The ABCs of AR with XYZ REALITY

They say that numbers never lie – and I recently found some from the construction industry that reveal a shocking truth.

Building errors account for 11% of total project costs in the construction industry. In the UK, 40% of that is down to poor build quality first time around¹. Given that the UK construction market alone is worth roughly $240B², and is expected to grow by 3.5% over the next decade or so, it’s no surprise that technology is helping to turn around an industry where precision pays off.

Markets have taken notice of the opportunity: both total investment and number of deals have climbed over the past 3 years. While 2023 saw a slight drop in total value from the highs of 2022, the steady increase in deals suggests there’s an appetite to invest.

XYZ Reality have developed an augmented reality (AR) headset to increase accuracy in construction and enable projects to be delivered on time and within budget. But before we dive into their story it’s important to come to grips with “immersive technology”.

Immersive technology surrounds a person with a digital view that expands the physical world with multi-sensory inputs. There are two main types: Virtual Reality (VR) delivers a simulated experience making you feel like you’re “in” a virtual world via a headset, while Augmented Reality overlays computer-generated content onto your environment.

This type of tech is revolutionising everything from education to entertainment – and now, it’s helping to transform construction. I spoke to XYZ Reality founder David Mitchell to learn more.

Tell us about your journey and what inspired you to launch XYZ

I started building homes on the west coast of Ireland before moving into commercial construction, civil engineering, architecture, and then back to construction. During that time, I experienced firsthand the problems caused by building from 2D drawings – expensive rework and delays. Although the industry has adopted 3D modeling, that model lives on a laptop, and wasn’t transferable to people in the field.

I knew that if we could visualise a 3D model and make it accessible to the field team, then we could also build from it right the first time, and help builders stay on schedule and avoid costly errors.

What has been XYZ Reality’s most significant milestone?

In the 6 years since starting XYZ Reality, we’ve developed the most-accurate engineering-grade augmented reality headset on the market today. The Atom™ meets the stringent tolerances of construction – within 3-5mm of accuracy. This is key because AR needs to be accurate to be useful as something more than a visualisation tool. As of today, XYZ Reality has been implemented and deployed by the largest mission critical developers on projects totaling over $10 billion.

How does the technology drive positive change?

It’s become an unwanted industry norm for construction projects to be delivered late and over budget. We have become somewhat numb; we are OK with mistakes eating into our profit and/or schedule.

The Atom’s level of accuracy enables the construction industry to move from reactive to proactive by preventing problems from happening in the first place.

Using augmented reality in the field also generates objective data. By linking the project schedule to the 3D model users can now accurately track up to 90% of activities onsite, equipping builders and project owners with invaluable real-time updates.

That’s better for the bottom line, and the planet. Given that the construction industry consumes over 40% of the world's raw resources and accounts for over 40% of landfill waste³, this level of accuracy is critical as it helps to limit waste.

What are the main barriers faced by the construction industry, and how can these be overcome?

Our world is three dimensional. Our buildings are three dimensional. But the plans and process of building are still largely two dimensional, which negatively impacts project budgets and schedules. Even with easy access to 2D digital plans, contractors still spend up to 30% of their time on a project doing rework – fixing mistakes that happened during construction.

Technology like the Atom™ not only helps to avoid those mistakes altogether, but it can also keep projects on schedule.

How do you see construction evolving across the next 5-10 years?

Digitisation of documents, communication and planning has been extremely positive for the industry, but I believe further innovation with deeper technology like augmented reality, robotics, and AI will have greater impact on field workers. These technologies will help to reallocate human capital as the industry continues to work through labour and skills shortages and turn construction into one of the most efficient industries by drastically reducing rework.

Final takeways

When margins are slim, accuracy is everything.

With the UK construction industry facing challenging times⁴, it must adapt and transform, by embracing innovations like the Atom™ to reduce wastage, exceed industry standards and lay strong foundations for the future.

The industry’s focus on sustainability will only increase, as will efforts to drive greater operational efficiencies and keep up with the evolving regulatory landscape. Innovation and technologies like AR, which can help to transform some of the most complex industries, are not only attractive to investors: they’re an essential part of reshaping our world.