  With advances in Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR)
and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies have many potential applications in the
Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. However, the AEC
industry, relative to other industries, has been slow in adopting AR/VR
technologies, partly due to lack of feasibility studies examining the actual
cost of implementation versus an increase in profit. The main objectives of
this paper are to understand the industry trends in adopting AR/VR technologies
and identifying gaps between AEC research and industry practices. The
identified gaps can lead to opportunities for developing new tools and finding
new use cases. To achieve these goals, two rounds of a survey at two different
time periods (a year apart) were conducted. Responses from 158 industry experts
and researchers were analyzed to assess the current state, growth, and saving
opportunities for AR/VR technologies for the AEC industry. The authors used
t-test for hypothesis testing. The findings show a significant increase in
AR/VR utilization in the AEC industry over the past year from 2017 to 2018. The
industry experts also anticipate strong growth in the use of AR/VR technologies
over the next 5 to 10 years.
