13th June 2003, University of Salford

As part of the VR Special Interest Group, a half-day workshop entitled "The Effective Use of Visualisation Technology in Construction" was held on the 13th June at the University of Salford.

The Research Centre for the Built and Human Environment (BUHU) at the University of Salford provides the facility to explore building scale and urban scale problems within information rich environments supported by the integration of Virtual Reality with other information and communication technologies.

The first part of the workshop was a demonstration by BUHU of the following technologies:

• Video Conferencing Technology with integrated Multimedia systems: The new generation of Video conferencing systems can have a dramatic effect on the way people do business. Any type of information can be integrated into a Video Conference making virtual design team meeting an effective option.
• 3D Laser Scanner: This device can digitise building and landscapes for including in Virtual Environments. Thus if an existing building is to be refurbished all information about the building can be scanned. This information can then form the key source of information for the refurbishment project.
• Virtual Reality Workbench: This can be used by the design team to look at and "walk through" various design options.
  Following the demonstrations, there will be a discussion on the practical application of such technologies within the construction sector and on identifying areas of research interests.