The number of buildings is increasing day by day. The next logical footstep is tackling challenges regarding scarcity of resources and sustainability, as well as shifting focus on existing building structures to renovate and retrofit. Many existing old and heritage buildings lack documentation, such as building models, despite their necessity. Technological advances allow us to use virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality on mobile platforms in various aspects of the construction industry. For these purposes, having a BIM model or high detail 3D model is not always necessary, as a simpler model can serve the purpose within many mobile platforms. This paper streamlines a framework for generating a lightweight 3D model for mobile platforms. In doing so, we use an existing structure's site survey data for the foundation data, followed by mobile VR implementation. This research conducted a pilot study on an existing building. The study provides a process of swiftly generating a lightweight 3D model of a building with relative accuracy and cost savings.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #: 2131151). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.