Reality Modeling Goes Mainstream!
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Reality Modeling Goes Mainstream!

Accelerating ContextCapture Adoption Spurs Conceptioneering,Constructioneering, and Inspectioneering; Hybrid Inputs Now Embrace Scans as well as Photos

LONDON — (BUSINESS WIRE) — November 2, 2016 — At this annual conference for infrastructure thought leaders, CEO Greg Bentley made the case in his Keynotethatsince Bentley Systems’ acquisition and assimilation of ContextCapture software in 2015, the proliferation of reality modeling across users’ projects—and across Bentley’s software portfolio—assures that it will become a mainstream contributor to infrastructure project delivery and asset performance. Reality modeling describes the potentially continuous capture of infrastructure assets’ as-operated conditions for processing into engineering-ready reality meshes, and their “enlivening” for immersive interaction.

To date, reality modeling has processed digital photos acquired from ground-level and/or aerial photography, and in particular from the burgeoning industrial use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). At the Conference, Bentley announced a significant breakthrough in ContextCapture planned to be available next month: available point-clouds from laser scanning can now be combined with available photos, as “hybrid inputs,” for reconstruction into a reality mesh. The advantages of reality modeling—in the case of laser scanning, the superior engineering-ready mesh result, compared to the bulky and unintelligent point-clouds themselves—are now compelling in every circumstance, across the range of scanner or camera devices, of asset characteristics, and of capture conditions.

Cited by Bentley for the mainstream embrace of reality modeling were the following observations:

Bentley Systems’ software developments to broaden reality modeling workflows that were demonstrated at the Conference include:

Finally, new joint opportunities spurred by reality modeling were demonstrated by executives of other major technology companies serving infrastructure engineering organizations:

Greg Bentley said, “I thank the many constituents among users and our industry partners who have demonstrated here at The Year in Infrastructure 2016 the benefits they have realized so far, and their auspicious expectations, as reality modeling goes mainstream. I believe we will go on to see reality modeling answering the question as to how drones, mixed reality devices, the industrial Internet of Things—and in fact, “digital natives”—will converge to advance infrastructure engineers, project delivery, and asset performance.”

About Bentley Systems

Bentley Systems is a global leader in providing architects, engineers, geospatial professionals, constructors, and owner-operators with comprehensive software solutions for advancingthe design, construction, and operations of infrastructure. Bentley users leverage information mobility across disciplines and throughout the infrastructure lifecycle to deliver better-performing projects and assets. Bentley solutions encompass MicroStation applications for information modeling, ProjectWise collaboration services to deliver integrated projects, and AssetWise operations services to achieve intelligent infrastructure – complemented by worldwide professional services and comprehensive managed services.

Founded in 1984, Bentley has more than 3,000 colleagues in over 50 countries, more than $600 million in annual revenues, and since 2009 has invested more than $1 billion in research, development, and acquisitions.

Additional information about Bentley is available at www.bentley.com. For Bentley news as it happens, subscribe to an RSS feed of Bentley press releases and news alerts. Visit The Year in Infrastructure Conference website for information on Bentley’s premier thought-leadership event. To view a searchable collection of innovative infrastructure projects from the annual Be Inspired Awards, access Bentley’s Infrastructure Yearbooks. To access a professional networking site that enables members of the infrastructure community to connect, communicate, and learn from each other, visit Bentley Communities.

To download the Bentley Infrastructure 500 Top Owners ranking, a unique global compendium of the top public- and private-sector owners of infrastructure based on the value of their cumulative infrastructure investments, visit BI 500.

Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, MicroStation, Be, ContextCapture, Descartes, OpenRoads Designer, and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.