Guided by augmented reality, Sharon’s novel insulation system aims to reduce energy loss
By Gabe Davis
Behind the historic charm of many New England homes is an oft-overlooked problem: Their walls contain little to no insulation. That can make houses hotter in summer and chillier in winter. In some older homes, as much as a quarter of heating energy is lost through the walls.
“If the US is going to meet its 2050 energy reduction and carbon emission reduction commitments, some 50 million homes are going to need a deep energy retrofit,” says Professor (ME, MSE) Andre Sharon of Boston University’s College of Engineering. “It turns out that actually insulating the walls in a cost-effective and nondisruptive manner to the residents is very challenging.”
Sharon and colleagues are testing a potential solution: customized, highly insulated panels that can be added to existing walls with the help of augmented reality. The insulation system can quickly be installed by a team of two, potentially cutting a building’s heating and cooling energy lost through walls by up to 85 percent.
The team’s augmented reality (AR) approach to insulating homes combines both a software and mechanical solution. Using the system, engineers first laser scan a building, then analyze that scanning data to design and fabricate custom insulated paneling. At the job site, workers wear a virtual reality headset that uses AR to guide them through the installation process, showing exactly where each panel needs to go, reducing the need for time-consuming adjustments and on-site cutting. The project is funded by the Department of Energy.
“The biggest innovation here is on the AI and software part, from starting with laser scanning a house and being able to process the data into a model that a computer could understand, to developing all sorts of algorithms in order to very accurately get the dimensions of every feature in the house,” says Sharon, who also holds an appointment in ENG’s Division of Materials Science & Engineering (MSE). “We applied digital manufacturing technologies to the construction industry, which is long overdue.”