Industry news

OpenSpace 3D Scans to use iPhone/iPad LiDAR sensors

O

penSpace has released the beta of OpenSpace 3D Scans, a new scanning capability for its construction site capture and mapping solution, which uses the LiDAR sensors on the iPad / iPhone Pro.

Previously the company relied solely on data from 360 cameras, which was then processed using its AI-based OpenSpace Vision Engine.

According to OpenSpace product manager Jessica Stewart, OpenSpace 3D Scans will mean users no longer need a 360 camera to use OpenSpace.

Speaking at the recent Waypoint conference, she said, “Anyone on the construction project can take 3D scans with just the phone in their pocket and your data is that much richer.

“It’s very fast and easy to do and when you’re done with your scan, it’s sent to our servers for processing and processing takes place in a matter of minutes. And once that scan is ready for viewing, you have sub two-inch measurement accuracy.”

According to OpenSpace, the new 3D scan capability could be used for many different purposes, such as ensuring installation of materials or equipment is feasible, or to verify that proper equipment and material is installed.

■ openspace.ai

arjo has introduced the Varjo Aero, a new pro VR headset which bridges the gap between the high-end Varjo VR-3 and more entry-level pro VR headsets like the HTC Vive Pro 2 and HP Reverb G2.

At €1,990, the Varjo Aero costs considerably less than the Varjo VR-3 €3,395 (which also requires an annual software subscription). However, it lacks the ‘bionic display’ system that gives the VR-3 its unique ‘retina resolution’.

Instead of blending together two displays – a focus display with a very high pixel density to

Varjo makes pro VR more accessible show immense detail wherever the user V looks and a lower res display for peripheral vision – the Varjo Aero has a single 2,880 x 2,720 pixel display with a resolution of 35 pixels per degree. While this is only a touch more than high-end consumer headsets, users should see a big difference due to the Aero’s aspheric lens design, as Varjo’s founder and CTO Urho Konttori explains, “That allows us to increase the resolution in the central region, so that the things that matter the most are the most crisp in your field of view.” ■ aero.varjo.com

Esri bridges gap between GIS and BIM

E

sri has released ArcGIS GeoBIM, a new web-based product designed to bridge the gap between GIS and BIM by linking systems and workflows.

ArcGIS GeoBIM connects Esri’s ArcGIS with Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, part of the Autodesk Construction Cloud, to provide a spatial context for BIM during the design, construction and operation of large AEC projects.

“With many global initiatives underway to improve construction, design and planning practices it is critical that today’s AEC professionals can collaborate together with a common view of assets in a geospatial context,” said Craig Evenden, Head of AEC & BIM at Esri UK. “ArcGIS GeoBIM lets teams work on BIM and GIS data in one place, see all their BIM projects on one map, share information with stakeholders more easily and minimises costly data conversion, as they don’t need to keep switching between GIS and BIM systems.”

■ esriuk.com/aec

Workflow management for Atvero

A

tvero has added two new capabilities to its project information management software.

Atvero Workflow Management is an evidencebased workflow to track and monitor project progress. Atvero Checkpoint is a file transfer solution on SharePoint online that provides a ‘complete audit history’ of information going out and coming into projects.

ROUND UP

1:1 walkable plans

A new design studio in Dallas, Texas features a giant walkable digital floor so clients can view their floor plans at 1:1 scale. The company intends to expand the service to multiple cities in the future and is also exploring franchising options. ■ 1to1plans.com

BSI certification

Oracle Aconex has achieved British Standards Institution (BSI) Kitemark certification of the ISO standard and DIN specification for BIM software. According to the company, it is the first project management solution to attain this global certification ■ oracle.com

BIMcollab 3D mouse

Users of BIMcollab ZOOM can now work with models using the SpaceMouse from 3Dconnexion. According to BIMcollab, users of its model validation tool can now experience a faster, more efficient operation due to quick commands, controlled movement acceleration and various navigation modes ■ bimcollab.com

Machine control

MC-Max is Topcon’s new machine control solution based on its MC-X machine control platform. It is backed by Topcon Sitelink3D, the real-time, cloud-based data management ecosystem, and can be used for mixedfleet heavy equipment environments ■ topconpositioning.com

Point clouds in VR

VREX now offers direct support for point clouds in its BIM collaboration software for VR. According to the developers, combining BIM models with point cloud scans in VR makes it easy to perform visual inspections and understand the current status of any construction project ■ vrex.no

New BIM Toolkit

CDBB (Centre for Digital Built Britain) International has launched an international BIM Toolkit to support the adoption and implementation of BIM across the globe - specifically to help introduce BIM to public procurement practices and project delivery ■ cdbb.cam.ac.uk

XYZ launches ‘engineering grade’ AR headset

L

ondon-based XYZ Reality has launched ‘The Atom’, an Augmented Reality (AR) headset specifically designed for construction.

The Atom combines a safety-certified hardhat, AR displays and the in-built, computing power of HoloSite, XYZ Reality’s ‘engineering-grade’ AR system.

The headset is said to offer millimetre precision for accurately positioning 3D models of holograms on site.

It is designed to be used throughout the construction process: for pre-installation, to inspect the model on site and identify clashes in advance; during installation, to verify works during setting out and installation; for real-time validation, to view and analyse the latest design changes in context; and for post installation, to validate, assess and signoff on works in real time.

According to the developers, the Atom helps make the entire construction journey safer, smarter and more efficient, reducing waste, de-risking processes and delivering bottom line benefits for contractor and asset owner alike.

■ xyzreality.com

ollowing on from its acquisition of Teradici last month, HP has launched a new remote graphics subscription offering that gives its customers access to both Teradici CAS and HP Z Central software for $240 per concurrent user per year. This includes Teradici CAS Manager and PCoIP Agent and Client and HP Z Central Connect and HP Z Central Remote Boost Sender / Receiver.

As far as functionality is concerned, there is a fair bit of crossover between HP Z Central and Teradici CAS. Both can be used to broker pools of workstations but, for HP, the emphasis is on desktops, while Teradici is more focused on cloud.

HP’s Christian Jones pointed out there are benefits for both sets of customers.

For existing Teradici customers, he explained that HP Z Central will offer remote access to desktop workstations that might be trapped in offices or racks. Users will also be able to schedule and share pools of physical workstations and remotely manage them in a similar way one would a virtual machine. HP Z

HP offers remote graphics subscription Central also gives access to F built-in collaboration tools that allows teams to share screens. For existing HP Z Central customers, Teradici CAS will bring support for Apple Macs and provide access to cloud workstations from the major providers which can be provisioned automatically and turned off when not in use. In the long-term, we expect HP plans to take the best from HP Z Central and Teradici CAS and consolidate them into a single application. ■ hp.com ■ teradici.com

Revizto evolves with integrated clash detection

BIM data boost for 3D Repo 3

D Repo has updated its BIM coordination platform, adding new features including IFC4 support, data validation set import and export, richer BIM data, and improved support for FBX, Civil 3D and Navisworks.

According to the company, users can save time by quickly exporting Smart Groups data validation rules and importing them across other model federations to automatically compare what was designed vs. what was delivered.

■ 3drepo.com

R

evizto has added clash detection to its BIM collaboration platform. The new “Revizto+ with automated clash detection” is described as an integrated solution for clash detection, grouping, and issue tracking from a single environment.

The platform can be used to search for five different clashes: hard, clearance, clearance with independent horizontal and vertical offsets, tolerance and tolerance with independent horizontal and vertical offsets. Detection searches can be grouped for further refining, and search results can be filtered.

According to Lewis Guy, Revizto’s VDC implementation manager, generating the clash results is really quick. “We’ve had Revizto+ on one of our biggest projects in the UK where we ran the search as everything against everything just as a test and we generated three million results in 45 minutes,” he said.

■ revizto.com

Varjo launches collaborative VR software

V

arjo has taken its first steps into commercial collaborative VR software with the launch of the AEC-focused Varjo Teleport VR.

According to the company, it is the first step towards a ‘photorealistic metaverse’ as part of the Varjo Reality Cloud platform, which was announced earlier this year.

In its current form, the software largely appears to be a re-branding of the D10 collaborative VR design / review solution from Dimension10, the Norwegian firm that Varjo acquired earlier this year.

Users can import IFC files (including meta data) and there are also plug-ins for Revit and Navisworks, plus support for point clouds, FBX, OBJ, STEP and others.

■ varjo.com/products/teleport-vr

Causeway targets collaborative site design

C

auseway Live Design is a new platform designed to bring together all site infrastructure disciplines in a single design environment to optimise site designs.

The software is said to provide ‘seamless integration’ across all aspects of site infrastructure design, including graphical ground modelling, roads and drainage design including hydraulic analysis and 2D overland flow, vehicle swept path analysis, road marking and traffic sign design.

According to the developer, Causeway Technologies, any design modifications in one part of the process are automatically cascaded through all the other disciplines within the platform.

Autonomous robot scanning T

rimble has released a ‘turnkey solution’ for autonomous robotic scanning which integrates the Trimble X7 3D laser scanner and Trimble FieldLink software with Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot.

Jointly developed with Boston Dynamics, the solution is designed to facilitate autonomous operation on construction sites, taking advantage of the robot’s capabilities to navigate challenging, dynamic and potentially unsafe environments.

The autonomous workflow for the X7 3D laser scanner uses ‘fully integrated’ Spot robot controls in Trimble FieldLink to create a predefined path of waypoints for Spot to follow and collect laser scans. The data collection missions can be scheduled to run on a regular and consistent basis for design validation and progress reporting.

ROUND UP

Lumion 12

Release 12 of the real-time viz software Lumion features an improved scene-building workflow to make it easier and faster to access the vast content library, fine-tune effects and add the right contextual elements and details to your render ■ lumion.com

Prefab BIM tools

Allplan has released a new BIM software designed specifically for prefabrication. Planbar and Tim 2022 provide an integrated working method for engineering offices, precast plants and internal design departments, from initial design to implementation on site ■ allplan.com/precast

AI-driven BIM

AEC startup Arcol technology is developing “Figma for BIM” a new ‘collaborative, intuitive and AI driven’ BIM design / documentation suite built on Unity. According to the company, its machine learning algorithm understands how a user works so the built world can be designed 500x faster ■ arcol.io

iPad sketching

Cerulean Labs has launched Spaces, a new sketch-based conceptual design tool for the iPad. Designed for architects, the software is able to turn two-dimensional sketches into ‘flexible three-dimensional designs’. The company offers three levels of product including a free starter version ■ spacesapp.io

Temporary works

Mabey Hire has launched EVE, a new temporary works design solution that uses immersive technology. According to the company, it will help construction and installation teams explore the scheme as it will appear on site and highlight and plan around any potential risks or hazards ■ mabeyhire.co.uk

BIM coordination

BIM Track has launched a new Data Analytics as a Service (DaaS) for construction coordination. It automatically extracts project data to help AEC firms uncover ‘actionable insights’ and connects to dashboard solutions like Microsoft Power BI ■ bimtrack.co

Real-time boost for V-Ray 5 for Rhino and SketchUp

C

haos has added new real-time viz workflows to V-Ray 5 for Rhino and V-Ray 5 for SketchUp, with ‘dozens of improvements’ to V-Ray Vision and a new Live Link to Chaos Vantage.

Launched earlier this year, V-Ray Vision offers a real-time view of a Rhino or SketchUp model that updates while you work. It is designed to serve everything that comes before a final render.

The latest update expands on its core feature set, bringing more options into its ‘always-on’ viewport.

New features for V-Ray 5.2 include: shareable 3D scenes where users can package their V-Ray Vision scenes for others to experience in real-time 3D on their own machine; video recording, where users can record their real-time experiences directly to video to share walkthroughs and presentations; support for sun animations, grass and photometric IES light profiles; and ‘highly efficient instancing’ where scenes using multitudes of instances, such as forests, grass fields, packed parking lots and more, can now continue to operate at real-time speeds.

If designers need higher fidelity, Chaos says they can turn to Chaos Vantage, which can be now directly accessed through a new Live Link.

According to the company, with Vantage, even the most complex scenes can be explored in fully ray-traced real time with no extra setup.

■ chaosgroup.com

upix has launched ‘Site Insights’, a new feature for its CupixWorks ‘digital twin’ platform that is used to track and manage construction progress using site data captured through a mobile app and 360 camera.

CupixWorks Site Insights is designed to ‘leapfrog’ current visual project tracking. By quantifying job-site context and progress data, the developers say users can ingest and analyse to make actionable, data-driven decisions faster.

For example, Site Insights reveals the correct time to generate subcontractor invoices based on the percentage of completed work. It can also capture, quantify, and share percentage metrics on deviations in building elements between the original BIM file and as-built progress.

Cupix to track construction progress According to Cupix, by C having an intelligent system that can analyse data captured on site alongside BIM files, Site Insights can reduce deviation and site misses on a consistent basis. “Job sites change daily, and general contractors and building owners need to extract high-value insights from progress tracking quickly and easily,” said CEO Simon Bae. ■ cupix.com