The Current State and Future Trajectory of VR/AR in Construction: 24 Shades of Reality

Authors

Adeola Ajayi

Department of Architecture, University of Ibadan (Nigeria)

Ifeoluwa Desmond

Hitchin, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom (Nigeria)

Article Information

DOI: 10.51584/IJRIAS.2026.11030071

Subject Category: Construction / Environmental

Volume/Issue: 11/3 | Page No: 906-919

Publication Timeline

Submitted: 2026-03-25

Accepted: 2026-03-30

Published: 2026-04-12

Abstract

Objective: The construction industry faces persistent challenges in managing complex project information, ensuring safety, coordinating distributed teams, and minimizing costly errors. Extended reality (XR) technologies—virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR)—have emerged as transformative tools that fundamentally change how construction professionals visualize, interact with, and manage building projects. This systematic review synthesizes current knowledge on XR applications in building construction, examining their benefits, implementation challenges, and integration with Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems across the project lifecycle.

Keywords

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Extended Reality

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