Swissbau is Switzerland’s largest trade fair in the construction industry. This year’s edition, which took place on January 16-20 in Basel, featured a special section on Digital Transformation in construction. The Innovationlab showcased the new technologies that should support and enable designing, building, using, and operating structures in digital ways.
In addition to countless examples of HoloLens and other Mixed and Virtual Reality applications, there was a great number of large touchscreens showing new ways of collaborating and presenting.
We showed our collaborative app CollaBoard together with our partner Kilchenmann on a Microsoft Surface Hub, and with our partner my future workspace on a ProWise touchscreen. We explained how real-time collaboration simplifies and speeds up processes without all participants having to be in the same room.
This is possible with a virtual workplace where all relevant documents, information and work tools are available, ready to be accessed from anywhere, by any team member. This way, all participants are always up-to-date.
Virtual Workplaces With Visual Communication
The virtual workplace, as created by CollaBoard, allows teams to collaborate virtually as if they were in the same meeting room. Thanks to an ink-first, touch-first approach, digital plans, images and documents are communicated in visual ways through handwriting, drawing and spatial arrangement.
More Than Chatting and Screen Sharing
When working on maps, plans, images, and more across locations, chatting and screen sharing often aren’t enough. The possibility, for people located in different places, to mark something together on the same digital plan makes collaboration more efficient and precise. By not limiting ourselves to only write or explain ideas, but also visually representing them, we can communicate our thoughts in a more exact form, and discuss them better.
Examples and ideas from the Swissbau for visual collaboration across virtual workplaces with CollaBoard:
- Live modification of a blueprint on a construction site with the architect or the builder, connected in a video conference call with the owner
- Digitalizing of internal brainstorming sessions
- Realization of sketches with several participants across different locations
- Presentation of concepts and concept studies
- Preparation of lessons in the form of CollaBoard projects
Extented Reality Workplaces
Here is an hypothetical scenario of the construction of the new Swiss Federal Palace in the year 2025.
With the HoloLens, 3D models of the building are first examined and then modified as holograms. A Virtual Reality simulation allows viewers to experience the inside of the building. Finally, on a Surface Hub, a 3D plan of the building is presented and discussed by leveraging the device’s large touchscreen.
At the following link you can experience the virtual tour in your browser: swissbau.designraum.ch
iRoom Introfilm Swissbau Innovation Lab from Swissbau