Utilizing BIM for Real-Time Visualization and Indoor Localization of Resources

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been found to be one of the most promising advancements in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations and Management (AECOM) industry. BIM integrates the geometric and parametric properties of the 3D model of a facility with all the information and properties of building features and components. However, finding the current location of a specific component or navigation through an unfamiliar facility can be difficult and time-consuming. Visualizing the location in real time can provide the ability to reduce the time for manual searching and locating. This paper demonstrates how the BIM model can be utilized for real-time visualization and localization when integrated with sensing technologies. Real-time visualization and localization require context-aware information (e.g. space, location, and time) in order to function properly. Therefore, the BIM model can provide the spatial relationships while the location sensing technology can provide location and time information. Current indoor localization techniques utilize probabilistic algorithms to estimate landmarks or components, which often require great computational power. Since the model contains the exact locations of components, utilizing BIM provides the advantage of not needing to estimate the true location of the landmarks, thereby drastically reducing the complexity and computing time of the algorithm.