Users can re-scale, move and rotate the model as desired. While the experience is intended to mimic viewing a physical scale model, it maintains the flexibility and the dynamic nature of a digital model. In Tabletop mode, models can be scaled as needed to best fit the available space or specific design review requirements. Users then have the option to place a model within their physical environment. With SketchUp Viewer, users can view models that have been published to their HoloLens device via the newly launched AR|VR Extension for SketchUp Desktop they can browse and download models from Trimble’s 3D Warehouse or they can pull project files down from Trimble Connect, a cloud-based collaboration platform. Using this technology I can make decisions at the moment of inception, shorten the design cycle and improve communication with my clients,” said Greg Lynn. “Trimble mixed-reality technology and Microsoft HoloLens bring the design to life and bridge the gap between the digital and physical. The architectural project was commissioned as part of the US Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Biennale exhibition in Italy. Greg Lynn used Trimble’s mixed-reality solution and Microsoft HoloLens to re-imagine the Packard Plant - a historic, abandoned automobile factory in Detroit. The demonstration also illustrated how using Trimble solutions with HoloLens holographic technology enables remote teams to effectively review and collaborate in order to resolve constructability issues in real time.

Using HoloLens, architects were able to experience SketchUp models in mixed reality, as holograms placed in the real world - enabling them to quickly analyze various “what if” design scenarios in the context of the physical environment. Launched today at Trimble Dimensions, Trimble, Microsoft and architect Greg Lynn demonstrated how the SketchUp Viewer solution could be used to help improve design and construction processes. Trimble has launched its SketchUp Viewer for Microsoft HoloLens, a new mixed-reality solution that lets users virtually inhabit and experience their designs.

Sketchup vr viewer