce errors, prevent rework and create a long-term return on investment.”

However, there are still barriers to entry, and construction companies are still slow to adopt and invest in developing technologies.

Naveen says, “Despite their immense potential, AR and VR technologies are still falling short of widespread use in the construction industry.

“Key concerns such as wearing bulky AR headsets for long hours, susceptibility to harsh jobsite environments and the non-availability of low latency internet connectivity are hindering the mass adoption of the technologies.

“As AR and VR continue to mature, they can be coupled with 5G and artificial intelligence to become an invaluable asset to the construction industry.”

The Digital Solutions Map in Construction of GlobalData’s Disruptor Intelligence Center uncovers various use cases of AR and VR across the construction industry value chain.

This includes specific examples from around the globe of AR and VR in action.

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