Mixed reality headset that combines the real world with virtual elements, creating a new immersive experience
Virtual reality headset with room tracking technology. Experience and develop software utilizing 3D space and handheld tracking.
Useful Apps for the HTC Vive:
Autodesk LIVE: Transform Revit models and step inside their own desings to share and present.One click and interactive visualizations can be published to mobile.
Fuzor: Instantly transforms Revit or ShetchUp models into virtual reality experiences.
Enscape Rhino plug-in for Education available. Creates a VR walk-through. All materials, geometry and entourage come from project and can be changed during the VR simulation. Combined with the HTC Vive, virtually walk through your Enscape project and experience it as if it were already built.
Unity
Translating CAD or BIM models into virtual reality experiences used to take considerable time and programming know-how. With the advent of the Unity gaming engine, bringing Revit/3D models into a virtual reality space becomes much easier. Now, any AEC professional can take their Revit model, bring it into Unity and create a VR experience. With a bit of programming knowledge, the VR models can also be heavily customized. This powerful, intuitive and flexible tool ensures rapid iteration and fluid workflow, thus allowing engineers and architects to create stunning interactive walk-throughs and provide clients with a realistic sense of how it would feel to actually live in the simulated environment.
The Unreal Engine
Unreal is a suite of tools for developers that can be used to create games and virtual reality environments. It is free for the architecture industry and is frequently used to visualize spaces and render architectural models in immersive environments. This tool enables engineers and architects to design and build in a virtual reality environment by means of a powerful editor tool-set and the interaction models that have been specifically designed for VR world-building. The outcome is a believable immersive experience built upon natural motions and interactions.
Autodesk Stingray
Released in August 2015, this technology offers AEC professionals an enhanced level of visualization with a simple one-button rendering in Revit. Autodesk Stingray provides an immersive real-time experience between AEC firms and their clients to create BIM-informed 3-D visualizations in 3ds Max. This tool is working to catch up with mainstream game engines Unreal and Unity.
Steam
Steam is an online entertainment platform and community that provides access to over 3,500 games. SteamVS was just released, which is a full-featured, 360-degree, room-scale virtual reality experience consisting of an HTC Vive headset and two wand-shaped controllers. The tracking system is precise and fast and can be used to map a room’s boundaries, which can be included in the VR experience. The controllers make use of haptic thumb pads, which can be split into directional inputs or a number of “buttons.” In the near future, Steam could be used to host AEC content/environments for SteamVR.
Explore Cities with Virtual Reality
Google Earth VR
Geopipe with NYC Open Data https://opendata.cityofnewyork.us/projects/automatic-reconstruction-of-immersive-urban-environments/
