Con-Metaverse: Its Potentiality, Challenges, and Possible Applications through NLP and Review

With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the convergence of physical and digital, all aspects of real life are transformed into the infinite virtual world, the metaverse. As the metaverse takes shape and begins to mirror every piece of human experience, industries have started seeking transformational new opportunities beyond gaming. However, the utilization of metaverse in the construction industry is relatively low, while other sectors are already harvesting from the new unlimited world. To this end, this study first defines the noticeable features of the metaverse that are relevant to construction activities through systematic review and natural language process (NLP). Required technology milestones and critical challenges to realize the construction-metaverse (Con-Metaverse) are then identified through the NLP and review. The potential applications of the metaverse for construction are also discussed. This study is expected to expand the potentiality of metaverse to enhance its implementation in the construction industry.