Employing Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality to Support the Decision-Making Process in AEC Industry.

The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is becoming increasingly complex due to several challenges, requiring the imperative adoption and implementation of innovative methods to mitigate these challenges. This research analysis of the current industry practices identifies serious challenges associated with inefficiencies in communication during the design phase, leading to higher numbers of change orders during construction. The current study examines the integration of virtual reality (VR) and machine learning (ML) applications to support the decision-making process and enhance project outcomes. The findings not only confirm the positive impact on spatial comprehension, confidence levels, and design review time; they also confirm the positive impact on the project delivery process by detecting errors and missing data at an early design stage. This indicates that integrating immersive environments with data-driven insights provides a more innovative and user-centric design outcome. The early integration of VR and ML in the project delivery process can improve both design and construction outcomes. This research underscores the industry's obligation to allocate more resources towards research that facilitates the creation and evaluation of innovative machine learning algorithms and virtual reality applications designed to address specific challenges in design and construction.