Trimble has announced a new partnership with Gensler, a San Francisco-based design and architecture firm. The two companies are exploring innovative augmented-reality technologies for the architecture industry.
Communication between stakeholders in the architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) continuum has historically proved difficult due to the lack of a common working environment. Augmented reality promises to solve this problem by offering a single 3D environment for all stakeholders to work in. With technologies like Microsoft’s HoloLens, workers from every stage of the AECO continuum can collaborate on the same 3D model simultaneously, even from remote locations. Stakeholders can even interact with the model at different scales, even exploring the model as if it were physically present.
The result is quicker iterations of design, full data continuity, and, ultimately, better understanding, scheduling, and budgeting.
Gensler will work with Trimble’s Mixed-Reality Pilot Program, which offers AECO companies a venue for developing augmented reality solutions.
In a prepared statement, Trimble explained that “pilot participants can explore and utilize mixed reality in their projects to improve team communication, data interpretation and collaboration during the design development and pre-construction stages of their projects.”
Under the program, these AECO companies will receive training and implementation support for Microsoft HoloLens and Trimble’s mixed-reality solutions. Though these solutions were not named, they likely include the Trimble mixed-reality products demonstrated by Microsoft at their developer’s conference in 2015: SketchUp, Connect, and the V10 Imaging Rover.
As Aviad Almagor, director of Trimble’s Mixed-Reality Program, said in a press release, “mixed reality has the potential to transform the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industry. Our goal is to provide solutions to enable this transformation which will change the way our customers consume, interact and communicate data. It is an exciting journey and we are delighted to have Gensler as a partner.”
