| Robert Amor's Publications in 2010 |
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Owen, R., Amor, R., Palmer, M., Dickinson, J., Tatum, C.B., Samad, K.A., Prins, M., Kiviniemi, A. and East, B. (2010) Challenges for Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions, Architectural Engineering and Design Management, Vol. 6, pp. 232-240. |
Abstract: A new approach of Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions (IDDS) aims to radically improve the performance of the construction industries. IDDS builds upon recent trends in the construction industries that has seen the widespread adoption of technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and innovative processes such as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). However, these innovations are seen to develop in isolation, with little consideration of the overarching interactions between people, process and technology. The IDDS approach is holistic in that it recognises that it is only through a combination of initiatives such as skill development, process reengineering, responsive information technology, enhanced interoperability and integrating knowledge management, amongst others, that radical change can be achieved. To implement IDDS requires step changes in many project aspects and this gap between current performance and that required for IDDS is highlighted. The research required to bridge the gaps is identified in four major aspects of collaborative processes, workforce skills, integrated information, and knowledge management.
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Amor, R. (2010) Technical Challenges for Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions in Civil and Building Engineering, Proceedings of International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (ICCCBE 2010), Nottingham, UK, 30 June-2 July, pp. 321-326. |
Abstract: Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions (IDDS) are defined by CIB as follows: "Integrated Design and Delivery Solutions use collaborative work processes and enhanced skills, with integrated data, information, and knowledge management to minimize structural and process inefficiencies and to enhance the value delivered during design, build, and operation, and across projects." (CIB, 2009). Conceptually, the development of an extensible infrastructure for IDDS appears to be a straight-forward matter, made difficult by the sheer size of the information needs of the domain. To that extent, there are few current implementations in existence, and the majority of those that do exist are bespoke developments which support a restricted number of processes and analyses. This paper characterizes the variety of technical challenges which are faced by those delivering on the promise of integrated design and delivery solutions. Alongside each of these challenges it identifies current approaches to supporting IDDS, both at a commercial level, and from the viewpoint of researchers working on future improvements to the IDDS ideal.
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Amor, R. and Dimyadi, J. (2010) An Open Repository of IFC Data Models and Analyses to Support Interoperability Deployment, Proceedings of CIB W78, Cairo, Egypt, 16-18 November, pp. 1-11. |
Abstract: In order to promote interoperability through IFC-enabled design tools it is necessary to build confidence in the ability of the available design tools. To date the potential user of such design tools would be reliant upon the promotional material put out by the design tool vendor and the fact that they have been certified against a particular version of the IFC by the IAI. Research over the last five years has shown that it is not sufficient to rely upon the claims of vendors or the fact that a design tool has been certified against a particular standard. In a very large organisation there may be the resources and expertise available to undertake in-house testing of design tools to ensure they work sufficiently for the required purpose. However, this is beyond the means of the majority of organisations in the industry. There are a number of software utilities that support various aspects of IFC checking and use. These utilities run the gamut of: counting entities within IFC data files; providing summary statistics for IFC data files; providing metrics for information with IFC data files; determining the syntactic correctness of IFC data files; determining redundancies within IFC data files; visualizing aspects of IFC data files; navigating IFC data files; etc. Used in combination, by expert users, they can provide a fairly comprehensive view of how well interoperability is being achieved on a project. However, this expertise also does not exist in the majority of organisations in the industry. This paper reports on the development of an open repository of IFC data files which have been analysed by many of the existing software utilities and the analysis captured online to provide an evolving record of the ability of various design tools to handle IFC data files with various content.
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Schultz, C., Amor, R., Guesgen, H.W. (2010) The Impact of Qualification on the Application of Qualitative Spatial and Temporal Reasoning Calculi, Proceedings of Twenty-Third Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Adelaide, Australia, 7-10 December, pp. 62-71. |
Abstract: Ever since Allen introduced his qualitative interval algebra in 1983, the area of qualitative spatial and temporal reasoning (QSTR) has been motivated by potential application areas that require humanoriented, commonsense reasoning. Despite this, it is well recognised in the community that there are relatively few commercial applications that heavily employ QSTR calculi. In this paper we directly address this issue by establishing a theoretical foundation for describing, developing and analysing QSTR based applications. We present an analysis of QSTR calculus qualification and investigate the impact that qualification has on a QSTR application's reasoning properties such as completeness and soundness. Our definition of QSTR applications also provides software developers with a basic template to begin creating their own applications. Concrete examples of existing QSTR applications are used to demonstrate and motivate this research.
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Amor, R., Owen, R. and Dave, B. (2010) IDDS Priority Theme Workshop Notes, CIB World Building Congress, Salford, UK, 12 May, 77pp. |
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Wuensche, B., Keymer, D., Amor, R. (2010) Sketch, Click, Plug and Play: Accelerated Design of Virtual Environments by Integrating Multimedia and Sketch Content into Game Engines, Proceedings of Computer Human Interaction New Zealand (CHINZ 2010), Palmerston North, New Zealand, 8-9 July, pp. 1-8. |
Abstract: Virtual Environments are becoming increasingly popular outside the area of entertainment and are now used for a diverse range of applications such as education, training, simulation, urban design, architecture and archaeology. One of the main challenges of using virtual environments is the high cost of creating content. While there is a large variety of modelling tools available, they all require training, usually have a steep learning curve, and even simple structures can take hours or days to model depending on the required level of detail and the user's experience. In order to make virtual environments more accessible to a wider group of users the content creation step needs to be simplified. In this paper we present a framework for effectively and efficiently creating virtual environments by integrating different media such as high resolution images and QuickTime VR movies into game engines. Terrains and simple 3D content are modelled using sketch and paint-like interfaces. The QuickTime VR movies are "fused" into the game engine environment providing a contextand- focus view of different aspects of the scene. We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach by creating an archaeological virtual environment. The representation is much easier to create than a detailed fully 3D environment. However, it provides multiple advantages over traditional media for study and exploration, e.g., collaboration, overview and detail views, and improved perception of spatial and temporal relationships which is essential for understanding the usage of an archaeological site. Preliminary user studies indicate that the tool considerable facilitates the creation of virtual environments. Compared to traditional 3D worlds our environments are simpler, but due to the integration of existing multimedia content they provide a similar amount of information for exploring and understanding the simulated scene. The QuickTime VR integration is virtually seamless and together with the context provided by the 3D environment allows similar types of navigation as for environments modelled entirely in 3D.