VizworX’s Panoptica software for engineering design won the 2019 Tecterra Most Disruptive Technology award. Panoptica provides an intuitive way for people to understand what is going to be built—before it’s built.

Imagine constructing an entire maintenance facility and, upon completion, realizing that crucial valves are placed too high for operators to reach. Imagine being halfway through building a school and discovering that walkways will not accommodate wheelchairs. Imagine trying to convince a nervous community that the major transportation hub you’re envisioning for their neighborhood will be both attractive and quiet. When engineers, constructors and the public work with 3D ideas in a 2D visualization environment, the result can be false assumptions, misunderstanding about what’s being proposed/built, and surprises in the middle of construction.

Panoptica is an Augmented Reality (AR) model review application that allows users to walk through and view any kind of 3D model in full one-to-one scale. Conducting model reviews using this technology gives designers insights that they simply cannot get in the classical 2D approach—and often these insights lead to significant material cost savings. In a classical model rev process, the whole design/construction/engineering team goes through same model together. You look at everything as a group. On a site visit, specialists can look at what they are most concerned with, be that electrical or ventilation, etc. Panoptica lets teams do precisely that, and the ability to conduct parallel review streams leads to a more insightful and streamlined experience.

A second powerful use of the Panoptica software is to allow much more meaningful community engagement. Traditionally, feedback groups gather in a hall and look at posters or flip through Powerpoint presentations. Panopticon, however, allows people to “see” what a proposed design will look like—to judge for themselves the height of a bridge or a ceiling, to look at the built environment, to imagine themselves walking through the completed project. By providing detailed and experiential information, Panoptica can reduce the number of community engagement meetings that end eventually in misunderstanding, discontent and even protest.

By overlaying holographic images upon the real world, VizworX technology captures in situ changes to the built and natural environments. This promotes a cohesive environment to promote growth and communication between all members involved—and that translates into business growth.

For more information, visit: https://vizworx.com/immersive-tech/what-is-panoptica/