Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Colophon i Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Colophon About the title of this thesis: ‘Seeing is believing’ Seeing is believing is an idiom that was first recorded in 1639 by John Clarke in a collection of proverbs for schoolchildren (Oxford University press, 2016). It means ‘only visual evidence is convincing’. The essence of this idiom goes back to St. Thomas`s claim to Christ whereupon the later responded that there were those who had not seen but believed. Seen evidence however can be easily and correctly interpreted (Rohrer, 2000). About the illustration on the front page: The illustration on the front page is based on an illustration made by Sergey Nivens © and is purchased from https://stock.adobe.com (#47136756) ii Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Colophon Colophon Seeing is Believing Capturing functional product requirements with Augmented Reality within Dutch mega transport projects Name: V.T.J. (Vincent) Verheggen Student number: 4032810 Email: [email protected] University: Delft University of Technology Faculty: Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences MSc Program: Construction Management & Engineering Location: Delft Date: Oktober 2016 Graduation Committee Chairman Prof.dr.ir. M.J.C.M. Hertogh TU Delft, Civil Engineering First Supervisor Dr.ir. G.A. van Nederveen TU Delft, Civil Engineering & Geosciences Second Supervisor Dr. S.G. Lukosch TU Delft, Technology, Policy and Management Company Supervisor Ir. K.J. Oijevaar PDEng ASEP HOCHTIEF Infrastructure Benelux Company Supervisor Ir. D. Postma HOCHTIEF Infrastructure Benelux Visitor address Visitor address Stevinweg 1 Eekholt 42 2628 CN Delft 1112 XH Diemen iii Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Colophon iv Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Preface Preface This thesis is the result of my graduation research, which I carried out to complete the master in ‘Construction Management and Engineering’ (CME) at Delft University of Technology. Prior and during the master program I increasingly acquainted myself with new technologies and construction philosophies. During two internships, I discovered and began to appreciate the advantage of visual communication. It appeared to be a simple and explicit way to gain trust within project organisations. The convincing power of visual, combined with the philosophy Systems Engineering, laid the basis for this research. I would like to thank the people that supported me during my thesis. My graduation committee from Delft University: Prof. dr. ir. M.J.C.M. Hertogh, Dr. ir. G.A. van Nederveen and Dr. S.G. Lukosch. My external supervisors Ir. K.J. Oijevaar PD Eng ASEP and Ir. D. Postma from Hochtief Infrastructure are also to be commended: They supported me during my thesis research with their knowledge and their broad network. Kenzo gave enthusiastic and professional feedback on the meeting on Friday. He persevered in dealing–and wheeling–with me. I want to thank Don for the formal and especially informal conversations and fun in and outside the office. Also, I learned much from his straightforward and strategic feedback. I am also grateful to persons that had an unmissable background role: Sandra, CME’s secretary, and Arjan Keppel, the site superintendent of Hochtief Infrastructure. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for their unconditional confidence. Especially I want to thank Maaike, Anne, Philine, Jan-Peter, Thijs, Fokke and last but not least, my dearly loved, and inpatient, parents. I hope that the thesis will inspire you and convince you of the importance of visualisation. Enjoy reading! September 2016, Vincent Verheggen v Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Preface vi Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Summary Summary Introduction The construction industry is often criticised for failing to deliver a technical solution that meets the client’s intentions. Communication between the contractor and client is difficult as the client has limited technical knowledge. It is necessary to clarify and understand the client’s expectations to ensure that the intended technical solution will be met. One technique that can enhance communication of the technical solution during the development phase is Augmented Reality (AR): a visual aid that overlays the real world with corresponding digital information. Although AR is not new, recent technological advancements in hardware and software make this technique easily applicable. Problem exploration Over the last decade, there has been a shift in the roles of the client and the contractor. The client, who previously was highly involved in the entire construction process, has taken a step back and now concentrates on the function the technical solution has to fulfil by means of functional requirements. Compared to technical requirements, functional requirements create a larger playground for the client and contractor. Various technical solutions can fulfil the client’s functional requirements, but contractors often fail to deliver the technical solution to meet the client’s intent. The reason for this failure is that communication between client and contractor is problematic. The aids used by the contractor to communicate technical solutions cannot be used during development to provide full insight in the technical solution. The research questions This research aims to answer the following research question: How can contractors use Augmented Reality for verification of the technical solution, with respect to functional product requirements, in the development phase of mega transport projects in the Netherlands? Two sub-questions are compiled. The two sub-questions are: Sub-Question 1: How are technical solutions verified with respect to functional product requirements during the development phase? Sub-question 2: How can Augmented Reality be applied to verify technical solutions during development? vii Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Summary Literature study To answer both sub-questions, literature studies in the field of requirement management and AR were performed. These studies elaborate on the output specification, the requirements in the output specification, the specification process, the verification process and Augmented Reality. The literature studies lead to the following findings: - Functional requirements are requirements that describe a function. These requirements are often ambiguous and unclear. - Technical requirements are derived from functional requirements during a specification process. - Verification of the technical solution with respect to the functional requirements is indirectly done by verification with respect to technical requirements. - Verification with respect to technical requirements can be done with four basic verification methods. These are, among others, Demonstration, Analyses, Inspection and Test. - Six AR applications can be distinguished. These are: 1. AR for position review This application allows the user to verify the position of one or multiple objects in order to choose the right alternative. 2. AR for interface review With interface review, the user can do a full scale design visualisation in order to analyse the properties of the virtual 3D model in the real environment. 3. AR for design review With AR for design review, the user can analyse the virtual 3D model on top of a marker, usually a construction plan. 4. AR for task support This application supports the user of AR during execution of onsite activities. This application can help to execute activities correctly or safely. 5. AR for site review AR for site review is used during onsite activities. Examples are verification of the planning or the realised objects. 6. AR for training After the technical solution is developed, this application of AR can train the user for operation and maintenance tasks. - In the development phase, there are two AR applications that can be used for verification: ‘AR for design review’, and ‘AR for interface review’. These two applications can be used for verification because their main aim is to show the technical solution in the development phase. Methods During the case study, several project documents of the SAAone project were analysed. The case study elaborates on the requirements, the verification process and the verification itself. Both research sub-questions were answered by analysing the output specification, the Verification and Validation manual and the requirement management system of the case study project. viii Thesis Vincent Verheggen | Summary To validate and complement the answers from the literature study and case study, six experts were interviewed. The interviews consisted of two parts: the verification process (1) and verification with augmented reality (2). To validate that AR can be used for verification purposes, four AR prototypes were developed. After analysing the prototypes, the interviewees provided their opinion on the use of AR for verification. Results The case study brought to light that the specification process is interwoven in the verification process of functional requirements. When the development phase begins, the functional requirements the client provides are translated into detailed verifications. The detailed verifications can be compared with derived technical requirements mentioned in literature. From the detailed verifications, the technical solution is derived. This process is visualised in Figure 1. Verification of the technical solution is carried out with respect to criteria mentioned in the detailed verifications. An important role during verification is played by the Knowledge and Experience (K&E)