{"id":49024,"date":"2014-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/augmented-and-virtual-reality-help-design-firms-please-clients\/"},"modified":"2022-03-11T01:14:20","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T01:14:20","slug":"augmented-and-virtual-reality-help-design-firms-please-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/2\/30798\/trends\/augmented-and-virtual-reality-help-design-firms-please-clients","title":{"rendered":"Augmented and Virtual Reality Help Design Firms Please Clients"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking at a digitally-altered reality is no longer just for gamers or Hollywood movie makers. Design firms are using alternative-reality technology to provide their clients with a glimpse at how a finished space will look.<\/p>\n

Currently, alternative-reality technology is described as either virtual or augmented. Virtual reality<\/a> is where the real world is replaced<\/span> by a virtual one, similar to what happens when interacting with a game like "Second Life." Augmented reality<\/a>, as described by Alan B. Craig in his book "Understanding Augmented Reality: Concepts and Applications<\/a>," is a melding<\/span> of the real world with a virtual one. Craig refers to it as "a medium in which information is overlaid on the physical world that is in both spatial and temporal registration with the physical world and interactive in real time." <\/p>\n

Being able to "interact in real time" is one reason why design firms are using this type of visual technology. The renderings (interactive 3-D computer models) allow clients to see and virtually interact with what the design firm proposes. This is all before a brick is laid or a board cut. <\/p>\n

Design companies have gone as far as to create specialized teams consisting of experts in virtual reality, artificial intelligence<\/a> and software development to work along with the firm’s designers and engineers to construct interactive renderings of the client’s proposed design.<\/p>\n

Creating an Interactive Rendering<\/span><\/h2>\n

The design firm Chute Gerdeman<\/a> has such a team, and it is led by Randy Liddil, the director of the company's digital design lab. During a visit to the company’s headquarters and follow-up phone calls, Liddil shared details of how the team created virtual and augmented reality renderings.<\/p>\n

First, Liddil mentioned that prior to having alternative-reality technology, the only way the design firm had to show the customer what they proposed was building a full-size mockup of the design. It was a good way to get the client’s buy-in, but any changes asked for by the client meant the mockup would have to be altered or rebuilt, and the design review would begin again.<\/p>\n

That is no longer necessary. After the designers and engineers have fleshed out a proposal, Liddil and his team create a rendering of the design. During this process, the responsible designers and engineers check to see if everything looks right. <\/p>\n

However, this type of computing is processing-intensive. Members of the team each have a top-of-the-line gaming computer with: <\/p>\n