It started out as a PC and Mac app, but is now also available for iOS and Android. From ArchiCAD to VRīIMx was originally designed to extend the reach of rich ArchiCAD BIM models to clients, site workers and other AEC professionals. Explore a building on ‘foot’, simply by looking in the direction you want to walk. Graphisoft BIMx is different insofar as it offers users a fully navigable VR experience.

The big downside is that the VR experience is tied to a static position. Many of these applications are physically based renderers, so the quality is impressive and includes realistic lighting and materials. Applications that offer this functionality include Chaos Group V-Ray, Nvidia Iray VR Lite, Autodesk A360 Rendering, Iris VR Scope, Yulio, Lumion, Vectorworks and many more. These are essentially wide-angle panoramic images that deliver a full 360-degree snapshot of the world around you. Most architectural VR experiences on Google Cardboard tend to be 360 panora – mas. This has not been lost on Graphisoft, the developer of ArchiCAD, who recently added support for Google Cardboard viewers (v 2.0) to its impressive BIM presentation and communication tool, BIMx. With Google Cardboard viewers costing around £15 and being compatible with most modern smartphones (iPhone and Android), the beauty of the Cardboard is that it gives almost everyone easy access to VR.Īlthough it lacks the positional headtracking capabilities of the Vive and Rift, it can still be a very powerful communication aid for clients and architects alike. Simply assemble the viewer, slot in your phone, download the relevant app and away you go. Instead, it works with a smartphone and, as the name suggests, is made from cardboard. The big benefit of the entry-level VR viewer is that it does not need a powerful workstation. When it comes to Virtual Reality (VR) for architecture, it may be the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive that grab all the headlines, but the Google Cardboard still has plenty to offer. Google Cardboard offers a VR experience with a standard smartphone

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