After design, the next level [of AR adoption] is facilities management, where you can use your mobile device to overlay as-built information on top of the existing infrastructure. Imagine being able to look up into a ceiling [using AR], see all the ductwork and the piping behind it, and be able to get service data.

But doesn't AR depend on how advanced the industry is with BIM data?

There are certain levels of BIM adoption, such as visualization, then coordination and documentation, then analysis and simulation, then as-builts and then you get into facilities management.

I believe most architecture and construction firms are well into the third level, getting accurate information into a model for construction. But we need to be able to automate the input of those objects. With cloud computing, higher bandwidth and increasingly powerful mobile devices, all of these are going to support and educate people on AR.

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