In Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality News
June 5, 2019 – Unity Technologies, creator of the widely used real-time 3D development platform, today announced Unity Reflect: a new product which the company expects will help enable Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) professionals to unlock the value of building information modeling (BIM) data by putting it directly in the hands of any user and on any device.
Unity Reflect makes real-time data visualization and data collaboration possible with a plug-in for Revit (BIM software made by Autodesk) that exports BIM and CAD data in one click. With Unity Reflect, design changes made in Revit will automatically sync across any device in real-time from mobile to desktop as well as to virtual and augmented reality. Unity Reflect will allow those working in the AEC industry to see everything in context and quickly make changes, which Unity states will help improve collaboration and reduces costly mistakes.
“Unity’s real-time 3D technology provides value at every stage of the design, build and operate lifecycle for buildings and infrastructure,” said John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer, Unity Technologies. “Together with Autodesk, we are unlocking the value of BIM data by putting it directly in the hands of any AEC professional to explore design options, solve complex engineering issues, and accelerate construction projects through real-time immersive experiences.”
With tight project deadlines, project stakeholders across the AEC industry benefit from effective collaboration and the ability to make design iterations quickly. Unity Reflect will help with this by creating an interactive 3D experience that is live-linked to the original design application. When changes are made in Revit, such as relocating a door, adding windows or adjusting materials, it will be automatically reflected in Unity Reflect in real-time. Unity Reflect will also enable access of interactive 3D experiences across 25+ platforms from anywhere in the world. This means that collaborators won’t need to be in the same room, or on the same device in order to make real-time changes.
“Our collaboration with Unity is important because visualization has become a vital part of the design process, particularly in the AEC industry where time is money,” said Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk President and CEO. “Real-time, immersive experiences are becoming the norm, and this integration with Autodesk Revit cuts down on dead time between revisions and meetings which is critical to giving our shared customers a competitive edge.”
The integration of Revit is part of a broader collaboration between Unity and Autodesk to ensure full data interoperability between many Autodesk products and Unity. Through this collaboration, Unity and Autodesk are helping AEC professionals spend less time translating data and figuring out how to make tools work together. In addition to out of the box support for Autodesk’s Revit, Unity has developed a series of API’s that will allow other applications to publish and sync to the Reflect framework.
Unity stated that the Unity Reflect platform will be available in fall 2019.
Image and video credit: Unity Technologies
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Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.