In the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, there are no reasonable alternatives to physical presence for site visits to collaborate on certain design discussion aspects. For project teams located across various geographical locations, this is not a convenient option as it entails additional time and money in the decision-making process. Though the modern tools used for planning and management in AEC projects are now predominantly digital and modelled in 3D CAD and BIM, the design communication is limited to media such as images, videos and animated simulations over standard channels such as emails and video conferencing.

Leveraging the mass of data available in form of BIM and 3D CAD models, immersive and collaborative tools cloud be developed with help of gamification to create alternatives to physical presence on-site. Virtual Reality (VR) is one such technology capable of providing a near-to-real immersive experiences of 3D models in real-scale. A Virtual Environment (VE) encompassing VR and various other end-user devices could prove to be an effective alternative to on-site physical presence. Such an environment with an OpenBIM philosophy approach will enable multiple project participants to easily integrate their respective data sets without any hinderances or dependency on specific software tools, making it more accessible.

The project endeavors to define an immersive collaboration environment for AEC projects based on a game-engine and IFC format, supporting various users on multiple end-devices.