Using Cloud-Based Augmented Reality to 3D-Enable the 2D Drawings of AISC Steel Sculpture: A Plan-Reading Educational Experiment

Two-dimensional (2D) drawing is one of the most common communication approaches in the civil and construction engineering domain. However, there are limits to the traditional classroom setting for training in 2D drawing and interpretation skills. New visualization techniques exist for integrating the third dimension (depth) to 2D drawings, providing more accurate and natural representations of objects. This helps students to better understand 2D drawings and develop required spatial skills. This study employed cloud-based augmented reality (AR) technology to 3D-enable 2D drawings through virtually superimposing interactive 3D building information models onto 2D paper-based drawings. This research aims to understand if AR-enabled 3D augmentation can be used to facilitate students’ understanding of complex 2D drawings. An experiment was conducted to evaluate how AR could facilitate understanding 2D drawings against the conventional paper-only approach. The results revealed that AR was positively rated by students and could improve the accuracy of a plan-reading task.