Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality for Communicating the Uses of Natural Fibers in Building Construction: State of the Art and New Proposals

This contribution presents a digital framework to promote and communicate the use of natural fibers in building construction, developed within the “Circular Design for Natural Fibers” (CD4NF) project. The research addresses the limited application of advanced digital tools in this emerging field by proposing an integrated workflow that synergizes Building Information Modeling (BIM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and eXtended Reality (XR). The proposal’s core is a flexible and modular platform built upon a structured material filing system that catalogs detailed information on various natural fibers. This platform utilizes BIM as a central data repository. An AI system, based on a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) model, enables users to query this complex data using natural language. XR applications provide an interface for visualizing and interacting with the BIM models and their associated information in real-world contexts. This approach aims to optimize key processes from material research and design to construction, enhancing decision-making, interoperability, and communication. The system represents a step towards a more efficient, circular, and sustainable construction sector by facilitating the informed adoption of natural fiber-based materials.