The Wild, a start-up from Portland, Oregon has just announced an integration with UK-based Igloo Vision to open up new avenues for collaboration and experiential design review for teams working in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC). Igloo Vision designs and develops immersive 360° projection spaces, along with the enabling software and technology.

The Wild, a start-up from Portland, Oregon has just announced an integration with UK-based Igloo Vision
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Igloo Vision designs and develops immersive 360° projection spaces, along with the enabling software and technology
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The Wild allows architecture and design teams to experience their work together at human scale, in real time, from anywhere in the world, in virtual and augmented reality. Now the experience can take place in Igloo’s Shared VR environments, in addition to desktop, iOS, and VR headsets. Teams will be able to share their experience in The Wild with others while viewing and interacting with their content in a large-scale immersive space.

Teams will be able to share their experience in The Wild with others while viewing and interacting with their content in a large-scale immersive space
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“Stepping into an Igloo is like stepping into a giant VR headset. Because entire teams can get inside, it’s always a shared experience,” says Gabe Paez, founder and CEO of The Wild. “Now you can experience The Wild from Igloo, connecting that room to collaborators in VR, AR, PC, or Mac from anywhere.”

The Wild allows for multi-platform access from anywhere in real time, so a team might be in an Igloo in the UK, while more stakeholders join with their HMDs on the other side of the world
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With the prevalence of BIM, the high cost of business travel, and the time lost due to errors and lack of alignment, it’s more important than ever for businesses in AEC to take advantage of collaboration tools like The Wild and Igloo Shared VR. You can work together with your team in a shared virtual space, and gain the critical context and insights that only come from experiencing your work at human scale.The Wild allows for multi-platform access from anywhere in real time, so a team might be in an Igloo in the UK, while more stakeholders join with their HMDs on the other side of the world.

One of the real strengths of Igloo Shared VR is that it's an open, content-agnostic platform, enabling teams to work with the tools that are already part of their everyday workflows and discover new ones
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“One of the real strengths of Igloo Shared VR is that it’s an open, content-agnostic platform, enabling teams to work with the tools that are already part of their everyday workflows and discover new ones,” says Jake Rowland, Head of Business Development at Igloo Vision. “This integration with The Wild is particularly exciting because the potential for collaboration is heightened by being able to bring entire teams into models, where everyone can see what each other is looking at and can gauge reactions easily.”

Companies using The Wild include adidas, Bora Architects, BNP Paribas, MacDonald Miller, and Arc’teryx
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The Wild, who launched their VR/AR collaboration platform in the fall of 2019, integrates seamlessly with Revit and SketchUp, the most popular 3D design software applications on the market, and supports all major 3D file types. Now it’s easy to use The Wild to collaborate and experience these models together in an Igloo Shared VR environment. Several AEC, property, and utilities clients, including Lanes Group plc, Cushman & Wakefield, Lendlease, and asBUILT Digital, have used or are using Igloo to set their models free. Companies using The Wild include adidas, Bora Architects, BNP Paribas, MacDonald Miller, and Arc’teryx.

The Wild, who launched their VR/AR collaboration platform in the fall of 2019, integrates seamlessly with Revit and SketchUp, the most popular 3D design software applications on the market, and supports all major 3D file types
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Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture Immersive Collaborative Environments appeared first on Tech Trends.

Fake fires have sure come a long way since the 70s…

Every winter we used to go to our friend’s family cottage in Cornwall which was charmingly graced with one of those (very) vintage electric fires. An enormous, ugly plastic and metal beast that took up most of the miniscule living room

When it got desperately cold we’d switch it on and watch the bars turn an angry, incandescent orange. Fierce heat would emanate, along with a smell I could only assume was burnt dust. You’d feel your skin stretching and drying under that assault, and if looked at it for any length of time, you’d almost be guaranteed a headache.

I loved that cottage and all its vintage quirks, but I certainly wouldn’t buy me one of those. These days, if you’re in the market for an artificial fire, your options look much brighter indeed, and not in a migraine-inducing sort of way.

Glen Dimplex is the world’s largest manufacturer of electrical heating appliances and parent company for some of the industry’s best-known brands in that space including Ability, Burco, Campa, Creda, Dimplex, Faber, NOBO, Redring, Valor and Xpelair.

Glen Dimplex is the world's largest manufacturer of electrical heating appliances, and some of its artificial flame tech is being showcased at the Shoreditch Flame Studio
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It also designs, develops and manufactures professionally installed heating and ventilation systems for residential and commercial buildings. This ranges from smart electric heating systems using the latest control and communications technologies, through to heating networks encompassing heat pumps, MVHR systems and a range of heat emitters.

Their ‘Flame Technology’ incorporates the latest electric and gas fire technology and includes:

The Dimplex Opti-myst effect uses unique patented tech which creates a 3D illusion of real smoke and flames as is already proving popular not only among hotels, restaurants and homes, but also in TV and theatre productions

Nothing makes for a cosy evening like lighting up that kindling
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Another innovative approach to warming up your surrounding environment with tech is the Dimplex’s Opti-V, which combines real fire footage displayed on a high definition LCD screen with a unique illusory technique to create the effect of flickering flames – complete with smoke and burning embers – definitely better than playing a video of a fireplace on your TV!

“These technologies offer an easy, low maintenance and safe focal point in a room, offering a unique and eye-catching illusion and an alternative for those looking to get the ambience of a fire.”

These are all showcased in London’s Shoreditch Flame Studio which is a collaboration between designers and architects to create exciting, aspirational spaces to suit any individual project.

Hey, why not have a REAL fire, I hear the purists ask? I’m with you.. Nothing makes for a cosy evening like lighting up that kindling… The giddy sense of achievement you get when it catches, the smell of wood smoke, the being wrestled out of the way by three dogs as they park their fat little red bums in front of it for the evening. It’s all magic, and my little woodburning stove is probably my favourite thing about our house.

The Dimplex Opti-myst creates a 3D illusion of real smoke and flames
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These technologies offer an easy, low maintenance and safe focal point in a room
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But it a pain to clean, and you end up with most things around the house eventually coated in ashes. Plus there’s a lot of remembering to buy/order kindling, logs, coal, firelighters, etc. and if the atmospheric air pressure is not quite right, the chimney doesn’t draw properly and you end up with rather too much of that delightful woodsmoke smell.

Besides, as I know all too well having been forced to live in houses without fireplaces for way too many winters, it often proves difficult or impossible to have a real fire in your home. So this type of tech could offer a lifeline for those of us who are deprived of that wonderful feeling you only get from watching the flickering flames as your Stafford drowns out the Antiques Roadshow with his happy snoring. Looking at some of these techy fires, I have a feeling they might even fool my Watson.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture >Tech to Warm Your Hearth appeared first on Tech Trends.

This HTC Vive interior design app lets you create, change and decorate virtual spaces with real-world items.

TrueScale is a new interior design tool that simultaneously creates 2D floor plans, 3D mockups, and full room-scale environments in VR. Developed in partnership between Vive Studios (the content development and publishing initiative from HTC VIVE) and developers Immersion.

The idea behind TrueScale is to let anyone design their own virtual space – whether it’s an individual room, office space, or an entire house – in mere minutes, and then experience them first-hand in real scale in VR.

The idea behind TrueScale is to let anyone design their own virtual space
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The application uses Wayfair’s 3D model API, which means that you can use an extensive catalog of actual furniture and décor items to populate your virtual spaces realistically.

As the user creates a floor plan, the app automatically generates a replicated 3D environment as a dollhouse-type model
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As the user creates a floor plan, the app automatically generates a replicated 3D environment as a dollhouse-type model. Users can then put themselves inside their newly created space to gain a true sense of scale.

Users can then put themselves inside their newly created space to gain a true sense of scale
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The interface lets users build rooms, customize floor patterns and paint colours, configure windows and doors, and even furnish their designs from an extensive library of over 40,000 3D models supplied by Wayfair – the largest online furniture retailer in the US.

The interface lets users build rooms, customize floor patterns and paint colours
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HTC VIVE’s room-scale technology enables the freedom to continue making changes in real-time while walking around and exploring the design space.

“We’ve created an app that enables designers, their clients, and even the average homeowner to conceptualize the perfect room setup for living and work spaces,” says Chris Chin, Executive Director of Content for Vive Studios. “Using VR in this stage of the design process allows the user to gain a full picture of the final design as opposed to relying on imagination and blueprints. It gives you a sense of depth that cannot be achieved through traditional paper or graphics renders.”

With global revenue from VR content forecast to be worth up to $14 billion by 2020, it is clear that more and more brands are now looking at VR as a way to bring their offering to life, and this is is transforming how they can engage their customers with new immersive experiences,” adds Piotr Baczyński, CEO of Immersion.

This is an ideal tool for optimizing the layout of large spaces such as open-plan offices, but as more people begin to use VR applications more confidently it is easy to see how it could be used by consumers to help them make home improvement decisions and even to shop directly for items that they tried out in those virtual spaces.

According to Immersion, the tool has so far proved most popular with construction clients
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According to Immersion, the tool has so far proved most popular with construction clients, as they are able to better communicate their plans at every stage of the design process with colleagues and clients around the world, drastically reducing the need for changes and redesigns. They are now working to bring enhanced communication and virtual meeting capabilities to the platform.

HTC VIVE’s room-scale technology enables the freedom to continue making changes in real-time while walking around and exploring the design space
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The next step is now to take this concept outside and adapt the tool for landscaping and garden design. Immersion is currently working with a German company to enable similar capabilities in allowing users to picture how their garden will look – particularly useful as you would be able to envisage seasonal variations and how different elements would look together as different plants grew, flowered and matured.

The next step is now to take this concept outside and adapt the tool for landscaping and garden design
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Immersion is also interested in incorporating scanning capabilities – which are inbuilt in most modern smartphones – into the application so that users would be able to accurately recreate their real-world environments in VR, before proceeding to populate and manipulate them at scale, which opens up even more interesting creative possibilities.

The TrueScale app is available for download on Viveport and Steam for $19.99
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As more 3D model libraries get incorporated into VR tools it will open up possibilities for people planning to renovate or refresh their living spaces
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Although the technology is still at a relatively early stage, as more 3D model libraries and catalogs get incorporated into VR tools it will surely open up a whole world of possibilities for people planning to renovate or even just refresh their living and working spaces – both virtual and real.

Immersion is currently working with a German company to enable similar capabilities in allowing users to picture how their garden will look
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This article was originally published on VRScout

This VR interior design app lets you create, change and decorate virtual spaces via @alicebonasio https://t.co/RXEDdu2rSY pic.twitter.com/szzw7psdpR

— VRScout (@VRScout) December 20, 2017

If you would like to find out how to leverage VR/AR/MR in your own project or enterprise, Tech Trends offers Virtual Reality Consultancy support

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture > Designing Spaces in Virtual Reality  appeared first on Tech Trends.

In this Dwell Magazine article Alice Bonasio looks at how retailers can use HoloLens technology to conquer buyer’s remorse

BuildDirect are using Mixed Reality to help people see their design choices before buying
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Where it comes to home design, consumers have a chronic “imagination gap” problem that costs retailers billions. While we might fall in love with a showroom display, most of us have a hard time picturing how what we see in the store will look like at home.

Where it comes to home design, consumers suffer from a chronic imagination gap
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To stop customers from returning their goods or giving up on purchases altogether, retailers such as BuildDirect are now turning to cutting-edge Mixed Reality (MR) technology to help people visualize their design choices before ever buying anything.

“What we’ve seen is that when people are trying to do home renovations, being able to overlay items and their ideas within the current state of their home or room is the most effective way to help them visualize the direction they’re going with their designs,” explains Tal Ball, Chief Technology Officer of BuildDirect.

His company worked with Microsoft to develop an app for its new HoloLens headsets, which overlay holograms on top of real-world backgrounds, effectively mixing elements of the virtual and real world. In BuildDirect’s prototype app, this lets the user add and move around 3-D objects to their real-world homes, seeing exactly how they look, if they fit, or whether a different color works better.

You'll eventually be able to capture and share design layouts, then order directly from the app
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While still in early prototype stage, the idea is that as MR technology becomes more mainstream people will be able to capture and share their design layouts, then order everything they need directly from the app, which will link to the retailer’s catalog.

“We feel excited about the prospect of people designing their rooms in a virtual space, and the seamless connection between getting the products and services that they need to make it happen,” concludes Ball.

This article was originally published in print and online for Dwell Magazine

How Mixed Reality Can Conquer Buyer’s Remorse via @dwell https://t.co/f8kaKFjVnb #newdwell #dwell

— TechTrends (@techtrends_tech) August 31, 2017

Tech Trends’  Virtual Reality Consultancy services offers support for companies looking to get a foothold in the growing Mixed Reality spectrum and enhance their brand strategy with these exciting new technologies. 

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio and @techtrends_tech on Twitter.

The post Visualising Your Dream Home with Mixed Reality appeared first on Tech Trends.

Virtual Reality is transforming the Building industry, enabling better communication and visualisation for architects and engineers

The practical applications Mixed Reality go well beyond gaming
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By now it is a broadly acknowledged fact that the practical applications of Mixed Reality (MR) – the term that covers this ever-expanding array of technologies including VR and AR – go far beyond entertainment and gaming. Yes, they sure are fun to play with, but they mean serious business too.

Mixed Reality enables efficiencies that impact a business' bottom line
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Many industries are embracing this change wholeheartedly, and the architecture and real estate industries are amongst the most enthusiastic early adopters of innovations such as Microsoft’s HoloLens.

“The process of making a building come to life involves thousands of moving parts and multiple stakeholders, and clear and timely communication is key to success,” explains Shane Scranton, CEO of IrisVR, one of the platforms emerging in that space.

IrisVR offers two enterprise products – Prospect and Scope – which help building professionals visualize and share 3D models in virtual reality. Prospect takes SketchUp, Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, and OBJ files and automatically converts them into virtual reality experiences for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, while Scope allows users to view 360° panoramas in virtual reality using a Google Cardboard, Google Daydream, or Samsung Gear VR device.

“Prospect and Scope use VR to communicate building projects with more clarity and speed, saving team members time, money, and energy,” says Scranton.

The technology lets designers instantly curate VR walkthroughs, create life-like presentations and interact with virtual models. This enables dramatic reduction in design errors, and also allows professionals to capture and share the essence of a construction project without having to build physical models.

IrisVR lets you curate VR walkthroughs, presentations and virtual models
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These practical applications save companies time and money, taking Mixed Reality well beyond the realm of gimmicks and making it into a practical utility that has real impact on a company’s bottom line. This is reflected in the fact that Iris is already being adopted by established architectural firms and building companies such as Ennead, HMC Architects, Corgan and Miele.

You can download a free trial of Prospect and Scope here and see an overview of the platform in the video below.

For companies looking to gain a competitive edge through technology, Tech Trends offers strategic Virtual Reality and Digital Transformation Consultancy services tailored to your brand.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post #BuildTheFuture > VR Tools Helping to Build the Real World appeared first on Tech Trends.