HOOPS Web Platform Helps Take RIB’s iTWO Construction Management Solution to the Cloud
Fast, High Quality Visualization of Massive Model Rendering on the Cloud Enables End-to-End Digital Planning and Physical Construction in One Cloud-based Integrated Platform
October 22, 2019 – BEND, Oregon — Tech Soft 3D, leading provider of development toolkits to the engineering software industry, today announces that the HOOPS Web Platform served as an integral part of RIB Software taking their iTWO construction management platform into the cloud. Since its founding in 1961, RIB Software SE has been a pioneer in construction innovation, exploring and bringing in new thinking, new working methods, and new technologies to enhance construction productivity. Headquartered in Germany, the company serves nearly 15,000 customers around the world.
“As an innovator in the construction business, our goal is to develop and offer cutting edge technologies to construction enterprises across various industries,” explained Martin Biesinger, Product Manager for RIB. “We want to transform the construction industry into one of the most advanced industries in the 21st century through the seamless integration of virtual planning and physical construction execution.”
RIB iTWO enables the virtual execution, planning, and control of projects as well as the simulation of production and maintenance processes. The platform joins groups from all disciplines in the construction phase – from design, scheduling, and project management, to controlling and finance – into a single environment.
“Our clients often have large amounts of data coming from a variety of design applications and product data management (PDM) systems,” said Steffan Rabe, Director of Development at RIB. “Whether it’s traditional 2D drawings or 3D CAD design information coming from an application like Revit, it is critical for our clients to have the ability to accurately view and interpret the data, regardless of its origin.”
RIB aimed to continue innovating and looked to the next challenge: the increased demand for access to data in real time, on any device. This had been a challenge for RIB and much of the construction industry given the complexity, size, and various types of data involved in the projects. The company recognized the value a cloud platform could offer in this area.
“In 2015, we decided to jump to the cloud,” said Rabe. “Because of our good history of partnering with Tech Soft 3D for our desktop solution, we looked to them for solutions to support our iTWO application on the cloud.”
*RIB iTWO enables the virtual execution, planning, and control of projects as
well as the simulation of production and maintenance processes.*
Tech Soft 3D began a massive model viewing project to determine if their vision of web visualization could support the high demands coming from the construction industry. RIB pushed the limits of the technology by providing large building models as a benchmark for Tech Soft 3D. The HOOPS Web Platform proved to be capable of visualizing entire buildings in a dynamic online environment and was their first choice for powering their new web client.
Leveraging these Tech Soft 3D components allowed the launch of iTWO 4.0 – the world’s first cloud-based 5D BIM enterprise platform. iTWO 4.0 platform integrates the 3D BIM model with project schedule (4D) and cost (5D) for design-to-delivery management, realizing end-to-end digital planning and physical construction in one cloud-based integrated platform.
HOOPS performs a number of behind the scenes functions to make RIB’s 5D BIM enterprise platform run smoothly.
“One of the biggest challenges for us is that many of our customers are using a Citrix environment with a terminal server – and historically, most people have taken an attitude of ‘forget the 3D,’” said Biesinger. “Because HOOPS Web Platform has a lot of optimizations in addition to server-side rendering, this enables users to continue working while their design is loaded. The ability for our clients to view huge models in the Citrix environment has been a big step forward for us.”
“What is interesting for RIB is that we are not limited to any discipline – which is to say, we don’t just focus on mechanical data, we focus on everything,” said Rabe. “HOOPS Web Platform support ensures that regardless of the data our clients are trying to consume, we can support the visualization because we have HOOPS behind us.”
About Tech Soft 3D
Tech Soft 3D is the leading global provider of development tools that help software teams deliver successful applications, as well as the creator of the 3D format that is part of the PDF standard. Established in 1996 and headquartered in Bend, Oregon, Tech Soft 3D also has offices in California, France, England and Japan. The company’s toolkit products power nearly 500 unique applications running on hundreds of millions of computers worldwide. For more information, visit www.techsoft3d.com.
HOOPS is a registered trademark of Tech Soft 3D. All other products or company references are the property of their respective holders.
Media Contact
Angela Simoes,
415-302-2934,
angela@techsoft3d.com