by Shane Henson — June 25, 2014—Since its first demonstration in 2013 at the Associated General Contractors of America IT Forum, JBKnowledge’s SmartReality Beta mobile app has been gaining popularity as a must-have resource for architects and builders to “bring to life” their 2D blueprints for owners, investors and future building occupants.
According to JBKnowledge, a company specializing in information technology solutions for the insurance, risk management, and commercial construction industries, the SmartReality app allows users to point a tablet or smartphone mobile device at printed two-dimensional (2D) construction plan files and view the corresponding three-dimensional (3D) model of the project on their screen. The app is a way to bridge the gap between project design and visualization, as many owners, investors, and other project participants have a hard time visualizing a structure from a two-dimensional blueprint, the company explains.
Matthew Hoff, integrated construction coordinator at Mortenson Construction, says he has been working to incorporate the mobile app into his company’s U.S. operations. “We have put this technology in front of our owners and senior leadership, and we’ve received an almost ‘mind-blown’ response. We recently implemented this technology during interviews and I have no doubt that showing off this level of innovation had a part in winning us those projects,” he said.
The app has also served as an effective tool for Contract Construction. “We primarily build schools, and the time portal created by SmartReality allows for anxious parents and students that will be attending the new school to visualize everything about their classroom, front desk, kitchen, cafeteria and media center before we complete the construction,” said Greg Hughes, president of Contract Construction.
JBKnowledge says that since the unveiling of the beta app, test users and the JBKnowledge mobile development team have released improvements to the app every month. The latest updates to both the iOS and Android apps include the ability to add animation, such as exploding detail of a layered wall in slow motion, and time dimensions, such as showing the progression of a building frame through the first few weeks of a project. Anyone can download the free app, print out the provided demo targets, and try it out at no cost.
