Automated Data Retrieval Solution from BIM Using AI Voice Assistant

The noticeable growth of employing building information modelling (BIM) to digitise the entire construction process requires enabling users to interact with BIM model remotely, regardless of users’ disabilities. Therefore, this chapter presents a workable solution-based artificial intelligence (AI) voice assistant to retrieve BIM information verbally and remotely. Despite existing attempts to employ automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology to retrieve information from BIM model, however, existing solutions lack in providing remote interaction, retrieving a wide range of data and automating the entire process. As such, the chapter provides a two-way solution that enables BIM users to retrieve BIM information verbally and similarly getting information back verbally. Moreover, the proposed solution is fully automated and does not require multiple tasks to perform the request. In addition to retrieving information, the user can develop information such as asking BIM platform to develop ‘schedule’ and then export it verbally. A ‘Proof of Concept’ was developed using Amazon Alexa as AI voice assistant platform to test the applicability, the outcome shows that the created and retrieved information is valid and there is a high level of interoperability between solution components including AI voice assistant interface, mediation environment to convert verbal request and retrieved information to CSV files.