US-12619796-B2 - Virtual environment for large-scale capital projects

US12619796B2US 12619796 B2US12619796 B2US 12619796B2US-12619796-B2

Abstract

A method generates a virtual environment representing a large-scale capital project with a plurality of objects. Each object corresponds to at least one of a plurality of files. The method further associates a user indicator with a given object of the plurality of objects after access to a given file. The given file is at least one of the plurality of files and associated with the given object. The method also positions a visual representation of the user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the given object. The visual representation of the user indicator includes an interactive interface for user information. The method further receives a request via the interactive interface to contact a user corresponding to the user indicator.

Inventors

Christian List
Joseph Chad Shupe
Brian D. Scarsdale
Jiti Kottukappallil

Assignees

HEXAGON TECHNOLOGY CENTER GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220830

Claims (20)

1 . A method for managing a large-scale capital project, the method comprising: generating a virtual environment representing the large-scale capital project, the virtual environment including a plurality of virtual objects representing associated physical components of the-large scale capital project, the virtual objects including one or more of a smokestack, pipes, valve, fuel tank, ladder, or electrical system, each of the plurality of virtual objects corresponding to a design object of at least one of a plurality of computer-aided design files; monitoring access to the plurality of computer-aided design files to determine a first design file the plurality of computer-aided design files is being accessed by a first user; associating a first user indicator with a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects based on the first design file being a given computer-aided design file associated with the first virtual object; determining a location of the first virtual object in the virtual environment; positioning a visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the location of the first virtual object, the visual representation of the first user indicator including an interactive interface; and receiving a request via the interactive interface from a second user to contact the first user in response to the second user working on or accessing a second computer-aided design file associated with a second virtual object that is proximate to, or shares a multi-dimensional space with, the first virtual object, the second virtual object including one or more of a smokestack, pipes, valve, fuel tank, ladder, or electrical system, the associated physical component of the second virtual object in conflict with a physical location of the first virtual object, wherein the request is received prior to the virtual environment being refreshed to incorporate modifications to the second computer-aided design file, to coordinate design work and mitigate a potential design conflict between the first virtual object and the second virtual object.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein associating the first user indicator with the first virtual object occurs in response to a modification of a given design object of the given computer-aided design file by a user corresponding to the first user indicator.
3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising: updating the first virtual object in the virtual environment in response to the modification of the given design object by the first user.
4 . The method of claim 1 , comprising: determining a location of the first virtual object in the virtual environment, the positioning the visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment being a function of the location of the first virtual object; associating the first user indicator with a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects after access to a second computer-aided design file, the second computer-aided design file being at least one of the plurality of computer-aided design files, the second computer-aided design file being associated with the second virtual object in the virtual environment; determining a second location of the second virtual object in the virtual environment; and repositioning the visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the second location of the second virtual object.
5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising: assigning an appearance characteristic of the first user indicator in the virtual environment in response to at least a portion of the plurality of virtual objects being located proximate to the first virtual object.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the interactive interface includes user information relating to the first user, and wherein the received request via the interactive interface to contact the first user includes a request to access to the user information.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first user indicator includes a work classification visual representation.
8 . A system for managing a large-scale capital project, comprising: a renderer circuit configured to generate a virtual environment representing the large-scale capital project, the virtual environment including a plurality of virtual objects representing associated physical objects, the virtual objects including one or more of a smokestack, pipes, valve, fuel tank, ladder, or electrical system, each of the plurality of virtual objects corresponding to a design object of at least one of a plurality of computer-aided design files; a user associator circuit operatively coupled with the renderer circuit, the user associator circuit configured to monitor access to the plurality of computer-aided design files to determine a first design file the plurality of computer-aided design files is being accessed by a first user and associate a first user indicator with a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects based on the first design file being a given computer-aided design file associated with the first virtual object, the renderer circuit further configured to determine a location of the first virtual object in the virtual environment, and to position a visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the location of the first virtual object, the visual representation of the first user indicator including an interactive interface; and a user input circuit configured to receive, from a user device, a request from a second user via the interactive interface to contact the first user in response to the second user working on or accessing a second computer-aided design file associated with a second virtual object that is proximate to, or shares a multi-dimensional space with, the first virtual object, the second virtual object including one or more of a smokestack, pipes, valve, fuel tank, ladder, or electrical system, the associated physical component of the second virtual object in conflict with a physical location of the first virtual object, wherein the request is received prior to the virtual environment being refreshed to incorporate modifications to the second computer-aided design file, to coordinate design work and mitigate a potential design conflict between the first virtual object and the second virtual object.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the user associator circuit is configured to associate the first user indicator with the first virtual object in response to a modification of a given design object of the given computer-aided design file by the first user corresponding to the first user indicator.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the renderer circuit is configured to update the first virtual object in the virtual environment in response to the modification of the given design object by the first user.
11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein: the user associator circuit is further configured to associate the first user indicator with a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects after access to a second computer-aided design file, the second computer-aided design file being at least one of the plurality of computer-aided design files, the second computer-aided design file being associated with the second virtual object in the virtual environment; and the renderer circuit further configured to determine a second location of the second virtual object in the virtual environment, and reposition the visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the second location of the second virtual object.
12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the renderer circuit is configured to determine an appearance characteristic of the first user indicator in the virtual environment in response to a portion of the plurality of virtual objects being located proximate to the first virtual object.
13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the first user indicator includes an avatar representation of the first user, and the avatar representation includes a work classification visual representation.
14 . A computer program product for use on a computer system for managing a large-scale capital project, the computer program product comprising a tangible, non-transient computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising: program code for generating a virtual environment representing the large-scale capital project, the virtual environment including a plurality of virtual objects representing associated physical objects, the virtual objects including one or more of a smokestack, pipes, valve, fuel tank, ladder, or electrical system, each of the plurality of virtual objects corresponding to a design object of at least one of a plurality of computer-aided design files; program code for monitoring access to the plurality of computer-aided design files to determine a first design file the plurality of computer-aided design files is being accessed by a first user; program code for associating a first user indicator with a first virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects based on the first design file being a given computer-aided design file associated with the first virtual object; program code for determining a location of the first virtual object in the virtual environment; program code for positioning a visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the location of the first virtual object, the visual representation of the first user indicator including an interactive interface; and program code for receiving a request from a second user via the interactive interface to contact the first user in response to the second user working on or accessing a second computer-aided design file associated with a second virtual object that is proximate to, or shares a multi-dimensional space with, the first virtual object, the second virtual object including one or more of a smokestack, pipes, valve, fuel tank, ladder, or electrical system, the associated physical component of the second virtual object in conflict with a physical location of the first virtual object, wherein the request is received prior to the virtual environment being refreshed to incorporate modifications to the second computer-aided design file, to coordinate design work and mitigate a potential design conflict between the first virtual object and the second virtual object.
15 . The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein associating the first user indicator with the first virtual object occurs in response to a modification of a given design object of the given computer-aided design file by the first user corresponding to the first user indicator.
16 . The computer program product of claim 15 , further comprising: program code for updating the first virtual object in the virtual environment in response to the modification of the given design object by the first user.
17 . The computer program product of claim 14 , comprising: program code for determining a location of the first virtual object in the virtual environment, the positioning the visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment being a function of the location of the first virtual object; program code for associating the first user indicator with a second virtual object of the plurality of virtual objects after access to a second computer-aided design file, the second computer-aided design file being at least one of the plurality of computer-aided design files, the second computer-aided design file being associated with the second virtual object in the virtual environment; program code for determining a second location of the second virtual object in the virtual environment; and program code for repositioning the visual representation of the first user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the second location of the second virtual object.
18 . The computer program product of claim 14 , comprising: program code for assigning an appearance characteristic of the first user indicator in the virtual environment in response to at least a portion of the plurality of virtual objects being located proximate to the first virtual object.
19 . The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the first user indicator includes an avatar representation of the first user.
20 . The computer program product of claim 19 , wherein the avatar representation includes a work classification visual representation.

Description

FIELD Illustrative embodiments of the invention generally relate to virtual environments and, more particularly, various embodiments of the invention relate to virtual environments configured to mitigate design file conflicts in large-scale capital projects. BACKGROUND Existing project management software applications suffer from a number of shortcomings and disadvantages. Among other things, this may include preventing design conflicts such as overlaps and redundancies. Large-scale capital projects may involve hundreds of personnel designing thousands of components and systems for a single plant model. However, an engineer contributing a design file for placing electrical components at one location of the model may be unaware of a previously submitted design file for water pipes placed by another engineer in the same location, causing a design conflict that may not be discovered until the entire plant model is later refreshed. SUMMARY OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS In accordance with one embodiment, a method for managing a large-scale capital project generates a virtual environment representing the large-scale capital project. The virtual environment includes a plurality of objects, and each of the plurality of objects corresponds to at least one of a plurality of files. The method associates a user indicator with a given object of the plurality of objects after access to a given file. The given file is at least one of the plurality of files, and the given file is associated with the given object in the virtual environment. The method positions a visual representation of the user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the given object. The visual representation of the user indicator has an interactive interface for user information. The method further receives a request via the interactive interface to contact a user corresponding to the user indicator. In some embodiments, associating the user indicator with the given object occurs in response to a modification of the given object by a user corresponding to the user indicator. The method may include updating the given object in the virtual environment in response to the modification of the given object by the user. The method may include determining a location of the given object in the virtual environment. Positioning the visual representation of the user indicator in the virtual environment may be a function of the location of the given object. The method may also include associating the user indicator with a second object of the plurality of objects after access to a second file. The second file is at least one of the plurality of files. The second file is associated with the second object in the virtual environment. The method may also include determining a second location of the second object in the virtual environment. The method may further include repositioning the visual representation of the user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the second location of the second object. The method may include assigning an appearance characteristic of the user indicator in the virtual environment in response to at least a portion of the plurality of objects located proximate to the given object. In some embodiments, the user indicator includes an avatar representation of the user. The avatar representation may include at least one of a work classification visual representation and a work status visual representation. Illustrative embodiments are implemented as a system including 1) a user input, a 2) renderer configured to generate a virtual environment representing the large-scale capital project, and 3) a user associator configured to associate a user indicator with a given object of the plurality of objects after access to a given file. The virtual environment includes a plurality of objects. Each of the plurality of objects corresponding to at least one of a plurality of files. The user associator. The given file is at least one of the plurality of files, and the given file is associated with the given object in the virtual environment. The renderer then determines a location of the given object in the virtual environment and positions a visual representation of the user indicator in the virtual environment as a function of the location of the given object. The visual representation of the user indicator has an interactive interface for user information. The user input then receives, from a user device, a request via the interactive interface to access the user information. Illustrative embodiments are implemented as a computer program product having a computer usable medium with computer readable program code thereon. The computer readable code may be read and utilized by a computer system in accordance with conventional processes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Those skilled in the art should more fully appreciate advantages of various embodiments of the invention from the following “Description of Illustrative Embodiments,” d