Toward Open Network Data Exchange Protocols for Construction Metrology and Automation: Liveview

A significant problem in construction automation is the difficulty of interfacing and integrating subsystems (e.g. sensors, databases, visualization systems) into a useful whole. In this paper, we describe our past and present efforts toward the design and implementation of network protocols to address this problem. Our current design effort concentrates on communicating, "who, what, where, and when" data over internet-protocol (IP) networks, and is based on the IEEE 1278 (distributed interactive simulation) protocol family, with some extensions to meet the anticipated needs of construction automation systems.