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This study aims to empirically validate five propositions about the benefits of three-dimensional (3D) visualizations for the management of subsurface utility projects. Specifically, the authors validate whether benefits from 3D in the literature of building construction project management also apply to subsurface utility projects and map them using a taxonomy of project complexity levels.

A multiple case study of three utility construction projects was carried out during which the first author was involved in the daily work practices at a utility contractor. 3D visualizations of existing project models were developed, and design and construction meetings were conducted. Practitioners' interactions with and reflections on these 3D visualizations were noted. Observational data from the three project types were matched with the five propositions to determine where benefits of 3D visualizations manifested themselves.

Practitioners found that 3D visualizations had most merit in crowded urban environments when constructing rigid pipelines. All propositions were validated and evaluated as beneficial in subsurface utility projects of complexity level C3. It is shown that in urban projects with rigid pipelines (project with the highest complexity level), 3D visualization prevents misunderstanding or misinterpretations and increases efficiency of coordination. It is recommended to implement 3D visualization approaches in such complex projects

There is only limited evidence on the value 3D visualizations in managing utility projects. This study contributes rich empirical evidence on this value based on a six-month observation period at a subsurface contractor. Their merit was assessed by associating 3D approaches with project complexity levels, which may help utility contractors in strategically implementing 3D applications.

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) have become increasingly popular in educational settings and the role of 3D content is becoming more and more important. Still, there are many challenges in this area, such as lack of empirical studies that provide design for educational activities in 3D CVEs and lack of norms of how to support and assess learning in with such technology. The purpose of this paper is to address these challenges by discussing the use of a 3D CVE in a university course for three years and suggesting practical guidelines based on the data from observations.

The main research question of the discussion in this paper is: How to facilitate learning by means of educational visualizations in 3D CVEs? The authors discuss data from several explorative case studies conducted within the Cooperation Technology course at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. In these case studies, the authors focused on a particular type of collaborative work with 3D content – educational visualizations. Groups of students were asked to build creative visualizations of a certain topic (e.g. a research project or a curriculum topic) and present the construction to the public. The data were collected from the direct observation of students' activities online, virtual artefacts, such as chat log and 3D constructions, and users' feedback in a form of group essays or blogs.

Following the analysis of these data, the authors introduce an original methodology for facilitating collaborative work with 3D content in an educational context and provide a characterization framework – Typology of 3D Content and Visualization Means, which can be used together with the methodology for analysing constructions in 3D CVEs. Constructionism and social constructivism were used as a theoretical grounding.

Although the research method applied has certain limitations related to the settings of the conducted studies, such as observing the same course each year and impossibility of having a control group, this research still provides important insights, as it identifies overall tendencies in conducting educational activities in 3D CVEs.

The suggested methodology was developed for teachers, instructors, and technicians. It can be used as a guideline for organizing educational activities using collaborative work with 3D content.

Results of the authors' research indicate that the methodology suggested in the paper benefits structuring and planning of educational visualizations in 3D CVEs. It can be considered as a contribution to the field, as it helps to fill the gap in practical guidelines for the advanced use of 3D CVEs in educational settings.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate how health and safety gains and improvements of the construction workplace can be made through the use of three‐dimensional (3D) and four‐dimensional (4D) visualization technologies.

The methodology used in the paper was a combination of semi‐structured interviews with five construction project planners from three construction projects and observations of a 4D model used in one of the three projects.

The findings of the paper have shown a great potential for 3D and 4D visualization in terms of communicating construction information as well as the health and safety risks in the design process where clash detection, work tasks sequence, workspace congestion can be identified by project stakeholders who are thus able to plan for alternative solutions to reduce or eliminate rework, heavy material handling and repetitive and awkward postures which expose workers to musculoskeletal injury risk.

The 3D and 4D models as they are currently used in the design of construction projects, particularly in the three projects investigated in this paper, still lack the worker reference frame and the visual interaction between the worker and the permanent as well as the temporary works.

The paper describes the current and emerging trends in the development of 3D, virtual reality and 4D computer‐aided design visualization and simulation, which have affected or are likely to have an impact on construction projects planning in the Swedish construction sector.

In an era overshadowed by the alarming consequences of climate change and the escalating peril of recurring floods for communities worldwide, the significance of proficient disaster risk management has reached unprecedented levels. The successful implementation of disaster risk management necessitates the ability to make informed decisions. To this end, the utilization of three-dimensional (3D) visualization and Web-based rendering offers decision-makers the opportunity to engage with interactive data representations. This study aims to focus on Thiruvananthapuram, India, where the analysis of flooding caused by the Karamana River aims to furnish valuable insights for facilitating well-informed decision-making in the realm of disaster management.

This work introduces a systematic procedure for evaluating the influence of flooding on 3D building models through the utilization of Web-based visualization and rendering techniques. To ensure precision, aerial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data is used to generate accurate 3D building models in CityGML format, adhering to the standards set by the Open Geospatial Consortium. By using one-meter digital elevation models derived from LiDAR data, flood simulations are conducted to analyze flow patterns at different discharge levels. The integration of 3D building maps with geographic information system (GIS)-based vector maps and a flood risk map enables the assessment of the extent of inundation. To facilitate visualization and querying tasks, a Web-based graphical user interface (GUI) is developed.

The efficiency of comprehensive 3D building maps in evaluating flood consequences in Thiruvananthapuram has been established by the research. By merging with GIS-based vector maps and a flood risk map, it becomes possible to scrutinize the extent of inundation and the affected structures. Furthermore, the Web-based GUI facilitates interactive data exploration, visualization and querying, thereby assisting in decision-making.

The study introduces an innovative approach that merges LiDAR data, 3D building mapping, flood simulation and Web-based visualization, which can be advantageous for decision-makers in disaster risk management and may have practical use in various regions and urban areas.

Current healthcare applications produce a complex and inaccessible set of data that often needs to be investigated simultaneously. As such the conflicting software applications and mental effort being demanded from the user result in time‐consuming analysis and diagnosis. The purpose of this paper is to provide a prototype, interactive system for management of multiple data sets, currently used for gait analysis capturing, reconstruction and diagnosis. In summary, this work is concerned with the development of interactive information‐visualisation software that assists medical practitioners in simplifying and enhancing the retrieval, visualisation and analysis of medical data with the intention of improving the overall system leading to an improved service for the user and patient experience.

The design of the proposed system aims to combine all the related existing software currently used for gait analysis and diagnosis under one, user‐friendly package. The latter will have the capacity to offer also real‐time, three dimensional (3D) representations of all the derived data (CT, MRI, motion capture) in an interactive virtual reality (VR) environment.

It is intended that the proposed prototype solutions will enhance interactive systems for management of multiple data sets, currently used for gait analysis capturing, reconstruction and diagnosis. The derived data encapsulate a plethora of multimedia information aiming to enhance medical visualisation.

The proposed system offers simulation capacity and a VR visualisation experience, which enhances the gait analysis diagnostic process. The 3D data can be manipulated in real‐time through a novel human‐computer interface which uses multimodal interaction through the use of graphical user interfaces and gesture recognition. The system aims towards a cost‐effective, clearly presented and timely accessible system that follows a threefold approach; It entails managing the extensive amount of the daily produced medical data, combining the scattered information related to one patient in one interface with a filtering criteria to the required information, and visualising in 3D the data from different sources, in order to improve 3D mental mapping, increase productivity and consequently ameliorate quality of service and management.

The applications of geographic information systems (GIS) are described in the civil engineering literature for generation, visualisation and evaluation of the construction schedule. GIS use is also explored for construction quantity takeoffs and cost estimation. The purpose of this paper is to supplement the already explored capabilities of GIS in construction by providing the methodology for direct sunlight visualisation on buildings.

The proposed methodology for direct sunlight visualisation is to calculate the solar angles and use them for spatial distribution representation of the amount of sunlight received on different faces of a building by rendering it with the colour of varied gradients. The colour gradient on any face of a building depends upon the amount of direct sunlight received. The solar gain is demonstrated through the multi‐dimensional data visualisation like sun angle variations with diurnal and annual cycles in a navigable 3D animation.

GIS‐based methodology provides the planner a way to control the natural lighting and solar gain on a building which can be combined with the project schedule, quantity takeoffs, cost estimate and 4D visualisation in a single environment. Beginning with this idea, the planner may store and share information about a construction project, site and surrounding geography.

Most of the existing 4D CAD technologies do not have project management capabilities and are used mainly for the planning and design stage of a construction project. In comparison, GIS‐based tools may be used in different stages. These are more management‐based and allow more collaborative and cooperative relationships between designer, constructor and client. By using a GIS‐based approach, construction documents like schedules, drawings, quantity takeoffs, cost estimates, project specifications and direct sunlight visualisations are more consistent with each other.

Urban renewal is a multifaceted activity that involves numerous actors, software, and types of data. Design communication tools play an important role in this process. Visual information helps to outline, understand, and choose sustainable solutions for problems in the design, while visual tools should be able to diminish professional differences and establish a common language. Recent 3D geo-technologies offer a great variety of new tools that significantly enrich visualisation possibilities and allow for flexible switching between different 3D representations. However, studies have indicated that particular representations create different perceptions in professional compared to non-professional individuals. This paper discusses the specifics of urban renewal processes in the Netherlands and investigates recently developed 3D geo-information technology, and more specifically multiple 3D representations, that can support this task. The concept of LOD, which uses five levels of information, was evaluated as a very promising approach to agree on abstractions and representations in the different renewal phases. The study did not reveal a lack of digital possibilities for visualisation, but instead showed that the simultaneous visualisation of the proposed alternatives should be a priority. This investigation did reveal that different levels of interactivity could be used for the presentation and communication of project alternatives.

The purpose of this paper is to study a feasible visualization of large-size three-dimension (3D) color models which are beyond the maximum print size of newest paper-based 3D printer used 3D cutting-bonding frame (3D-CBF) and evaluate the effects of cutting angle and layout method on printing time of designed models.

Sixteen models, including cuboid model, cylinder model, hole model and sphere model with different shape features, were divided into two symmetric parts and printed by the Mcor IRIS HD 3D printer. Before printing, two sub-parts were rearranged in one of three layout methods. Nine scaled sizes of original models were printed to find the quantitative relationship between printing time and scale values in each type. For the 0.3 times of original models, six cutting angles were evaluated in detail.

The correlation function about colorization time and printed pages was proposed. Based on 3D-CBF, the correlation between printing time and scale size is statistically defined. Optimization parameters of designed parts visualization about cutting angel and layout method were found, even if their statistical results were difficult to model their effects on printing time of specimens.

The research is comparative and limited to the special models and used procedures.

The paper provides a feasible visualization and printing speed optimization methods for the further industrialization of 3D paper-based printing technology in cultural creative field.

The purpose of this paper is to describe innovative machine vision methods that have been employed for the capture and analysis of 3D skin textures; and the resulting potential for assisting with identification of suspicious lesions in the detection of skin cancer.

A machine vision approach has been employed for analysis of 3D skin textures. This involves an innovative application of photometric stereo for the capture of the textures, and a range of methods for analysing and quantifying them, including statistical methods and neural networks.

3D skin texture has been identified as a useful indicator of skin cancer. It can be used to improve realism of virtual skin reconstructions in tele‐dermatology. 3D texture features can also be combined with 2D features to obtain a more robust classifier for improving diagnostic accuracy, thereby assisting with the long‐term goal of implementing computer‐aided diagnostics for skin cancer.

The device developed for capturing 3D skin textures is known as the “Skin Analyser”, and as far as the authors know it is unique in the world in being able to recover 3D textures from pigmented lesions in vivo. There currently exist numerous methods for analysing lesions, including manual inspection (using established heuristics commonly known as ABCD rules), dermoscopy and SIAoscopy. The ability to capture and analyse 3D lesion textures complements these existing techniques and forms a valuable additional indicator for assisting with the early detection of dangerous skin cancers such as melanoma.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of visual models on the ability of construction students to assess design buildability.

The study engaged 45 construction students from one selected tertiary education institute in New Zealand. The data collection process involved meeting the students face-to-face and demonstrating the VR model to them, after which the students completed an online questionnaire and assessed design buildability using both 2D drawing and virtual reality (VR) models. To make this assessment, the participants considered a residential earth building modelled to promote sustainable building features. The assessment process required the participants to evaluate the design buildability of the same building design using a 2D drawing and a 3D VR model.

The study found that VR models have significant advantages for assessing design buildability. Students measured 16.80% higher average buildability with the 3D VR model compared to the 2D drawing. The participants in the evaluation felt that the visual model significantly improved the comprehensibility of complex designs, which helped identify and manage design buildability (overall, 83% of participants strongly supported this).

The paper showed construction digitisation such as VR, augmented reality and building information modelling is highly cooperative as it can easily be made available for online learning. Thus, the findings support construction educators use online-based VR learning to promote efficient teaching of design buildability to students.