We have gone from communicating designs on paper to communicating them through screens, but we still face challenges when trying to show BIM models to people who do not work with BIM in the same way that we, as modelers, see them. And, of course, project deliverables are still frequently provided as PDFs and on paper.

The challenge of BIM lies in accessibility

The problem of information exchange extends all the way to the end customer who buys a property off-plan, relying on a specification document, a few renderings of a show home and little else. It is essentially an act of faith. This is one of the first problems Autodesk addressed with the cloud services it began offering around 2016.

Autodesk 360: BIM in the cloud, quickly and easily

Also known as A360 and, more recently, Fusion Team, it is one of the best-known applications built on Forge and addresses the most basic BIM file accessibility problem, making models easy to visualize.

Note: If you are among the 27% of users accessing this website from a smartphone or tablet, even a relatively recent mid-range device should be able to navigate BIM models smoothly enough—models that, until recently, many PCs would have struggled to handle. You may improve the mobile browsing experience by using Firefox instead of Chrome. We believe this may be because Chrome on mobile optimizes resource usage to improve battery life.

You can try more Fusion 360 models here

We can now view models in the cloud. What comes next?

Most browser-based 3D viewers focus on the traditional concept of 3D: points connected by vectors to form polygons, textures and little more. Unlike these viewers, if we interact with Autodesk’s viewer, we discover that the cloud-based model contains information directly from the Revit model. We can explore how the project is organized, which families it contains and even the individual parameters of each instance.

Forge: much more than a viewer

In addition to the viewer, another of Forge’s best-known uses is as the foundation for BIM 360. Beyond model visualization, BIM 360 integrates multiple tools for project management, user collaboration and coordination, among other uses generally focused on B2B (Business to Business) interactions. Apart from BIM 360 and its different solutions (Docs, Build, Field...), Autodesk largely leaves the development of end-user applications based on Forge to third-party companies, while focusing its efforts on improving the core framework behind Forge—in simple terms, a set of tools for building applications.

Forge includes the integration of the following APIs (Application Programming Interfaces):

• Viewer, the viewer already mentioned above.
• Data Management API, responsible for managing cloud files and their versions, as well as their hierarchy and relationships.
• Model Derivative API, which facilitates the creation and conversion of exchange formats such as DWG, FBX and OBJ.
• Design Automation API, focused on workflow optimization through integration with AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit and 3ds Max.
• Reality Capture API, which integrates tools for working with images and point clouds.
• BIM 360 API, which enables integration with the BIM 360 platform to extend its capabilities.
• Authentication, for user authentication and access management.
• Webhooks API, which collects events related to user interactions and is particularly useful when working with analytics and metrics.
• Token Flex API, which facilitates data queries for report generation.

State App: Forge applied to real estate marketing

State App is a B2C (Business to Consumer) Forge application developed jointly with C95 Creative. It is designed for real estate sales and takes advantage of the information contained in BIM models by integrating selection filters directly into the 3D viewer. Users can select their preferred property, configure it using hundreds of combinations of finishes and equipment, and finally view photorealistic renderings based on their selected options.

If you want to improve the sales experience for your real estate developments, State App is for you. Contact us to request a demonstration.