Semi-Augmented Reality, a Novel Approach to Improve Customer Safety in the Pre-sale Process of Under Construction Buildings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Effective marketing is quite vital in many building construction projects that depend on the pre-sale cash in-flow. However, the unsafe condition of the under-construction projects postpones in-person customer visits to the completion date and complicates the marketing process. This safety concern is especially critical for the upper floor units. Although virtual tours of the buildings are used to show the project specifications, they do not convey the impression that customers receive in the real ambiance of in-person visits. This research proposes a novel method called semi-augmented reality to address the safety issue of the under-construction projects during the marketing process. In this method, lower floor apartment units are safeguarded for the customer’s visits to give an accurate impression of the building’s condition. Virtual models of the upper floor apartments are linked to a similar safeguarded unit on the lower floor to augment the existing deviations between lower and upper floor units. The capability of the method was successfully tested in an experimental case. The participating real estate agents in the test found the method beneficial for the customers’ safety, attracting their attention, facilitating the decision-making process, and increasing their convenience. This method introduces a new approach to the building pre-sale marketing process. Similar techniques are expected to emerge shortly.

Keywords


  1. B, “The effect of integrated marketing communication on sales performance: A case study of selected real estate companies in Addis Ababa”. (2020), St. Mary’s University.
  2. M, Sebt. M. H, and Davoudpour. H, “Construction marketing: developing a reference framework”, Advances in Civil Engineering. (2017), Article ID 7548905 DOI: 10.1155/2017/7548905.
  3. Z, Huang. S. S, Hallak. R, and Liang. M, “Chinese consumers’ brand personality perceptions of tourism real estate firms”. Tourism Management, Vol. 52, (2016), 310-326, DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2015.06.022.
  4. J. E, and Dadzie. D. K, “Marketing Construction Business: Problems, Prospects and Strategies”. Marketing, Vol. 7, No. 29, (2015), 182-192.
  5. D, “Online Marketing Issues of Real Estate Companies: A Case of Latvia”. Baltic Journal of Real Estate Economics and Construction Management, Vol. 3, No. 1, (2015), 130-139, DOI: 10.1515/bjreecm-2015-0013.
  6. T, Mackova. D, Mesaros. P, and Spisakova. M, “Impact model of communication and marketing tools for the promotion of family houses built by modern methods of construction”. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research, Vol. 12, No. 21, (2017), 11749-11759.
  7. G, Pellicer. E, and Yepes. V, “Marketing in the construction industry: State of knowledge and current trends”. Dyna, Vol. 78, No. 170, (2011), 245-253.
  8. S, and Nicholson. A, “The role of the marketing function in operations of a construction enterprise: misconceptions and paradigms”. Management Decision Vol. 36, No. 2, (1998), 96-101, DOI: 10.1108/00251749810204179.
  9. Smeal, A. and P. Colwell, “A comparison of real estate marketing systems: theory and evidence”. Journal of Real Estate Research, Vol. 10, No. 5, (1995), 583-599, DOI: 10.1080/10835547.1995.12090804.
  10. Y, and Mueller. B, “The State of Augmented Reality Advertising Around the Globe: A Multi-Cultural Content Analysis”. Journal of Promotion Management, Vol. 25, No. 4 (2019), 453-475, DOI: 10.1080/10496491.2018.1448323.
  11. P, “Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda”. International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 34, No. 1, (2017), 22-45, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.11.006.
  12. M, Clark. A, and Lee. G, “A Survey of Augmented Reality”. Foundations and Trends® in Human–Computer Interaction, Vol. 8, No. (2-3), (2015), 73-272, DOI: 10.1561/1100000049.
  13. P, Hamari. J, and Pöyry. E, “Introduction to Minitrack: Mixed, Augmented and Virtual Reality”. in 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2018), DOI: 10.24251/hicss.2018.172.
  14. R. T, “A Survey of Augmented Reality”. In Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, Vol. 6, No. 4, (1997), 355-385, DOI: 10.1162/pres.1997.6.4.355.
  15. J, Furht. B, Anisetti. M, Ceravolo. P, Damiani. E, and Ivkovic. M, “Augmented Reality Technologies, Systems and Applications”, Multimedia Tools and Applications, Vol. 51, (2011), 341-377, DOI: 10.1109/ISIE.2008.4676964.
  16. D, Domurath. N, Glanz-Chanos. V, and Grunert. K. G, “Future trends of augmented reality”. In Augmented reality for food marketers and consumers, (2017), 1681-1685, DOI: 10.3920/978-90-8686-842-1_6.
  17. M, "CMO’s Select Augmented Reality as Future Trend for Marketing." Zugara. Retrieved February 3, 2020, from http://zugara.com/cmos-select-augmented-reality-future-trend-marketing, (2015).
  18. A, “[Poster] classifications of augmented reality uses in marketing”. in IEEE. 2014. Mixed and Augmented Reality-Media, Art, Social Science, Humanities and Design (ISMAR-MASH’D), (2014), IEEE International Symposium, DOI: 10.1109/ISMAR-AMH.2014.6935441.
  19. Van Krevelen. D. W. F, and Poelman. R, “A survey of augmented reality technologies, applications and limitations”. International Journal of Virtual Reality, Vol. 9, No. 2, (2010), DOI: 10.20870/ijvr.2010.9.2.2767.
  20. S. C. Y, Yaoyuneyong. G, and Johnson. E, “Augmented reality: An overview and five directions for AR in education”. Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange, Vol. 4, No. 1, (2011), 11, DOI: 10.18785/jetde.0401.10.
  21. S, “Review on application of augmented reality in civil engineering”. in International Conference on Inter Disciplinary Research in Engineering and Technology. (2016).
  22. Van Kerrebroeck. H, Brengman. M, and Willems. K, “Escaping the crowd: An experimental study on the impact of a Virtual Reality experience in a shopping mall”. Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 77, (2017), 437-450, DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.07.019.
  23. N, Jung. T, and tom Dieck. M. C, “The marketing of urban tourism destibations through virtual reality: tourism marketers’ perspectives”. in 8th advances in hospitality and tourism marketing and management (AHTMM) (2018).
  24. M, Magnelli. A, Della Lucia. M, Verreschi. G, and Campana. S, “Augmented and virtual reality in cultural heritage: enhancing the visitor experience and satisfaction at the area Pacis museum in Rome, Italy”. in 8th advances in hospitality and tourism marketing and management (AHTMM). (2018).
  25. Z, Laurie. W, and Xiang. R. L, “When art meets tech: “The role of augmented reality in enhancing museum experiences and purchase intentions”. Tourism Management, Vol. 68, (2018), 127-139, DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2018.03.003.
  26. M, Willems. K, and Van Kerrebroeck. H, “Can’t touch this: the impact of augmented reality versus touch and non‑touch interfaces on perceived ownership”. Virtual Reality, Vol. 23, No. 3, (2019), 269-280, DOI: 10.1007/s10055-018-0335-6.
  27. F, Sepasgozar S. M, and Wang. C, “A systematic review of smart real estate technology: Drivers of, and barriers to, the use of digital disruptive technologies and online platforms”. Sustainability, Vol. 10, No. 9, (2018), 3142, DOI: 10.3390/su10093142.
  28. Z, Goh. Y. M, and Li. Q, “Overview and analysis of safety management studies in the construction industry”. Safety Science, Vol. 72, (2015), 337-350, DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2014.10.006.
  29. R. Y, “Improving safety among small organisations in the construction industry: Key barriers and improvement strategies”. Procedia Engineering, Vol. 125, (2015), 109-116, DOI: 10.1016/j.proeng.2015.11.017.
  30. D, Wu. C, and Wu. H, “Impact of the supervisor on worker safety behavior in construction projects”. Journal of Management in Engineering, Vol. 31, No. 6, (2015), 04015001, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000355.
  31. R. Y, and Zou. P. X, “Political skill for developing construction safety climate”. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 138, No. 5, (2012), 605-612, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000482.
  32. US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BSL), “National census of fatal occupational injuries in 2017”. United States Department of Labor, Bureau of labor statistics, (2018), 7.
  33. R. M, and Fang. D, “Why operatives engage in unsafe work behavior: Investigating factors on construction sites”. Safety Science, Vol. 46, No. 4, (2008), 566-584, DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2007.06.027.
  34. P. X, and Sunindijo. R. Y, “Strategic safety management in construction and engineering”. (2015), Wiley Online Library, DOI: 10.1002/9781118839362.
  35. F, Alvanchi. A, and Mostafavi. A, “A simulation-based framework for concurrent safety and productivity improvement in construction projects”. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, (2018), DOI: 10.1108/ECAM-12-2017-0266.
  36. M, and Ali. H, “Modeling safety considerations and space limitations in piling operations using agent based simulation”. Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 40, No. 12, (2013), 4848-4857, DOI: 10.1016/j.eswa.2013.02.021.
  37. H, Ardeshir. A, Sebt. M. H, and Stouffs. R, “Construction safety risk drivers: A BIM approach”. Safety Science, Vol. 82, (2016), 445-455, DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2015.11.002.
  38. X, Yi. W, Chi. H. L, Wang. X, and Chan. A. P, “A Critical Review of Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Applications in Construction Safety”. Automation in Construction, Vol. 86, (2018), 150-162.
  39. M, Peng. J, Sepasgozar. S. M. E, and Ebrahimi. H, “A Framework for Using Advanced Visualization Tools for Residential Property Management”. in ISARC. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction. (2017). IAARC Publications, DOI: 10.3390/su10093142.
  40. R, Eastman. C, Lee, G. and Teicholz. P, “BIM handbook: A guide to building information modeling for owners, designers, engineers, contractors, and facility managers”. (2018), John Wiley & Sons.
  41. ISO, “ISO 16739-1:2018, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for data sharing in the construction and facility management industries — Part 1: Data schema”. (2018), The International Organization for Standardization.
  42. J, “QR codes: what are they and why should you care?” Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section Proceedings, Vol. 1, (2011), 16-23, DOI: 10.4148/culs.v1i0.1355.