Dive Brief:

• Software maker Tridify has received a grant from the developer of one of the country’s most popular video games to create a BIM streaming service to enable construction professionals to stream BIM models on mobile devices.
• Developer Epic Games has pledged $100 million to support game developers, enterprise professionals and others in finding new utilizations for Unreal Engine, its gaming engine for rendering images and environments.
• Tridify said the grant would go toward increasing quality, efficiency and ease in the remote viewing experience.

Dive Insight:

Tridify’s new service will automatically publish any Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) file — an open file format for building models used for BIM programs — through Unreal Engine and stream it to users via a URL. This will eliminate the need to download additional applications, and makes it easier and faster to view.

BIM is already a widely adopted tech solution in the construction world, but a new high-speed viewing of BIM models on the go could continue to grow its usefulness. Tridify said the new service will be available starting this month, with a range of packages, in addition to the developer’s usual BIM tools.

“Being able to view any type of BIM model on any device, rendered in the industry’s highest quality game engine Unreal, is a major milestone in the streamlining of AEC workflows,” said Alexander Le Bell, CEO of Tridify, in an official announcement. “The service solves the problem of how to share complete models of large-scale developments such as airports, hospitals or shopping malls with everyone, anywhere, without any technical or financial barriers.”

Epic Games is best known for video games like Fortnite and Gears of War, but its Unreal Engine has become a widely available open source code for creators. 

“Making Unreal Engine more accessible in this way will allow the AEC ecosystem to understand projects more easily and open communication between designer and client,” said David Weir-McCall, business development manager of Unreal Engine Enterprise at Epic Games.