VR softwareįor the purpose of this article, we tried out three of the main ‘Revit to VR’ applications using Revit 2017. The Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard deliver a more basic VR experience without positional head tracking. It is these two HMDs that currently give the most immersive VR experience. Many of the current developments centre on Autodesk Revit, with a number of applications now supporting both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive Head Mounted Displays (HMDs). Such tools not only bring in the model geometry but also materials and lighting, so nothing needs to be done post-import. This presents a huge opportunity for software developers to create push-button workflows to move quickly from CAD/BIM to VR. Discovering issues weeks after a design has progressed can create delays and ramp up costs. This gives them the opportunity to explore alternatives, evaluate the impact of modifications and detect errors early. But for VR to truly influence design, it is the user of the CAD/BIM software that must have full control over when to enter the virtual environment.

It’s fine to wait days or weeks for an expert to produce a polished VR experience for communicating proposals to the client or the team. The impact on the design process can be huge – but only if VR can be used at the precise moments where it adds most value. Walking across rooms, teleporting through doors, peering around corners – it’s all possible with a fully tracked roomscale experience. Users have the freedom to explore a building at their own pace, to understand how it will feel and function. The feeling of presence – of existing inside the 3D model – is quite incredible.

Architects, engineers and clients alike can experience a realistic virtual prototype of a building long before it is built.Ī fully immersive VR experience gives you a sense of scale, depth and spatial awareness that simply cannot be matched by a rendering, walkthrough or physicalscale model. Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the most exciting technologies to hit the AEC market in years.

Arcvision for autodesk revit 2019 lt