Virtual Reality as the Future of Collaborative Design
Date Posted: August 21, 2018
Posted In: Ideas,
From Architect Magazine: Three years ago, Santa Clara, Calif.–based technology company Nvidia began experimenting with virtual reality systems as a means of digitally testing and training algorithms for things like self-driving cars.
“One way to capture self-driving car data is to drive a bunch of cars around and capture examples of how people drive in real world conditions,” explains David Weinstein, Nvidia’s director of professional virtual reality. “Then you use that as the training sets for creating a self-driving car algorithm.”
But, as Weinstein points out, “you can only drive so many miles in a year.” Thus, the idea for the Holodeck virtual reality simulation platform for internal research and development was born. (For any Trekkies out there, yes, the name was inspired by “Star Trek.”)
“We needed a very accurate, visually based platform that we could use for training these different learning systems, and virtual reality is a perfect match for that requirement,” Weinstein says.
Quietly, the company began demonstrating Holodeck to its clients, which include architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as well as robotics and autonomous vehicle manufacturers. Encouraged by their reactions, Nvidia launched an early access program in November 2017 for select users and has since released new tools packages to enhance the platform’s compatibility with the design review process. (Many of these initial users have also served as consultants to help tailor tools to industry needs.)
One of these early adapters is CannonDesign, a practice with 24 offices across the country with a penchant for embracing technology, with chief technology officer Hilda Espinal, AIA, at the helm.
While virtual reality is nothing new for Espinal—nor the architecture industry as a whole—Nvidia’s Holodeck platform features one key difference from other architecture-compatible VR systems: It is designed for collaboration.