by Brianna Crandall — June 7, 2019 — Unity Technologies, creator of a widely used real-time 3D development platform, just announced Unity Reflect: a new product which will 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 gives building professionals the power to see everything in context and quickly make changes, which improves collaboration and reduces costly mistakes, whether in the design, build or operation stage of a project.
Unity Reflect 3D software enables real-time BIM collaboration on any kind of device, improving project collaboration and reducing costly mistakes. Image courtesy Unity
Unity Reflect makes real-time data visualization and data collaboration possible with a Revit plug-in that exports BIM and CAD data in just one click. With Unity Reflect, design changes made in Revit will automatically sync across any device in real-time from mobile to desktop to virtual reality (VR) to augmented reality (AR).
John Riccitiello, chief executive officer (CEO), Unity Technologies, stated:
Unity’s real-time 3D technology provides value at every stage of the design, build and operate lifecycle for buildings and infrastructure. 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.
As project timelines become tighter, it becomes imperative for project stakeholders across the AEC industry to collaborate effectively and make design iterations quickly, points out the company. Unity Reflect is designed to solve this problem by creating an interactive three-dimensional (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; collaborators won’t need to be in the same room — or on the same device — to make real-time changes.
Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk president and CEO, remarked:
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. 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 empowering AEC professionals to spend less time translating data and figuring out how to make tools work together and make smarter design decisions. 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.
Find out more about Unity Reflect, available in fall 2019, on the company’s website. Unity says its technology is already used by more than half of the top 50 AEC companies and other companies around the world.
