Untethered Possibilities Await AR World

Wow. Living in a material world, but she is a virtual girl.

by TODD STOLARSKI | Feb 21, 2016

In the world of realities, augmented hasn’t exactly been leading the technological headlines. It’s been Oculus this, and virtual that. But as we’ve recently seen, that may be changing.

If you’ve heard any complaints about virtual reality in the built environment, it’s usually because it is still rooted to a cable. In fact, you’re tethered to another device that’s also plugged in.

Field visualizations: Educating owners, every day.

That’s certainly not the case when it comes to augmented reality (AR).

From a practical standpoint on the jobsite, companies like Modlar see an immediate day-to-day application. They’re an online network dedicated to providing architects, designers, engineers and others the rich data that can be leveraged by various BIM applications. Modlar recently partnered with interactive visualization company ARCortex, who also serves the 4D smart helmet Daqri as a client. For Modlar, adding the ability to augment models makes it easier for their design and construction customers to visualize your products when it’s most critical.

Autodesk CTO Kowalski

As technology evolves and industry pros begin to leverage new tools on jobsites across the world, Modlar believes it is essential to provide the building team the best information possible. With some of these AR tools available now (Smart Reality) and others set to blaze trails on the near horizon (Microsoft’s Hololens, Magic Leap), Modlar very well could be pioneers in what Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski already has dubbed the Augmented Age.

To contact the author, write to todd.stolarski@builtworlds.com or find him on Twitter @toddstolarski.