Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY) and augmented reality company, Nearabl, formed a partnership to expand the global reach of its technology within the infrastructure, construction and design industries.
Starting at the construction stage, companies can now edit work orders based on iTwin data and use Nearbl’s augmented reality application to visualize it on-site. Also, Nearabl’s indoor navigation technology gives iTwin users the ability to keep track of their people with digital head counts and other measures in real time.
“We are thrilled to announce this partnership! It is a gigantic step towards establishing our imprint on the infrastructure market. As an academic spin-out, integrating with Bentley’s open-source digital twin technology was a no-brainer for many reasons. Where we found the most value was in familiarity and ease of use for our end-users — we launched as a mobile-first application to great initial early reviews of our mobile visualization but soon enough we realized that our end users were much more comfortable editing and changing Nearabl mobile content on an iTwin desktop/web interface. We quickly integrated the process and have been deploying it in some cool places,” said Arber Ruci, CEO and co-founder at Nearabl, Inc.
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Nearabl and augmented reality
Nearabl is a New York based startup that digitizes physical experiences in buildings and cities. It does this by adding 3D images and sounds. The original idea involved helping serve the visually impaired and people with low vision. Since then, the company developed its mission into creating a ‘metaverse of accessibility.’
Comparatively, applications built using the Bentley iTwin platform allow users to transfer engineering data into a digital twin. Also, the system uses drones and IoT sensors to track of any and all changes. The combination creates an accurate indoor navigation system that incorporates AR.
“Nearabl joins the growing ecosystem of software developers enabling digital twin solutions with the Bentley iTwin platform. Nearabl is a great example of how BIM and augmented reality (AR) can be combined and visualized in a mobile app to improve the safety and productivity of construction teams,” said Sheena Gaynes, director, business development, iTwin Platform, at Bentley Systems.
