Epic Games announced on Tuesday it had inked a strategic collaboration with design solutions giant Autodesk to boost real-time immersive experiences in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC).
The alliance aims to expand access to key design tools for content creators, leading to greater, streamlined workflows for Autodesk Revit, one of the world’s leading building and infrastructure immersive project platforms.
Tools from @epicgames and @autodesk are the heart of many content creation and visualization pipelines in #AEC, #film, #tv, #games, #simulation and many more verticals, more collaboration and more integration will benefit all of our users !https://t.co/R0zUakQlqh
— Marc Petit (@mpetit) September 27, 2022
Twinmotion will also provide Revit users with rapid, interactive designs using stills, animations, and virtual and mixed reality (VR/MR) designs, the company explained.
Enthusiasts and serious developers can subscribe to Autodesk Revit for free access to Epic Games’ Twinmotion visualisation tool, which the company has included in an upcoming programme release.
Recent updates to the tool include rendering images and video up to 64K for designs for massive spaces such as video walls and large adverts signs. Sketfab, a major web modelling tool, will offer integrations for its on-the-fly access to digital assets. Twinmotion’s Importer plugin will also leverage Unreal Engine’s technologies to provide unparallel flexibility in developing projects.
Additional integrations include Epic Games’ MetaHuman ultrarealistic avatar creator, RealityScan 3D scanning app, and Quixel Megascans for adding props, backgrounds, textures, and other assets.
Autodesk Executive Vice-President of AEC Design, Amy Bunszel, said in a statement,
“We know our customers are looking for more visualization and collaboration experiences through extended reality. Together with Epic Games, we will expand on what’s possible. In immersive environments, designers can communicate to their project teams and clients with unparalleled realism how projects will look and feel upon completion for better decision-making and outcomes”
According to Marc Petit, Vice President of Epic Games Unreal Engine Ecosystem, the integration between the two platforms promised to “deliver a truly seamless, real-time 3D experience for design professionals.”
He continued, stating,
“We share a common goal with Autodesk, giving customers more time to be innovative. By tapping into Epic’s ecosystem of real-time 3D tools and libraries, creatives can spend more time bringing their designs to life and less time stumbling over complex data and technical workflows.”
The news comes just months after Autodesk acquired XR firm The Wild to gain its assets and IrisVR tools, it was reported in March. The latter’s AEC design tools for immersive experiences allow firms to collaborate on projects in real-time to support their project delivery lifecycles.
RealityScan also launched the following month as a limited beta, where XR content creators could convert physical objects to RT3D digital assets using a smartphone camera. The tech giant released the tool following its buyout of Capturing Reality.
