Axiom and VRcontext team to distribute premier 3D MicroStation visualization tool, Walkinside

Clearwater, Florida, USA , 19 Jan 2004 — Axiom and Belgium software developer VRcontext recently announced an agreement for Axiom to market and distribute VRcontext’s premier 3D MicroStation visualization tool Walkinside.

Walkinside is a software application that can turn complex 3D MicroStation design files into interactive, virtual reality environments in a matter of minutes, giving users the ability to walk through and experience a design with all the forces of physics acting on them, before the first construction dollar is spent. Walkinside creates smooth and detailed models of 3D MicroStation V7 or V8 files, regardless of the file’s size and complexity.

With it’s patented "real-time collision detection," Walkinside stands out from other 3D visualization and simulation software due to its ability to detect collisions of both static and moving elements in a model. Also, real-time collision detection dramatically cuts down rendering time for complex 3D design files, speeding up project review workflow. For example, a file that would currently take 500+ hours to render using MicroStation alone would only take 7 minutes with Walkinside.

Further, when rendering a complex 3D file, Walkinside does not sacrifice the model’s definition and intricate details. Other 3D visualization applications "clean up" or omit details in design files in order to handle their complexity. Walkinside can handle geometry and interaction far better than other visualization applications.

Due to Walkinside’s unique file-rendering process and its ability to have multiple users simultaneously walk through a model via an Internet or network connection, an engineer in Texas and CAD manager in Australia can collaborate in real time while reviewing a project model. Changes made to the model are immediately seen by the entire project team, without leaving their desks and without having to wait hours or days to re-render a file.

"For someone who is not specialized in 3D models, it is not easy to evaluate a 3D design," stated Marc Van Gool, CAD Manager at BASF Antwerp, Belgium. "Visualization programs are often highly technical and require intensive training. But with Walkinside, the user can easily walk around the model and examine the plants in real conditions. In other words, [Walkinside] reduces the gap between the CAD and the non-CAD professionals."

Walkinside is also being used for pre-employment familiarization, safety training and facility management. With a working 3D model of a facility, new employees can be trained on equipment and on the workflow of a plant, before ever setting a foot in the actual plant. Also, Walkinside can be used to simulate high-risk situations and hazardous events to plan evacuation routes or to modify a design to accommodate for emergencies. These simulation drills can be used to train staff on workplace hazards and on emergency situations. Firms using Walkinside have reported project cost reductions of 12–18%.

In brief, Walkinside’s key features include:

• Real-time collision detection, which allows for the real-time detection of elements in a model that improperly intersect, whether static or dynamic
• Ability to convert large and complex design files into 3D models in minutes instead of hours or days
• Realistic gravity simulation
• Ability to easily record Walkinside "walkthrough sessions" and output the walkthroughs to universal AVI (video) files to create stunning presentations that will increase the chances of closing investors, prospects or senior management.
• Ability to walk freely through a project from a first-person perspective or from a customizable character’s point of view
• Ability to collaborate in real time through the Internet or network connection on project review with project partners
• Ability to display non-graphic element information from a database (if linkage exists) from within the 3D environment
• Ability to make real-time measurement of distances within the 3D environment
• Ability to zoom in to as much detail as the model provides

CAD managers, engineers, architects and others who need to render complex 3D MicroStation files fast, who don’t want to waste time and money due to unforeseen component collisions or who need to provide presentations with a level of realism never before experienced need Walkinside.

Axiom is the world’s largest independent provider of productivity-boosting MicroStation software utilities. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Axiom has been developing software for MicroStation for 19 years. MicroStation is the flagship CAD package of Bentley Systems, Incorporated of Exton, Pennsylvania.

www.axiomint.com

VRcontext was founded in June 2000 by Alain Hubrecht, with the goal of developing and selling premium virtual reality software. VRcontext was created as a spin-off of the virtual reality team at Tractebel Energy Engineering. In the past few years, this team has developed virtual reality projects for major industry players. VRcontext is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

 

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