This paper describes authors’ research in developing collaborative virtual reality applications as an interface for monitoring big data by creating a digital twin of the factory and sync the movement of virtual machines with the real ones. The platform allows an interactive reading of the sensor telemetry and processes data, maintenance information and access to a large technical library. For data acquisition and reports, a novel image data method was used. The data values that are encoded as pixel colors of images, using different encoding methods for each data type (text, integer, float, Boolean) are also encrypted using an image as a symmetric encryption key and are stored in the cloud in a time base folder structure, assuring a better data compression, security and speed, compared with the existing solutions based on JSON and NoSQL databases. The platform allows the remote access from the VR environment to the machines consoles and allows parametrization and remote commands.
Utilizing a Collaborative Virtual Reality Environment as a Training Tool for Construction Students
