Smart-BIM virtual prototype implementation

• This paper is an effort to progress BIM toward a more user-centered design system.
• We advance current BIM systems with IFC objects to Smart-BIM with smart objects.
• Using Smart-BIM, we develop Smart Design as a design tool for smart environments.
• Applying this novel design system improves user participation in design process.
• Prototype implementation and evaluation show positive results from users' perspective.

Most BIM (Building Information Modelling) systems serve designers well up until now but will have to evolve toward a more user-centered design, focusing on interactive spaces rather than focusing on digital representation. They are lack of information needed in order to create a virtual environment which can interact with users. Such problems will become more prominent in the case of smart spaces where the environment reacts to users' activity. There are no sufficient tools to design and represent real usage of smart space. Achieving this aim, the paper presents Smart-BIM consisting of smart objects which can react to user activities. The created virtual space with Smart-BIM is different from conventional 3D space. Since the resulted space embodies smart objects with the capability of doing certain functions and reacting toward users interaction according to the property sets of objects. A task-based interaction is proposed to apply Smart BIM in a design process. Smart Design systems help end users to experience their daily activity in a virtual environment and understand the space reactions. It can be used as a toolset to improve communications among users and designers in design processes especially in the design of smart environments. Eventually, it is expected that Smart-BIM will lead to match smart technology usability with users' demands.To facilitate further developments of Smart Design systems, a prototyping experiment was done. The prototype application utilizes three typical domestic tasks and several real-time interactions. Scripting the tasks, using smart object managers and using smart home objects make the real-time interactions and system reactions possible. Hence, the prototype gives the opportunity of evaluating users' attitude and expressions toward an interactive and responsive BIM. The results from the first evaluations reveal a positive attitude of users toward the prototype. They also show that when the users can directly execute a task in the virtual model, they can deliver a better comprehension of how smart technologies can be utilized.