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=== Academia === | === Academia === | ||
| + | There are three benefits of the BlenderBIM Add-on for academia. | ||
| + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on is free. With the BlenderBIM Add-on on their computer, students don’t have to go to the university computer centre to work on a licenced copy of proprietary software. | ||
| + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on makes it easier to teach IFC. The structure and terminology used in the BlenderBIM Add-on matches what is in the IFC specification. A professor can teach a lesson based on the IFC specification and then give a practical assignment on the same topic to be completed using the BlenderBIM Add-on. | ||
| + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on is open source. An open source application makes research easier and makes the BlenderBIM Add-on a suitable platform for a thesis. | ||
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A few universities in Europe have already incorporated the BlenderBIM Add-on into their curriculum and students are already starting to use the BlenderBIM Add-on as part of their thesis work. | A few universities in Europe have already incorporated the BlenderBIM Add-on into their curriculum and students are already starting to use the BlenderBIM Add-on as part of their thesis work. | ||
As the BlenderBIM Add-on becomes entrenched in academia, the new generation of AECO professionals will be familiar with IFC and with the BlenderBIM Add-on. When these people join the workforce, they will use the BlenderBIM Add-on to solve problems. Their supervisors will have no objection to this, because the BlenderBIM Add-on doesn’t cost the company any money. | As the BlenderBIM Add-on becomes entrenched in academia, the new generation of AECO professionals will be familiar with IFC and with the BlenderBIM Add-on. When these people join the workforce, they will use the BlenderBIM Add-on to solve problems. Their supervisors will have no objection to this, because the BlenderBIM Add-on doesn’t cost the company any money. | ||
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=== Part of the AECO workflow === | === Part of the AECO workflow === | ||
| − | There are three benefits of having the BlenderBIM Addon as part of the AECO workflow | + | There are three benefits of having the BlenderBIM Addon as part of the AECO workflow. |
| − | + | * The BlenderBIM Addon can be an alternative to paid AECO software. The long-term objective of the BlenderBIM Add-on project is to provide a free, open source alternative to paid software in the AECO workflow; an alternative that provides features equal to or better than what is available from paid software. It may take a few years to achieve this objective, but we are on track. | |
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| − | The BlenderBIM Addon can be an alternative to paid AECO software. The long-term objective of the BlenderBIM Add-on project is to provide a free, open source alternative to paid software in the AECO workflow; an alternative that provides features equal to or better than what is available from paid software. It may take a few years to achieve this objective, but we are on track. | ||
Some users may choose to continue to use paid software, just as many choose to use Microsoft Office, rather than the free open source alternatives available. What is important is that users will have a choice. | Some users may choose to continue to use paid software, just as many choose to use Microsoft Office, rather than the free open source alternatives available. What is important is that users will have a choice. | ||
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There is a rapidly growing number of utilities that are NativeIFC. These utilities, things like IFC checkers and IFC viewers, are useful tools, but they operate on the peripheral of AECO workflows. The BlenderBIM Add-on is game-changing because it aims to provide a NativeIFC alternative to the core applications in AECO workflows. | There is a rapidly growing number of utilities that are NativeIFC. These utilities, things like IFC checkers and IFC viewers, are useful tools, but they operate on the peripheral of AECO workflows. The BlenderBIM Add-on is game-changing because it aims to provide a NativeIFC alternative to the core applications in AECO workflows. | ||
| − | + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on can work together with paid AECO software. You will rarely find an architect who uses both Revit and ArchiCAD on the same project; although sometimes the architect uses ArchiCAD and other members of the design team use Revit. | |
| − | The BlenderBIM Add-on can work together with paid AECO software. You will rarely find an architect who uses both Revit and ArchiCAD on the same project; although sometimes the architect uses ArchiCAD and other members of the design team use Revit. | ||
There are a few large projects on which the architect uses both Revit and the BlenderBIM Add-on. There are also a few large projects on which the architect uses both ArchiCAD and the BlenderBIM Add-on. There are also a few small projects on which the architect uses the BlenderBIM Add-on instead of Revit or ArchiCAD. | There are a few large projects on which the architect uses both Revit and the BlenderBIM Add-on. There are also a few large projects on which the architect uses both ArchiCAD and the BlenderBIM Add-on. There are also a few small projects on which the architect uses the BlenderBIM Add-on instead of Revit or ArchiCAD. | ||
The BlenderBIM Addon has many features to address user needs on large projects using Revit or ArchiCAD. | The BlenderBIM Addon has many features to address user needs on large projects using Revit or ArchiCAD. | ||
| − | * The BlenderBIM Add-on can be used to analyse and debug an IFC file created by Revit or ArchiCAD. You can export IFC data into your favourite spreadsheet, use spreadsheet tools to analyse the data, modify the data in the spreadsheet, and then update the IFC file with the corrected data from the spreadsheet. | + | ** The BlenderBIM Add-on can be used to analyse and debug an IFC file created by Revit or ArchiCAD. You can export IFC data into your favourite spreadsheet, use spreadsheet tools to analyse the data, modify the data in the spreadsheet, and then update the IFC file with the corrected data from the spreadsheet. |
| − | * The BlenderBIM Add-on includes a patch utility that allows you to apply recipes to fix commonly occurring problems in IFC files. For example, many BIM authoring software packages do not handle geolocation properly and this can be fixed using the patch utility. | + | ** The BlenderBIM Add-on includes a patch utility that allows you to apply recipes to fix commonly occurring problems in IFC files. For example, many BIM authoring software packages do not handle geolocation properly and this can be fixed using the patch utility. |
| − | + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on will improve the quality of all AECO software. With the availability of the BlenderBIM Add-on as a free, open source option for the industry, software vendors will have to provide better value to justify their price tag. Over time, as the BlenderBIM Add-on continuously improves, paid software will also have to continuously improve. The big winners are the AECO community because software improves quickly and they are no longer locked in and held hostage by vendor-controlled models. We don’t measure the success of the BlenderBIM Add-on using market share; we measure success by the quality of tools available to the AECO industry and the impact this has on the built environment. | |
| − | The BlenderBIM Add-on will improve the quality of all AECO software. With the availability of the BlenderBIM Add-on as a free, open source option for the industry, software vendors will have to provide better value to justify their price tag. Over time, as the BlenderBIM Add-on continuously improves, paid software will also have to continuously improve. The big winners are the AECO community because software improves quickly and they are no longer locked in and held hostage by vendor-controlled models. We don’t measure the success of the BlenderBIM Add-on using market share; we measure success by the quality of tools available to the AECO industry and the impact this has on the built environment. | ||
=== Forerunner of new AECO tools === | === Forerunner of new AECO tools === | ||
| − | The BlenderBIM Add-on is the first of a new generation of applications based on NativeIFC for the AECO industry. The BlenderBIM Add-on will be a forerunner of new applications in three ways | + | The BlenderBIM Add-on is the first of a new generation of applications based on NativeIFC for the AECO industry. The BlenderBIM Add-on will be a forerunner of new applications in three ways. |
| − | + | * The BlenderBIM Addon will inspire imitators. Before the BlenderBIM Add-on, the only NativeIFC applications were utilities and viewers. Nobody had attempted to create a comprehensive IFC authoring tool that was NativeIFC. In this sense, the BlenderBIM Add-on is a trailblazer. Inspired by the example of the BlenderBIM Add-on, software developers can say, “If the BlenderBIM Add-on can create an authoring application based on NativeIFC, why can’t I?” | |
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| − | The BlenderBIM Addon will inspire imitators. Before the BlenderBIM Add-on, the only NativeIFC applications were utilities and viewers. Nobody had attempted to create a comprehensive IFC authoring tool that was NativeIFC. In this sense, the BlenderBIM Add-on is a trailblazer. Inspired by the example of the BlenderBIM Add-on, software developers can say, “If the BlenderBIM Add-on can create an authoring application based on NativeIFC, why can’t I?” | ||
Often, it is the companies who follow closely behind the trailblazer who make the biggest impact. For example, a computer user interface using a desktop, windows, and mouse was first developed at Xerox’s Palo Alto research centre, but it was Microsoft and Apple who brought them to the mainstream. | Often, it is the companies who follow closely behind the trailblazer who make the biggest impact. For example, a computer user interface using a desktop, windows, and mouse was first developed at Xerox’s Palo Alto research centre, but it was Microsoft and Apple who brought them to the mainstream. | ||
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Even though the BlenderBIM Add-on is currently in its early stages, its potential has already been recognised. It won the buildingSMART 2020 technology award. It was given a MegaGrant by Epic Games. And in 2021, Google sponsored two people to work on it as part of their “Summer of Code” initiative. | Even though the BlenderBIM Add-on is currently in its early stages, its potential has already been recognised. It won the buildingSMART 2020 technology award. It was given a MegaGrant by Epic Games. And in 2021, Google sponsored two people to work on it as part of their “Summer of Code” initiative. | ||
| − | + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on can be an enabling platform for new AECO applications. The BlenderBIM Add-on is much, much more than a new software application for the AECO industry. The BlenderBIM Add-on is also an enabling platform for an entire ecosystem of new NativeIFC software applications. To explain this, we need to look under the hood. | |
| − | The BlenderBIM Add-on can be an enabling platform for new AECO applications. The BlenderBIM Add-on is much, much more than a new software application for the AECO industry. The BlenderBIM Add-on is also an enabling platform for an entire ecosystem of new NativeIFC software applications. To explain this, we need to look under the hood. | ||
[[File:Under the hood.png|thumb|Under the hood]] | [[File:Under the hood.png|thumb|Under the hood]] | ||
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A developer may also choose to build their application on top of the xBIM platform or the IFC.js platform. Applications built on any of these platforms will work together seamlessly because they are all based on NativeIFC. | A developer may also choose to build their application on top of the xBIM platform or the IFC.js platform. Applications built on any of these platforms will work together seamlessly because they are all based on NativeIFC. | ||
| − | + | * The BlenderBIM Add-on can be a catalyst for a new category of software tools. There is some really cool stuff being added to Blender and the BlenderBIM Add-on will be able to take advantage of this. For example, Blender is already being used for virtual reality and augmented reality. It will be easy to fully integrate this with the BlenderBIM Add-on. | |
| − | The BlenderBIM Add-on can be a catalyst for a new category of software tools. There is some really cool stuff being added to Blender and the BlenderBIM Add-on will be able to take advantage of this. For example, Blender is already being used for virtual reality and augmented reality. It will be easy to fully integrate this with the BlenderBIM Add-on. | ||
There is an emerging need for digital tools, tailored to the AECO industry, that simplify communications, coordination, and collaboration between stakeholders, including clients and facility managers. Fortunately, buildingSMART anticipated this need and developed a BIM Collaboration Format, or BCF, for issue management. Tools using the BCF specification allow smart issue tracking and smart issue exchange between stakeholders. The BCF specification supports both a workflow using a file exchange and a workflow using an API in a client-server environment. The BlenderBIM Add-on is one of the first applications to support the new BCF API, ready for others to build upon. Just as IFCopenshell, xBIM and IFC.js are platforms for new NativeIFC applications, the BCF API is a platform for new applications that focus on smart collaboration between AECO stakeholders. | There is an emerging need for digital tools, tailored to the AECO industry, that simplify communications, coordination, and collaboration between stakeholders, including clients and facility managers. Fortunately, buildingSMART anticipated this need and developed a BIM Collaboration Format, or BCF, for issue management. Tools using the BCF specification allow smart issue tracking and smart issue exchange between stakeholders. The BCF specification supports both a workflow using a file exchange and a workflow using an API in a client-server environment. The BlenderBIM Add-on is one of the first applications to support the new BCF API, ready for others to build upon. Just as IFCopenshell, xBIM and IFC.js are platforms for new NativeIFC applications, the BCF API is a platform for new applications that focus on smart collaboration between AECO stakeholders. | ||
