Cloud interaction technologies in the design and construction

One of the problems that can arise in the way of successful implementation of construction projects is the separation and inadequate interaction between the participants in the process in the design and construction of the facility. This problem can adversely affect the results of the project, the quality of its implementation, implementation time and cost. Often in the implementation there is a problem of providing all parties of the design and construction process with access to information and communication tools. The article discusses the possibilities of joint activity in the design process using cloud computing. In particular, the introduction and development of concepts for innovative interaction tools, such as context-sensitive cloud computing information systems (CACCIS), is being considered to facilitate the design and construction processes using new technological capabilities.


Introduction
In construction, especially at the design stage of the future facility, fragmented, complex and non-integrated systems are often found today [1,2].A multi-disciplinary team of stakeholders working with various project participants should improve the productivity, effectiveness of construction management and the efficient use of resources [3].In the construction of objects, interaction between participants should occur in close relationship taking into account many parameters.As a result, the main goal of this cooperation is the successful completion of construction projects in achieving their specific goals, which are based on observing the time and timing of the project, the budget allocated, the level of quality and safety.In addition, directly designing as a stage of construction production is quite an information-resource-intensive activity, and therefore timely provision of complete information is the key to better management, effective decision-making and successful project implementation [4,5].According to the researchers' calculations, if the information is effectively used, then the construction costs can be saved to 25%, and when building high-rise buildings and structures -up to 35%.In addition, construction work is usually territorially disconnected, and site locations often change, which leads to fragmentation of production and thus complicates the management of construction projects [5].
The article examines how the technologies of interaction in construction can help professionals in a particular area of construction work to more effectively manage and implement construction projects.The relationship between technologies of contextdependent computing and cloud computing, as well as the potential of context-oriented cloud computing information systems (CACCIS) as a proposed cooperation tool, is considered.The ways of expanding the potential opportunities provided for full-fledged work in the construction of the facility with joint technologies and tools have been determined.

Tools for cooperation in construction
Since the early 2000s, many researchers have sought to introduce methods, technologies and tools that reduce the duration and cost of projects while improving quality, productivity, efficiency and effectiveness.Within the dynamically developing construction industry, the customer at any stage of the project life cycle requires a better price-quality ratio, shorter construction times and access to valid and up-to-date information.Cooperation in the design process requires close communication and awareness among stakeholders of each other's activities, especially in the construction process.In addition, interaction requires a successful and effective exchange of knowledge, negotiation, coordination and management of activities.
On the other hand, the dynamics, unstructured and complex nature of projects, difficulties and risks are inherent in the construction.Thus, in order to overcome the mobility and information-intensive nature of construction projects, creative and intellectual methods of cooperation are required.Cloud computing is an important potential tool for supporting the construction industry and provides the opportunity for remote collaboration based on the use of the most common and currently available means of information transfer, such as personal computers, the Internet, laptops, tablets, smartphones.
The conducted researches have shown the possibility of introduction into the construction production of the context-oriented tool of cooperation in construction on the basis of cloud computing that can be used by all participants of design, construction and other interested persons.The following are concepts of context-oriented computing and cloud computing.

Cloud computing
Cloud computing is a new technology in the IT industry that affects the efficiency and effectiveness of networks, platforms, operating systems, applications, software, hardware and information systems, and the Internet.
Cloud computing can be defined as the exchange of information, the use of applications and resources in the Internet network environment to implement business processes without noticeable differences for the user from working on the local network, while minimizing the costs of maintaining and managing resources, applications and network services , For the company.
In addition, it should be noted that applications for smartphones are usually limited by their resources, such as low processor frequency, small memory capacity and short battery life.Thus, the technology of cloud computing is an alternative solution to the problem of limited resources.
At the moment, there are four models for deploying cloud computing: public cloud, private cloud, community cloud and hybrid clouds.Public cloud is an open system for all users, private cloud is a closed system with access only for special users, when internal data-centers of business have limited access.A group community is associated with a cloud that is managed and used by a group of organizations with common interests, while a hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private clouds.
Regarding the forms of cloud computing, the modern one can distinguish three main types of cloud computing: 1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): A consumer through a cloud provider uses basic computing resources, such as processing power, storage, operating system, network components (firewalls or middleware).For example, Amazon web services; 2. Platform as a service (PaaS): the consumer uses the hosting environment for their applications.The applications running in the environment (possibly with some control over the hosting environment) are monitored, but without control over the operating system, hardware or network infrastructure on which they are running.Google AppEngine and Microsoft Azure are good examples of this category.
3. Software as a Service (SaaS): The consumer uses the application, but does not control the operating system, hardware, or network infrastructure on which it operates.Examples of this category are Zoho Office, Microsoft WindowsLive, various Google applications, including Gmail, Dropbox, Google Talk, Google Calendar, Google Docs (for word processing and spreadsheets), YouTube, SlideShare, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
One of the significant advantages of cloud computing is that they provide scalable access to computing resources and services using information technology (IT).This innovative and affordable resource is the integration of hardware and software that legal entities or individuals can use anywhere in the world via the Internet.The resources of cloud computing provide an opportunity to distribute computing resources and information technologies for various services in the world industry and, in particular, in design and construction.If the interaction is correctly and correctly implemented, as much as possible adapted for a particular project, then the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of construction will increase severalfold.Consider the definitions and concepts of contextdependent computations.

Context-dependent tools in the system of interaction in construction
Information and communication technologies (ICT) achieve their main goal -to create an environment in which any person can easily access any information that he can need at any time and from anywhere (cloud computing).On the one hand, the reduction in the cost of delivery of information has plunged the construction industry into the ocean of unmanaged volumes of information (both useful and useless).Therefore, it is important to provide useful information only for the specified user, at a particular time and depending on the context (conditions, situation) of the user (contextual information).On the other hand, the adaptation of information and communication technologies (ICT) and tools in the construction industry is slower than in other sectors.The number of options for using context-sensitive technologies in the construction industry is limited.There are opportunities through which the advanced technologies of CAID (Context-Aware Information Delivery) evolve.Some of the promising technologies for CAID are developed on the basis of location determination, the use of computing, sensor networks and radio frequency identification (RFID).
Developing mobile applications tailored to the needs of the user (for example, taking into account their roles, tasks, functions, job responsibilities, working conditions, etc.) will improve the efficiency of project implementation by providing information and services relevant to a particular situation.Thus, understanding the needs of the user can ensure the provision of effective and up-to-date information, communication and services at all stages of construction, which will improve the quality of the project.
Context-sensitive computing is the study of context-sensitive systems (a combination of hardware and software) that analyze the user's state and the environment, and adapt their work to changing conditions.
Let's briefly consider the system of integrated, context-dependent cloud computing in the field of construction proposed to date.

The architecture of context-sensitive cloud computing systems
In addition to the large fragmentation of information, it is very important to exchange all information, process, change and distribute it throughout the design and construction process between all the participants in the process.Correcting drawings, replacing materials or equipment, changing quantities and specifications, recalculation are examples of work processes that will cause performance to be reduced.Thus, the goal of the system is to improve coordination and communication, together with improved interaction.
The main advantage of the system of context-dependent cloud computing is that the integration of all project modules from each of the participants is carried out online: at a time when any changes or adjustments were made.So, any modification of one specialist will affect other modules and, as a consequence, the entire project implementation process, thereby maintaining a constant communication and performance.
Thus, correctly implementing the system of context-dependent cloud computing, all participants in the project team (project manager, architects, contractors, suppliers, engineers and specialists) will have the opportunity to cooperate more accurately and effectively than in traditional approaches and processes.It is believed that, in general, this system will be more efficient than other systems, models and approaches, such as 3D-4D-5D, BIM, complex project deliveries (IPD), virtual design, construction (VDC), etc.The introduction of such a system will lead to increased productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in the construction industry in general and in construction.In addition, two essential elements of this system, as described earlier, include context-awareness and cloud computing.
Cloud computing technology uses the Internet and central remote servers to store data and applications.In addition, cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installing and accessing their personal files on any computer that has Internet access.Due to the centralization of storage, memory, processing and high throughput, there is a noticeable reduction in costs.
The cloud computing architecture can be divided into two parts, which are connected to each other via the network.The first part is what the computer user or client sees.The second part is directly the cloud of the system.The first part includes the client (user) computer along with the web application that is required to access the cloud computing services.It is also known as the cloud computing interface.The second part is the various application and database servers (include the data warehouse) of the system next to the processing server, which together forms a "cloud" of computing services.
Context-awareness of users and cloud computing are technologies that use the Internet and central remote servers (data centers) to receive and deliver data and applications.
All data received from the application server and the database server, in turn, will be sent to the server of the context-sensitive information system (CAIS-server) for further processing of information.Further, the CAIS server will send back relevant information to users based on the selected case (context).In general, the CACCIS architecture consists of four main components: (1) mobile client: a mobile device (smartphones, tablets and mobile phones) that can transfer data and information to a CAIS server through the cloud.In the same way, the client will receive information from the cloud; (2) Firewall: Two firewalls were proposed on this system: the first between the CAIS server and the cloud and the second between the cloud and the mobile client.It should be noted that these firewalls are designed to ensure the security of data and information that will be transmitted and received by the devices; (3) CAIS server: the data received from the application server, database server and mobile clients will be processed by the CAIS server, i.e. through a server of a contextsensitive information system.At this stage, users will select many specific functions that will be based on a specific context, such as location, roles and responsibilities, identity, preferences, calendar, noise, network type, time, weather, site conditions, available bandwidth, interests, task , type of activity, quality of services and network characteristics (user context-awareness); (4) Cloud server: all user information generated through the CAIS server will be transmitted through the cloud with authorization through the firewall.In addition, this information will be processed and distributed to mobile customers through the cloud.There are three categories of cloud computing: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), a platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS).
The presence of context-sensitive calculations allows the application to provide information and services that are relevant to the participants in the construction process.
Context-sensitive applications provide information based on the current location using the Global Positioning System (GPS) for outdoor location coordinates and a wireless local area network (WLAN) for internal location coordinates.Coordinates of the location (latitude, longitude and altitude) are transmitted from the mobile client (mobile client with GPS and WLAN capability) to the CAIS Server Engine via the Internet (including through the wireless network: WPAN, WLAN, WMAN and WWAN).
Despite the proliferation of mobile and context-sensitive applications, there are serious shortcomings for potential users.Most of the systems developed are demonstrator prototypes and tested in small field trials with limited use.Mass use is impossible for the following reasons.First, mobile guides can have hardware requirements (a certain type of PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), the availability of GPS (Global Positioning System), the installation of additional software).However, new generations of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have larger display sizes, more standardized browsing capabilities and faster transfer speeds for broadband data, which reduces hardware requirements.Secondly, another limitation is the availability of complete and reliable data.In addition, due to the rapid deployment of wireless communication technologies, such as wireless personal area network (WPAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless urban network (WMAN), the opportunities for construction companies are constantly growing, new services are being introduced to ensure the stakeholders of the project construction improves the ability to interact with portable wireless devices (i.e.laptops, smartphones, netbooks, computers, etc.).Thus, to solve problematic issues and negative consequences, it is proposed to use Context-Aware Cloud Information System Computing (CACCIS) as the most valuable tool for joint construction work.An overview of the essential points and conclusions is presented below.

Conclusions
The nature of the construction industry is unique among other major industries.Despite the fact that this industry has a centuries-old history in comparison with others, modern tools and technologies are introduced into it quite slowly.In addition, it is necessary to take into account that construction is a large-scale project and consists of a large number of participants with different organizational styles of work and tasks.Therefore, in order to successfully and timely achieve the final objectives of the project, it is important to select and use the necessary tools of construction production for joint work of the project participants.Simultaneously with the increasing complexity of building processes, the amount of data and information accumulated during the construction process increases.
In this article, current tools of information and communication technologies (ICT) are considered that provide an opportunity to communicate and exchange data and information easily, efficiently and accurately at any time and in any place, which allows to provide significant advantages for the construction industry.The tools and technologies discussed include cloud computing and context-sensitive computing.Currently, advances in the field of affordable mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, increasing the speed of wireless data transmission over the Internet and increasing the productivity of mobile applications contribute to the powerful potential of cloud computing technologies to improve information management capabilities in the construction industry.As a result, context-awareness can be integrated with cloud computing to ensure the delivery of up-todate and reliable information and to improve the interaction of project stakeholders.
The introduction and development of the concept of innovative collaboration tools, such as the context-oriented cloud computing information system (CACCIS), greatly facilitates and accelerates the design and construction processes, and also increases the opportunities for introducing new achievements in the construction industry.
The study presented in this article is a preliminary study of the problem and is part of an ongoing study that further assumes the expansion of the practice and implementation of cloud computing as one of the most important innovative tools for joint design and construction work.
To date, there are many intelligent tools for collaboration with the use of cloud computing.There is a great potential for context-oriented computing that can be integrated with cloud computing based on the transmission of data over secure channels.Computing through context-sensitive cloud-based web services offers extensive use of information flows based on specific data, allowing for increased stakeholder interaction in the construction industry.