Every industrial plant exists twice these days
An increasing number of industrial plants, mines, refineries, power stations and infrastructure facilities now have a digital twin. This is created using 3D laser scanning, which allows existing installations to be mapped with extraordinary accuracy.
The result is vast point clouds comprising billions of points, as well as 3D models used by designers, engineers, maintenance teams and investment teams.
But this is only the beginning.
The problem isn’t creating the model. The problem is presenting it.
Designers work with specialist software, often handling files that are hundreds of gigabytes in size.
Such an environment is ideal for an engineer’s day-to-day work, but it is much more difficult to utilise it when:
- design reviews,
- meetings with the client,
- inter-disciplinary coordination,
- training sessions,
- presentations to the board,
- consultations with contractors.
A dozen or so people standing around a single monitor or watching the image on a projector are unable to analyse complex installations comfortably.
SimuDome transfers the model to a shared space
In SimuDome, the model isn’t streamed to VR goggles.
Instead, it enters a shared, immersive space that can accommodate anywhere from a few to several dozen participants at once.
An operator controls the model using specialized software, while the image is projected onto a cylinder or dome surrounding the participants with a 360° view.
This allows the entire team to observe the same section of the facility simultaneously, analyze the routing of pipelines, steel structures, technological equipment, or service areas, and hold discussions in real time.
Point clouds without any loss of functionality
One of the scenarios under consideration is the use of Autodesk NavisWorks as the operator’s working environment.
The model remains open in its native environment, thereby preserving the programme’s full functionality, including:
- free navigation,
- distance measurements,
- cross-sections,
- hiding elements,
- collision analysis,
- viewing object properties.
The image from the application is displayed simultaneously within the SimuDome environment, enabling all meeting participants to analyse the model together.
Possible applications
This approach can, amongst other things, support:
- design reviews of industrial projects,
- planning plant modernisation,
- pre-construction clash analysis,
- training for maintenance staff,
- planning refurbishment works,
- presentations for investors and management boards,
- consultations with contractors,
- onboarding new staff.
Examples of sectors
The technology can be used, amongst other things, in:
- mining,
- metallurgy,
- the energy sector,
- refineries,
- the chemical industry,
- the maritime industry,
- the offshore industry,
- railways,
- large manufacturing plants.
This is just the beginning
At SimuDome, we are working on further applications for spatial data, covering not only point clouds but also BIM models, GIS data, CAD designs and environments created in Unity and Unreal Engine.
Our aim is to create a shared space where project teams can analyse even the most complex projects in a far more intuitive way than using traditional monitors.