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by Ralph Grabowski with Marty Chobot |
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| BIM Assure is a new service from Invicara that analyzes the information stored in BIM [building information models] designs. It runs on browsers and is hosted on Amazon servers, and last month came out of beta. I spoke with VP of marketing Marty Chobot to learn more about Invicara's service.
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Q: Why does the BIM industry need something new?
A: The 'I' in BIM is missing; there is a lack of tools for managing the information well. Most tools are for geometry, which is important, but people are saying, "There is all this information in the model, but is it really there? We can't see it!"
Q: How did this new company come about?
A: Anand Mecheri founded the company, he is a serial entrepreneur. His background is in building technologies, which he sold to Siemens, and was with them for a few years. There he heard about BIM from the contracts they worked on, and sso aw the opportunity to leverage BIM for operating buildings. From this he saw the gaps that existed in the data, and led him to form Invicara.
Q: Who is funding the firm's startup?
A: Anand is one of the primary investors, and there are others.
Figure 1BIM Assure checking whether the model is following the rules (image credit Invicara)
Q: When did the company launch?
A: He started building the team late 2013. There was a lot of R&D [research and development] with a small crew at first, and we have been working on BIM Assure for over two years now. We did a lot of customer validation to lock into our strategy.
Q: Who would be the kind of customer you work with?
A: While we were in beta, we tried to get a broad swath of the market -- builders, architects, engineers, owners. What they want to do with the product depends on the segment:
- Architects want to validate the design data. When construction documents are better, then there are fewer change requests or issues during construction.
- Engineers want to make sure the system is modeled correctly: is this equipment actually attached?
- Contractors want to make sure that everything they need is in the models so that their quantity take-offs and estimates are correct.
- And then there is owner handover, which is a very data-intensive workflow, like ensuring all the info about rooms and equipment is there -- something we do very well.
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The overall handover is only as good as the data in the model. Often, the data isn't all in there until the end of the project. This is a problem. Owners are solving it by saying, "What if we have data requirements at certain milestones. We might not know the manufacturer of a product early on, but we should know its operating characteristics." At a certain later stage, the manufacturers have to be locked. At the last stage, on-site details like serial numbers are added.
As a result, we make sure that handover something that happens throughout the process, not at the end of the project.
Q: Do you have competitors in this field?
A: There are other model checkers, but none is cloud-based like ours. The desktop workflow is not as effective, because someone has to make sure that the data is uploaded every so often. In the browsers, with appropriate permissions, anyone can publish models and make changes directly. This offers new ways of working. For example, a BIM technician often isn’t a professional engineer. The modeler might not know the right data to enter. With BIM Assure, the modeler can publish the model so that the engineer can help check and manage the data.
Q: Does it work with Revit or IFC?
A: It work with Revit through a plug-in that lets Revit users publish models to BIM Assure and pull data from BIM Assure back down into Revit. We have templates that help make basic checks on doors, walls, equipment, and then the customer customize that. We don't want to fish for people; we want to teach them to fish.
Q: What about support for other BIM packages?
A: We have identified some other integrations and are working with customers to decide which one will be next..
Q: How much does it cost?
A: The pricing is based on consumption. We don't charge for number of users or amount of storage. We charge for analysis; customers buy tokens, and then run rules on their models. So, the next question is "How many tokens do I need?" An evaluation subscription provides customers with unlimited analysis for a limited amount a time; this gives customers an idea of how much they would use.
http://invicara.com
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Graphisoft makes big changes to its mobile app. BIMx (the free version) now accesses all project information, like 2D plans, 3D models, and non-geometric data, as well as PDF files. (See figure 2.)
BIMx PRO (the paid version) adds measurement of 2D layouts and for 3D models -- length, area, and angle. Also added: real-time magnifier, smart point and edge snapping, and guidelines in 3D.
 Figure 2BIMx showing 2D plan and 3D model at the same time |
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There is more at our WorldCAD Access blog about the CAD industry, tips on using hardware and software, and our popular travelogues. You can keep up with the blog through its RSS feed and email alert service. These are some of the articles that appeared on WorldCAD Access during the last week:
We're on Twitter at @upfrontezine with late-breaking CAD news and wry commentary throughout the day, such as....
upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine) Jun 10: 3D TV is not ubiquitous. 3D printing at home is not ubiquitous. Consumer VR will not be ubiquitous. Phone 3D scanners will not be ubiquitous
upFront.eZine (@upFronteZine) Jun 10: There is no market for consumer 3D, b/c 2D tech is already too confusing for consumers. The blinking 12:00 on VCRs is the future, not the past. |
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Re: This Book Catches Your Ideas
How about using Catchbook on a touchscreen computer/laptop? That would facilitate translation to CAD and avoid the problems of small screen size and limited storage availability.
- Mark Frog Harris
The editor replies: In my article I failed to make it clear that there is a version available for Windows 8.1 and 10 to run on desktop computers and laptops. I didn't test it, as this software is available only through Microsoft's store, which requires an account, and I'd just rather not give Microsoft more info.
I actually run Catchbook on an Android emulator (called DuOS) running on my Windows 10 laptop, which has a touch screen, as well as a 10" Android tablet.
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I'm going to try Catchbook, although this statement "The desire of engineers to sketch naturally means using a finger, not the mouse" makes me wonder what kind of engineers they are working with. A finger is a horrible tool to sketch with, as is a mouse. Most people sketch with a pen or pencil. Or soapstone on the shop floor.
But I'll try it for $6 and use a stylus, and see how it works. My kind of engineering is the comprehensive type where we do the brainstorming, the conceptual sketches, the design, the modelling, and the drafting. We generally help with tooling, sometimes build the prototypes, and do the testing -- probably obvious why I never felt at home in the huge corporate world.
- Jess Davis
Davis Precision Design
Re: Watermarking Drawings
This is a topic that I need to know more about. I'd like to somehow leave tracks in my models and drawings so that I can identify them if needed. The scenario that we've discussed here in my shop is where someone gets the CAD data for a project and then uses it against the wishes of the owner of the data. I've seen a few instances where that was suspected.
Ideally, this function would be some actual feature of the part that's hard to find and delete. Just filling out details in the part properties does no good, as that can be easily deleted.
Anyway, I assume that smarter people than me have plowed this ground before, but I'm a little at a loss on how to find it. Do you know what kinds of words or phrases I should be searching for?
- Jess Davis
The editor replies: "Bread crumbs" and "water marks" are a couple of terms you could try. |
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"Intel’s decision not develop further LTE-capable chips was the final nail [in Windows Phone], as Microsoft has pinned much on its 'category-defining' feature ('This is a phone that can also be a PC,' in Nadella’s words). But for a phone to be a PC, it needs x86-compatibility, and that needed Intel."
- Andrew Orlowski, The Register
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/29/microsoft_sec_phone_news/ |
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