“I want my client in Sweden to put on a Oculus Quest, while I can walk him through the 3D design from my office in the UK — but it needs to work. That’s what one of our clients wanted from VR meetings as an Architect. Sounds simple, doesn’t it ?
In theory:
Being able to walkthrough a 3D design together in a VR headset is an architect’s dream. Clients feel amazed at the experience and connect emotionally with the space. Architects feel proud of the innovative manner in which they can communicate & bridge the gap between their vision & the client’s understanding of a space that doesn’t exist yet.
In reality:
“Can we get into Zoom first and then join the VR meeting ?
“Can you see me, I think I am already in the meeting ?”
“Hey, I think you went to the lobby. Can you come back to where I am?”
“ I don’t know how to use the controls , what should I do next ?
“ I have got 1 headset that Jeff can use, but what will the others see ?”
Let’s face it, VR meetings in Architecture & Construction are tricky. If you put aside the marketing videos of perfect VR collaboration meetings for a minute & dig deeper, you will find out that getting VR meetings in Architecture & Construction to workis clumsy and work-in-progress.
Enter SENTIO VR Meetings( beta ):
We decided to solve this problem by keeping things simple for the users to just get the job done. Here’s what is unique about our beta version:
No complicated stuff, simple & intuitive
In an ideal model review meeting, the host ( typically the architect ) prepares a walkthrough & takes the stakeholders through each of the important aspects of the design. In order to facilitate this experience, we enable host (architect) & guests ( stakeholders ) to join the meeting using a 6 digit code in VR app on Quest/Go. Once they’re in, they are positioned next to each other and the control lies with the host to manage the meeting. Change the views, teleport in the model etc. Everytime the view changes, clients are automatically positioned next to the host. Seamless and guided experience enables users to focus on the meeting decisions & not on figuring out how to move inside or use the controllers — which let’s be honest very few clients understand currently. This is simple, fast & intuitive.
Guide VR user experience from a Windows App
PC apps are a common way to enable non-VR users participate in the meetings. While most platforms enable users to follow the VR meeting which is great, there is no way to control the VR view from the PC. The SENTIO VR PC app can not only cast what the VR participants see, but also be used to manage the VR experience for all participants — like changing the views, teleporting etc. This provides a useful way to manage in-person VR meetings where 1 or 2 guests may have a headset but the others view the experience on a PC screen managed by the host ( typically the Architect).
Not just 3D models, but also virtual tours
Presentation material for architects varies greatly from each firm to another. Not just conceptual design reviews using Revit or Sketchup models, a decent percentage of firms rely on photorealistic content generated from Lumion, VRay or Enscape to create virtual tours and present it to clients in meetings. We offer VR collaboration not just on 3D walkthroughs, but also on 360 tours created using panoramas — in order to provide the complete set of options that Architects need for their client presentation requirements.
This is just a start at simplifying the world of collaboration using VR in Architecture, Engineering & Construction — we are looking for early adopters who would like to try this simple & intuitive way of presenting 3D designs & share their feedback. Follow our social media profiles for updates on this feature as we build on our mission to make the simplest communication tool for the Architecture & Construction industry !
Want to try out the feature ?
Sign up using this link or write to us at ravi@sentiovr.com.
