Comparing the Functionality between Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality for Architecture and Construction Uses

Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) offer unique opportunities for the architecture and construction industry through different approaches with building information modeling (BIM). While VR offers architecture and construction practitioners the ability to personally experience the built environment in an immersive, MR with its unique ability of overlaying digital information in the real world allows practitioners to perform on-site visualization for construction planning and as-built verification. With their similar but distinct characteristics, VR and MR offer a variety of functionality to the architecture and construction industry that often confuses practitioners on what to choose to best fit their needs. To clarify this confusion, this paper investigates the available technologies of VR and MR in terms of both hardware and software and compares the functionality between the two for architecture and construction uses. While VR hardware has been developed into three categories based on their connection types and tracking methods, MR hardware has mainly focused on standalone devices. Eight VR software and nine MR software have been identified, investigated, and compared. This paper provides the latest information for architecture and construction practitioners on how VR and MR hardware and software work similarly and differently.