Immersive Visualization of Building Information · PDF fileDesign Innovation Research Centre Working Paper, Number 6 WP 6, v 1.0 1 Immersive Visualization of Building Information Models

Design Innovation Research Centre Working Paper, Number 6

WP 6, v 1.0 1

Immersive Visualization of Building Information Models

Ben Dalton and Maxwell Parfitt

DIRC Working Paper 6

19 September 2013

Version 1.0

Please note that this means the document is being checked and modified and is subject to

change. Please do check back for later versions.

Design Innovation Research Centre, University of Reading, UK

www.reading.ac.uk/designinnovation

[email protected]

Please cite as:

Dalton, B and Parfitt, M. (2013) Immersive Visualization of Building Information Models, Design Innovation

Research Centre working paper 6, [version number].

Immersive Visualization of Building Information Models

http://www.reading.ac.uk/designinnovation


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Ben Dalton and Maxwell Parfitt, School of Construction Management and Engineering University of Reading, UK.

Abstract

This working paper reports on work to develop and document workflows that can be used to prepare large models for real-time immersive viewing with high-end display solutions. As Building Information Modelling (BIM) becomes more widely used in practice, construction professionals want to visualize and interact with their models, without substantial model preparation work. The gaming engine Unity3D V4.2 is explored to produce the virtual environment for visual display, and work identifies different 3D file formats that can be imported and exported. This paper compares 8 workflows that are suitable for visualising large models, from Autodesk, Bentley, Google Earth, Graphisoft, Nemetschek and Trimble products, in a 3D fully immersive CAVE. The working paper also discusses 7 key challenges, namely; intersecting vertices, data-heavy models, object nomenclature, duplication of texture-assignments, rectangular texture images, exporting two-sided materials, and inconsistent formatting. It concludes with recommendations for researchers and professionals that want to view and interact with models on high-end display equipment and visualisation systems when using the Unity3D game engine.

Keywords: immersive environments, BIM, virtual reality, CAVE, workflows, Unity3D


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Contents 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 4

2 Method...................................................................................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Workflows ......................................................................................................................................................... 4

2.2 Equipment ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

2.3 Unity 3D ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

3 Findings ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 Workflows ......................................................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 Challenges of large models ............................................................................................................................... 7

4 Discussion and Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................... 9

5 References ................................................................................................................................................................ 9

APPENDIX A: Using Unity ................................................................................................................................................ 10

1. Creating a new project ........................................................................................................................................ 10

2. Importing and utilising assets ............................................................................................................................. 10

4. Creating a basic scene and previewing in game mode ....................................................................................... 11

APPENDIX B: Workflows ................................................................................................................................................. 12

1. Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2014 ................................................................................................................... 12

2. Autodesk Revit 2013 ........................................................................................................................................... 13

3. Bentley Microstation V8i .................................................................................................................................... 15

4. Google Earth ....................................................................................................................................................... 16

5. Graphisoft ArchiCAD 17 ...................................................................................................................................... 17

6. Nemetschek Vectorworks 2013 .......................................................................................................................... 17

7. Trimble SketchUp Pro 2013 ................................................................................................................................ 18

8. Trimble SketchUp 2013 ....................................................................................................................................... 19

APPENDIX C: File conversion chart ................................................................................................................................. 19


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1 Introduction

This working paper reports the output of a short study to develop new workflows to view built

environment models created using standard software packages in immersive visualization environments.

The research develops and extends published workflows (e.g. Penn State, 2013), which give guidance to

researchers and students but shows this translation using small and moderately sized building models. Our

interest is in developing stable workflows for use with datasets on the scale generated by major

construction and infrastructure projects. Workflows for translating data into packages for interactive real-

time 3D display are important as construction clients and project teams need new ways to visualize and

interact with their data, whilst not incurring excessive latency in the conversion process.

The contribution is to identify different software formats that can be imported and exported, comparison

of 8 workflows that are suitable for large models, and a discussion of 7 key challenges when working with

models for visualisation. The next section provides an overview of the approach and methods used. The

following section provides an overview of the findings and compares workflows, indicating more detailed

information about Unity3D with the individual developed workflows located in the appendices. The paper

concludes with recommendations for researchers and professionals who would want to view and interact

with models, in real-time, prepared using simple and fast conversion methods.

2 Method

2.1 Workflows

The focus of this study is on developing workflows from file formats native to the prominent design and

construction software packages: Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2014; Autodesk Revit 2013; Bentley

MicroStation V8i; Graphisoft ArchiCAD 17; Nemetschek Vectorworks 2013; Trimble SketchUp Pro 2013;

Trimble SketchUp 2013; and Tekla Structures 18.1. Emphasis was placed on developing short workflows

which would benefit construction professionals and allow for the transfer of models into the CAVE with

relative ease.

Over six weeks, trials were conducted with one collaborator’s model of a large railway infrastructure

project which contained over 14 million vertices. At the start the focus was on the workflow from Autodesk

Revit to Unity using previously published workflows as a starting point for the translation activity; however

as the infrastructure project model was provided in the Bentley DGN format this approach was quickly

dropped in favour of using the native file formats. The models master file was first translated as a SKP file

into SketchUp Pro as an intermediary format to then be exported into Unity as an FBX, but the export

process into SketchUp was found to take more than 2 days to export. The resulting SKP file was found to be

over 600Mb and extremely slow to manipulate, so the same process was then trialled using the individual

subsidiary seed files which were referenced by the master DGN file, so that they could be recombined in

Unity3D. Although this was a shorter process, only taking 9.5 hours, the task was significantly more

complex as it required a lot of human interaction and the translated models were heavily tessellated by

SketchUp. The exported model segments shared a common coordinate system which made the model

simple to reconstruct within Unity3D, but the excessive tessellation of 5.7 million triangles caused the


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model to generate high numbers of graphics draw calls, which meant that the best frame rate achievable

was 0.2 fps (frames per second), consuming 0.55GB RAM at a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels in 2D. To try

and improve the visualisation efficiency, model mesh optimisation was tested within the Unity3D import

options, but the increase in frame rate was only 0.1 fps.

Existing approaches articulated in internet sources such as fora and video hosting websites were tested,

however they were in need of further elaboration to accommodate more complex models. An

interoperability table was created by noting the file format compatibilities for each piece of software.

Using an exploratory approach and the information available as a footing, the models from our

collaborators were subjected to the apparent workflows as indicated by the interoperability table, whilst

manipulating different variables within the software.

2.2 Equipment

The CAVE system uses a Dell precision T5500 with a dual socket motherboard, with two Intel Xeon X5647

CPU’s installed, running at 2.93GHz, totalling 16 logical processing cores. The system has 12GB DDR3 RAM

(4 x 3 GB) and an NVIDIA Quadra Plex D2 which contains two Nvidia 4GB FX 5600 graphics cards and an

Nvidia frame sync card which is capable of driving four 120Hz active 3D displays at 1024x768 pixel

resolution simultaneously.

Despite the impressive computing power, the conversion of model data takes so long due to the Bentley

export utility only being compiled to run under a 32-bit operating system, so is limited to utilising

approximately 2.45GB of RAM and only utilises 2 of the processing cores simultaneously. If these limitation

were lifted through a new version of the export utility that can address the full RAM available and more

than 2 processing cores, then the system would export far faster. This limitation is present on all

computers tested during the export process.

2.3 Unity 3D

The optimal platform for our models is the gaming engine, Unity 3D. Unity can be directly linked to Middle

VR, a program which enables the Unity models to operate on four screens simultaneously whilst utilising

Unity’s render engine for real-time rendering and navigation which permits the usage of motion-capture

mediums such as head trackers and fly sticks. The cameras within Unity natively allow for frustum culling,

and occlusion culling in Unity Pro; which is ideal for running large models in real-time. Although time-

consuming, the models can be programmed further in Unity to reach a desired level of interaction with

relative ease, such as: Adding physics to objects, e.g. opening and closing doors; creating sun paths;

simulating explosions; and incorporating basic acoustics.


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Unity also proves to be beneficial for workflows due to its file co-occurrence; once a file, such as an FBX, is

loaded into a Unity scene and textures etc. have been assigned/mapped, any change to that FBX file in its

root directory will automatically be updated in Unity with the texture maps still intact, hence you can easily

update a model in Unity by simply overwriting the FBX with the updated version.

Figure 1: Screenshot of Unity

Details of how to create a new project, import and which assets, create and preview in game mode are in

Appendix A.


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3 Findings

3.1 Workflows

The workflows for conversion into Unity, shown in Figure 2, have all been trialed as in Appendix B. These

were tested with the model from a real infrastructure project, rather than with simplified test data.

Figure 2: The main workflows from industry packages into Unity

3.2 Challenges of large models

There are a number of challenges associated with workflows for using large models. Seven of these are:

1. Intersecting vertices – It is unrealistic to expect any BIM model to be absent of intersecting

vertices, such as beams. However, they should be avoided/removed where possible as they tend to

reduce run-time and contribute to the texture-translation issues from Revit.

2. Data-heavy models - There is no easy and automatic way to simplify the geometries and reduce the

polygon counts. The model needs to be created with minimal complexity of objects and the correct

tools to give the model a ‘lighter body’; the intention of using the models in real-time must exist


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from the start. Think of it like a car: A car with an aluminium body will be considerably lighter than

one with a steel body, and, if someone with a steel car wished to make their car lighter, they could

change the body to aluminium although it would have been far easier to have had an aluminium car

from the outset. In short, the models will often need to be re-drawn with simpler geometries for a

lighter body e.g. instead of creating solid information-intense objects such as cubes, you can create

the same cubes in a hollow and less information-intense manner by using six flat surfaces; the

model will be much lighter if it is originally created in this manner

3. Object nomenclature - It is a good idea to name objects in a model in a unique, but

comprehendible manner (not just a series of numbers or “wall42”, for example) and assign textures

similarly; this can make things a lot less complicated if there is a need to edit the model in Unity at a

later stage.

4. Duplication of texture-assignments - Where possible, assign textures in hierarchical clusters;

ensure objects with the same textures share those textures, rather than ‘creating’ and assigning the

textures twice. This can significantly reduce draw calls, thus increasing performance. In certain

situations, merging meshes can have substantial performance benefits; however, in cases where

occlusion culling needs to be used, if part of the mesh is out of the occlusion area, the whole mesh

can disappear.

5. Rectangular texture images - Ensure that your textures are square and to the power of two, e.g.

2048 x 2048. Unity supports all image formats; however, there have been some occasional issues

when loading JPEGs.

6. Exporting two-sided materials – Reversed faces are not visible in most visualization packages, thus

the modeller must bear in mind which faces will be exposed when immersed in the model and

create it accordingly. However in the case that the models have already been created, the models’

components will need to be exported with two-sided faces; this will double the number of polygons

and have a significant impact on the file size. This will only be an issue on large models where

model-simplification is of upmost importance. Many of the vendors do not provide the ‘export two-

sided faces’ option, but will instead do it automatically. Navisworks is as an exception to this; it

neither provides an option, nor does it automatically export two-sided materials.

7. Inconsistent formatting throughout the software vendors - Although it may seem from the

interoperability table (reference table) that different programs can be linked via certain formats, it

is important to realise that there is no single best format for all of the workflows due to the

significant variance in the files exported by different programs’, even when their format type is the

same; the exported files are only as good as the way in which the program exports them. For

example, the FBX created by SketchUp varies significantly to an FBX created by Revit; Revit 2013

encrypts its exported materials, making them unreadable by Unity, whereas SketchUp exports its

FBX files with a separate materials file that is readable by Unity. There is an absence of cohesion

between the software vendors that is especially made apparent by the lack of interoperability when

using the “collaborative” Industry Foundation Class (IFC) format which is written and interpreted


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differently by each software vendor, resulting in hiccups such as distorted geometries and missing

textures when an IFC is read by non-native software

4 Discussion and Conclusions

The contribution of this working paper is to document workflows that can be used to prepare large models

for real-time immersive viewing with high-end display solutions. This is particularly pertinent as the

construction sector begins to use Building Information Modelling (BIM), which is now mandated for use in

all UK public procurement by 2016. Immersive visualization facilities have been available for some time

(Whyte, 2002), but there are new opportunities to use immersive facilities such as the Computer

Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE). Many of these are now being upgraded as hardware improves and

becomes cheaper, with experiments to use next generation software (e.g. Steptoe, 2013). In the University

of Reading, as elsewhere, the CAVE has also been reconfigured to operate under the Windows operating

system, using Unity3D and MiddleVR. Research is on-going to use the CAVE for other built environment

visualisation applications (e.g. Tutt & Harty, 2013).

We had most success with model flows from Trimble SketchUp Pro and Bentley Microstation for rapidly

viewing and interacting with models on high-end display equipment and visualisation systems when using

the Unity3D game engine. SketchUp Pro provides a good starting platform for workflows concerning high-

end visualisation, it; has a simple and intuitive user-interface, creates impressive results which can be

further enhanced by its wide selection of plug-ins, and has the ability to retrieve geospatial information

from Google Earth. However, for large complex models, Microstation facilitates an agile transferral with

comparatively less triangulation than SketchUp and enables the modeller to alter the stroke tolerance.

The findings of this study can inform the set-up of future practical work.

5 References

Penn State. (2013). Work Flows Retrieved 8 August, 2013, from http://bim.wikispaces.com/Work+Flows Steptoe, W. (2013). Using Unity and a Kinect in CAVE-like systems Retrieved 8 August, 2013, from

http://willsteptoe.com/post/13451407453/using-unity-and-a-kinect-in-cave-like-systems Tutt, D., & Harty, C. (2013). Journeys through the CAVE: The use of 3D immersive environments for client engagement

practices in hospital design. Paper presented at the ARCOM, Reading. Whyte, J. K. (2002). Virtual Reality and the Built Environment. Oxford: Architectural Press.

http://bim.wikispaces.com/Work+Flows

http://willsteptoe.com/post/13451407453/using-unity-and-a-kinect-in-cave-like-systems


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APPENDIX A: Using Unity

1. Creating a new project

To start a new project:

File > New Project…

Figure 3: The project wizard in Unity

The project wizard will appear where you can choose the project’s directory and which standard assets you wish to import. In most cases, you will want to check: Character Controller; Light Flares; and Skyboxes.

2. Importing and utilising assets

If you have already created a project, but wish to import other standard assets, simply: Assets > Import Package> Select and import required package. Creating a project will create three folders within the project directory: Assets, Library, Project Settings.

Once you have created a unity-ready model, you can then simply place the model into the project by either: Dragging the model and any textures folders across the desktop and dropping into the ‘Assets’ panel within Unity; or, placing the model and any texture folders into the ‘Assets’ folder of the project directory. Within Unity, the project will automatically appear in the ‘Assets’ folder under the ‘Project’ tab.

Figure 4: The Assets folder in Unity


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If you select the model in the assets folder, the ‘Inspector’ tab will appear in which you can change the model

settings. Here, you can add colliders and scale the model accordingly. Select ‘Apply’ to implement the changes.

4. Creating a basic scene and previewing in game mode

To get a model into a scene, drag and drop the project under the ‘Hierarchy’ tab. If you wish to preview the model in

real-time within Unity, a first person character controller can then be dragged and dropped straight into the desired

location within the scene.

To add a skybox to the scene: Edit > Render Settings > Select the point to the right of ‘Skybox Material’ > search and

select the desired skybox.

To add a sun to the scene: GameObject > Create Other > Directional Light. In Unity, the directional light provides an

infinitely constant flux of light, thus it can be positioned close to the model with the same effects. To make the sun a

little more convincing, you can add a sun flare by selecting the directional light in the ‘Hierarchy’ tab, select the point

next to ‘Flare’ which appears in the ‘Inspector’ tab and then select the sun flare.

Figure 5: The model in ‘game’ mode

Simply press the play button to view your scene in the real-time ‘Game’ mode.


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APPENDIX B: Workflows

1. Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2014

To export the FBX into Navisworks:

Select the green ‘N’ in the top left corner > Export > FBX

In the FBX Options dialogue box, make sure ‘Lights’ and ‘Cameras’ are unchecked. Ensure to embed textures. If

model is very large, you can try to limit the number of polygons.

Figure 6: The FBX options

Unfortunately, Navisworks does not export double-sided materials. This means, for instance, that you would only be

able to see through a window in one direction. To mitigate this, ensure that the materials are rendered on the side

from which you will be looking at them.


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2. Autodesk Revit 2013

Workflow

Open up a 3D view of a project in Revit 2013> Click the ‘R’ in the top left corner > Export > FBX > Choose a file

destination > Open 3ds Max > Click the green ‘3’ in the top left corner > Import > Select the exported FBX from Revit

> ‘OK’ to accept default settings > Click ‘render production’ on the main toolbar (if you cannot see the toolbar, press

Alt+6) > Under ‘render preset’ select ‘mental.ray.daylighting.high’ and select ‘load’ > Click the green ‘3’ in the top left

corner > Export > Ensure file type is FBX and save in the ‘Assets’ Directory of a Unity project > Within the FBX export

options, ensure that ‘Embed Media’ is checked and accept the default export options > Click ok to any warnings

regarding the sun, sky, lighting and any cameras that may be on the project - there are less complications when

these are configured in Unity.

Figure 7: Screenshots in Revit and Unity

Lessons Learnt

Translation from Revit was found to be the most problematic workflow. Previous to 2011, the FBX export would also

produce a FBM folder containing the texture properties, thus you could import straight from Revit into Unity.

However, since 2011 Autodesk have changed their materials to the Protein 2.0 type, in which the textures are now

encrypted within an Autodesk library file in the FBM folder and cannot be interpreted by Unity 3D. Therefore, Revit

needs an additional intermediary step to transfer into Unity. 3ds Max 2014 is an Autodesk product capable of

reading the encrypted Autodesk Library materials and can then export FBX files with its textures embedded within it

that Unity can detect. However, 3ds Max will not export textures in areas where there is complex geometry, such as

intersecting vertices.


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The building’s geometries should import correctly, however, only some textures are translated where the geometry

is complex. To resolve this, you can undertake some time-consuming processes: Simplify the geometries and vertices

in 3ds Max to allow for a better transferal of textures; or, unwrap the UVs in 3ds Max and then map them in Unity.

Using 3ds Max or some of its plug-ins, such as V-Ray, photorealistic renders can be achieved by rendering and baking

the textures before importing into Unity. This can be a slow process.

There will need to be further development on this workflow in order to establish more direct workflows.


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3. Bentley Microstation V8i

Primarily used for infrastructure design, projects created in Bentley Microstation V8i are usually large and intricate;

there are usually many polygons and faces. I found that the FBX export was the best direct export into Unity; the

exportation speed was high and there were seemingly no issues with the textures. The DAE export works well, but

does not export textures.

In any case, it is advisable to first compress the model (or piece of the model) within Bentley:

File > Compress > Design

This will eliminate cross-session data and useless information which has accumulated for various reasons. In most

cases, this only tends to have a slight impact on the size of the file but is worth doing.

To export the file:

File > Export > FBX…

The ‘FBX Export Settings’ window will appear. The stroke tolerance is usually at a default of 0.100m. You should vary

the stroke tolerance depending on the size of the model. A larger stroke tolerance will reduce the rendering time,

but will provide worse quality rendered surfaces, particularly noticeable on curved geometries. A smaller stroke

tolerance will increase the rendering time, but will provide better quality rendered surfaces. I have found the default

of 0.100m to be too small in most cases. I have had success using a range of 0.500m to 1.500m without

compromising on quality too much, however,larger models will need to use a higher stroke tolerance. Also ensure

that the Y and Z axis are inverted so they will be situated on the correct axis within Unity.

Figure 8: The FBX export settings


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4. Google Earth

SketchUp Pro enables users to capture geospatial information and geo locate a model by using its Google Earth

plugin. To export from Sketchup into Unity, the terrain and the buildings need to be exported separately in different

formats. First, within a unity project, create a new folder within ‘Assets’: Right-click ‘Assets’ folder under project tab

> Create > Folder

Export the terrain as an FBX by selecting the terrain and following the FBX export process for SketchUp Pro,

however, ensure that “export only current selection” is checked and DO NOT export it straight into an assets folder

of a Unity project. Once the FBX has been exported, there should be a folder within the FBX’s directory with the

same name as the FBX. This folder should contain the Google Earth image of your geo location.

Drag and drop the Google Earth image into the new folder that was created in Unity. It is only then that you can

import the FBX into Unity. If this is not followed, the texture will not map itself to the mesh; the mesh will be blank.

The buildings downloaded from Trimble must be then separately exported as a Collada file (DAE). Follow the

SketchUp export process.

Figure 9: Buildings and terrain in Unity

Once the buildings and the geo location are in Unity, they can be dragged into the hierarchy and should fit together

as in SketchUp. As mentioned in the SketchUp workflow, the Collada exports will default to using inches as the units,

therefore the Collada files will have to be set to a scale of 0.0254. Also ensure that the FBX geo location is at a scale

of 1.


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5. Graphisoft ArchiCAD 17

Although fairly slow, the best workflow from ArchiCAD is through SketchUp. Make sure that the model is in a 3D

view (press Ctrl+F5), and then select File > Save as… > Select SketchUp file from the ‘Save as type’ drop-down box >

Follow the SketchUp workflow for exporting a Collada .dae file. This workflow pulls through all of the textures and

geometries correctly into Unity.

If you do not have SketchUp, you can export from ArchiCAD as a .3ds file and import that into Autodesk 3ds Max.

From there it is best to export an FBX; the DAE exporter in 3ds Max does not export the textures as well as the FBX

exporter does.

6. Nemetschek Vectorworks 2013

From Vectorworks, the only successful workflow directly into Unity has been by exporting a Cinema 4D (C4D) file. To

do so:

View the model in a 3D view > File > Export > Export Cinema 4D (3D only)

Export the model directly into the assets folder of a Unity project.


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7. Trimble SketchUp Pro 2013

It is apparent that SketchUp Pro exports ‘Unity-ready’ FBX and texture files. This workflow provides a comparatively

automatic and direct route to obtaining real-time 3D models with their original textures intact. The drawbacks only

arise when using it as an intermediary in the workflow for a large model; the SketchUp exporter tends to over-

triangulate and weaken the performance of large models. The exportation process is relatively fast:

File > Export > 3D Model… > Choose your file destination (it is advisable to export the FBX directly into the ‘assets’

folder of a Unity project; this is because SketchUp will export a materials folder with the FBX, which will also need to

be placed alongside the FBX in the assets folder if you wish to transfer materials), select .fbx as the export type >

When the FBX Export Options dialogue box appears, you must ensure that ‘Export two-sided faces’ is selected under

the ‘Geometry’ section. As one could expect, this doubles the number of polygons and nearly doubles the file size

which slows the frame rates in Unity. However, when this is not selected, the reversed faces will become invisible.

The option to ‘Triangulate all faces’ is also advisable. Unity 3D can only read triangulated or quadrangulated faces. If

this is not checked, Unity will still read the model by using their native (and inefficient) automatic triangulating

process and in rare cases there may be problems where certain geometries specific to SketchUp. ‘Export texture

maps’ must be selected in order to create the texture folder upon export; which is required to transfer the materials.

Figure 10: FBX export options


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8. Trimble SketchUp 2013

Alternatively, if you do not have SketchUp Pro, export as Collada. The process is similar to the FBX export, except you

have to select Collada (DAE) as the export type when exporting the 3D model. The Collada files pull SketchUp models

into Unity well, although in rare instances, some textures can disappear. The only major flaw in the Collada export is

that unlike the FBX export, the export options dialogue box does not allow the user to set the model units. Upon

export this tends to default to inches, hence the Collada model will be 39.37 times too big if modelled in meters. The

scale in Unity therefore, must be set to 0.0254. The export options are similar and should be checked as shown

(figure 9a). Ensure to never export edges as this can create complications opening the file in certain visualization

packages.

Figure 9: a) export options; b) scale issues in Unity

APPENDIX C: File conversion chart


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20

Revit 2013 3ds Max 2014 Bentley MicroStation V8i

SketchUp 2013 Pro Unity 3D (with meshes and textures only)

ArchiCAD 17 (only including 3D formats)

Navisworks Manage 2014 Vectorworks 2013

Import Export Import Export Import Export Import Export Import Import Export Import Export Import Export RVT RVT RVT MAX DGN DGN SKP SKP MB PLN PLN NWD NWD IFC IFC

IFC IFC FBX CHR IGES IGES DWG DWG MA PLA DWG NWF NWF 3DS DXF

ADSK FBX DWG FBX XMT XMT DXF DXF JAS BPN DXF NWC NWC IGES DWG

DWG DXF 3DS SAT SAT 3DS DAE C4D PLP IFC ZFC DWF SAT DWF

DXF 3DS AI CGM CGM DAE FBX BLEND PLC IFCXML ZFS DWFX Rhino 3DM 3DS

DGN PRJ ASE STP STP DEM KMZ LXO PCA BIMX WRL FBX Parasolid X_T C4D

SAT AI DAE STL STL DDF OBJ FBX BPC SKP WRZ KML SKP DAE

DWF ASM DWF DGN DGN KMZ WRL DAE DWF KMZ STL DXF FBX

NWC CATPART DWG DWG DWG XSI Carrara DXF OBJ STP DWG IGES

gbXML CGR DXF DXF DXF Lightwave DWG 3DS STEP DWF KML

CATPRODUCT FLT XML U3D XSI DGN STL PRT SAT

DAE HTR SVG SKP PLT EPX SLDPRT VectorScript

XML IGS WRL WINGS IFC FACT ASM Rhino 3DM

DEM OBJ LXO IFCXML WRL SLDASM Lithography

DDF PXPROJ OBJ IFCZIP LP SKP Parasolid X_T

DWG SAT FBX SKP U3D SAT

DXF STL SKP KMZ ATL RVM

FLT W3D KML STL 3DD

HTR WIRE KMZ RVT

IGE WRL DAE RFA

IGES JT RTE

TGS RCS

IAM RCP

JT NEU

MODEL X_B

DLV4 MAN

DLV3 CV7

DLV PTS

EXP PTX

SESSION JT

MDL IPT

OBJ IAM

PRT IPJ

SAT IGS

SHP IGES

SKP IFC

SLDPRT FBX

SLDASM FLS

STL FWS

STEP IQSCAN

STP IQMOD

TRC IQWSP

WIRE DWG

WRL DXF

WRZ DWF

XML DWFX

W2D

DGN

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Immersive Visualization of Building Information · PDF fileDesign Innovation Research Centre Working Paper, Number 6 WP 6, v 1.0 1 Immersive Visualization of Building Information Models