BIM-driven laser spatial augmented reality for in-situ layout and assembly

Mengjun Wang a
Jianjun Xu b
H. Andrew Lassiter c
Shuai Li a
a Dept. of Civil and Coastal Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA b Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA c School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Paper GitHub

01 / THE PROBLEM & RATIONALE

Building Information Model (BIM) Designs Still Require Tedious Manual On-Site Layout

OUR RATIONALE

Use laser-based spatial AR to enable:

  1. Direct Design Translation

    Project BIM geometry onto physical surfaces.

  2. Precise and Shared Layout

    Provide accurate, full-scale spatial references.

Conventional workflow in which a worker interprets design information, locates the workface, measures, and marks the target location.
Direct workface guidance with the target projected at the physical location of work.
Conventional layout Direct laser projection

02 / HARDWARE PROTOTYPE

A Low-Cost, Open-Source Laser Projection System

We developed a compact laser projector using galvanometer mirrors for precision pattern projection and an integrated camera for workface registration.

Power and laser control modules, galvanometer projection hardware, the V1.0 prototype, and the V1.5 robot-mounted prototype. View full-size figure

03 / SOFTWARE

From BIM to Laser Layouts

We extract task-specific geometry from BIM, convert it into laser patterns, and project the layouts onto physical surfaces.

Animated workflow showing task-specific Revit geometry, laser pattern files, and the corresponding projected layouts on physical surfaces. View full-size animation

04 / PERFORMANCE

Performance Evaluation

Laser Projection Accuracy

We evaluated projection accuracy at distances of 1–3 m under controlled conditions.

Mean center-position error
0.54–1.74 mm
Edge-length deviation
≤1.4%

BIM-Based Application Tests

Window layout
6.0 mm
HVAC layout
2.8 mm
Countertop layout
8.5 mm