Application of a Communication Protocol Methodology to Embed a Collaborative Virtual Reality Environment in Building Industry Game

摘要

The Building Industry Game (B.I.G.) is a web based simulation that allows Construction Management students to take the role of contractors and make bids on various jobs using their own in-game finances. In order to win a bid, students need to make the lowest bid and adequate cash-on-hand. The bids made by students are on particular job types that exist in the construction field including: apartment, hospital, industrial, office, and school. For each given job type, students also have to select a method they wish to use for each of the following activities: excavation, foundation, basement, framing, closure, roof, siding, finishing, and mechanical/electrical. Each of these methods have a certain labor and material costs where the higher the value implies more workers and equipment or bigger equipment. When selecting a method for a particular job type, students rely on numerical values to help determine what bid they should make. Students would benefit from a visual to show the materials and labor cost associated with each method in order to select the best method and make the winning bid. This paper discusses the use of a communication protocol developed by Lacey Duckworth to embed a Collaborative Virtual Reality Environment, Open Source Building Environment for Simulation and Training (OSBEST), into B.I.G. in order to provide a visual for the materials and labor costs of a particular job type and excavation method selected by the user.