Software company Trimble have just launched SketchUp Viewer for HoloLens, an application allowing users to view sketches in mixed reality. This follows news that Microsoft have released the preview edition of Paint 3D for its Window Insiders. The software by Trimble really highlights the possibilities of the forthcoming HoloLens which is available for pre-order now with delivery scheduled for the end of the month.
SketchUp Viewer in action. Gif via Microsoft.
Microsoft created a promotional video for the SketchUp app which showcases the incredible possibilities available with technology. Check out the video, uploaded two weeks ago, below. SketchUp Viewer enables users to engage with their designs in mixed reality be they architectural, engineering or constructional. In addition the software allows multiple users to simultaneously engage with the designs, therefore physical 3D models will not be necessary in order to share structural 3D designs. It is hoped that this will lead to easier collaboration across geographic distances and potentially even more innovative designs.
Lorraine Bardeen, general manager of Microsoft HoloLens and Windows Experiences, explained her excitement about the project:
We are thrilled to work with Trimble to deliver new innovation to SketchUp, one of the most widely used applications in the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industry. SketchUp Viewer for Microsoft HoloLens can dramatically improve collaboration, decision making, efficiency, quality, and safety by giving users the unique ability to bring digital content into the real world, real-time as part of their current workflow.
While Chris Keating, general manager of Trimble’s SketchUp, said:
With SketchUp Viewer, we are taking another big step toward delivering the ultimate experience for designers and their clients – the experience of inhabiting their own work.
SketchUp Viewer is available now and requires SketchUp Desktop, a separate application for PC. The application from SketchUp for the HoloLens is also, of course, reliant on the use of a HoloLens device. Unfortunately we don’t yet have a HoloLens to test here at 3DPI, so Microsoft if you’re reading this…
For more information and to download the software, visit here. Approaching the end of the year, many companies are releasing software ready for 2017 as we saw earlier today with PTC releasing their latest edition of Creo 4.0.
Featured image shows multiple people engaging with mixed reality design. Image via SketchUp.
Accalia Smith the hololens thing