Budapest, Hungary - Graphisoft has announced that its Graphisoft BIMx (Building Information Model Explorer) communication and presentation tool for building information model (BIM) projects will soon be available for iOS devices, including the Apple iPad and iPhone.
BIMx is an interactive environment with game-like navigation, whereby anyone can explore full BIM models without holding a license of the professional authoring software in which the building model was originally created.
ArchiCAD users have been able to publish self-running BIMx models for their clients to run on desktop computers (Win/Mac). Now, BIMx models are making their debut on the iPad/iPhone with a purpose-built app directly linked to the BIMx community for "social" model sharing on Facebook. With BIMx, Graphisoft puts BIM into the hands of all stakeholders not actively involved in the actual creation of the BIM model such as contractors, builders, clients, owners, and principals of design practices.
Features of BIMx for iPad/iPhone include:
- real-time 3D navigation
- stereo, shaded and hidden line views
- enhanced with gravity
- fly-mode
- egress recognition
- tap to go through the door
- tap to go there
The integrated BIMx community on Facebook <http://www.gsbimx.com/> is the central hub for sharing interactive 3D building models. Architects holding a BIMx license-either commercial or educational-can publish their models directly to this online community. BIMx models can be uploaded, browsed and downloaded by non-Facebook users as well; only "liking" and "commenting" requires Facebook registration.
The BIMx desktop application is part of the standard ArchiCAD 15 installation. BIMx for the iPad/iPhone will be available as a free app from Apple's App Store and has launched together with the Facebook integrated online BIMx community.
A special promotion from September 20 through October 31 allows all ArchiCAD 15 users to create full-fledged BIMx models and share them with their clients, either directly or through the Facebook BIMx community site, for a six-week introductory period.
Following the promotion (from November 1 on), users holding a BIMx commercial license can continue using the full BIMx facilities. ArchiCAD 15 users without a commercial BIMx license may continue using the BIMx desktop application locally on their computers in Trial mode until the next release in 2012.
Academic users (students, teachers, schools) will have continuous access to the BIMx facilities as long as their ArchiCAD EDU license is valid.