Azhar Gives Keynote Presentation at International Conference

Organizers of the 9th International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management (EPPM 2018) announced that Professor Salman Azhar of the McWhorter School of Building Science and co-author Austin DaValle, a Master of Building Construction graduate, won this year’s Best Paper Award. “An Investigation of Mixed Reality Technology for On-Site Construction Assembly” was selected out of 168 entries submitted from all over the world. Azhar made a keynote presentation of this work on September 26, 2018, at EPPM in Cape Town, South Africa.

Azhar is a J.E.Wilborn Endowed Professor for Emerging Faculty and Chair of the Master of Building Construction program at the McWhorter School of Building Science. DaValle graduated from Auburn University 2017 and currently works at McShane Construction Company in Chicago. Their paper was the outcome of research sponsored by a seed grant from the Center for Construction Innovation and Collaboration (CCIC).

According to the authors, industry has started adopting new technologies to help improve quality and minimize time and costs associated with construction projects. The combined use of virtual and physical data can result in mistakes that arise due to a disconnect between a real-world image and 2D and 3D representations of that image. Some experts consider the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs), capable of superimposing holographic images into a real-world space, as being a possible remedy. “These advancements are leading us to entirely new ways of thinking and visualizing construction processes,” says Azhar. “This pilot study identifies applications of HMDs in the construction industry. Microsoft HoloLens is being tested as a potential visualization tool to determine its usefulness and limitations in comparison to traditional 2D sketches or 3D models.”

The International Conference on Engineering, Project, and Production Management (EPPM) provides a platform for the discussion of innovative research and practice and creative cross-breeding of the multidisciplinary fields of engineering and management. This year’s conference in Cape Town was co-hosted by Nelson Mandela University (NMU) and the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT).