Matterport leverages AI for useful ‘Digital Twins’

 In their latest release, Matterport has given a taste of what’s to come in Reality Capture technology. They’re rolled out an update that’s free for all their subscribers where users can scan a space and then automatically generate a property report featuring a layout plan where each room has been identified by AI and categorised. As well as the floorplan, each floor area and ceiling height is listed in the report and can be exported as a CSV for onward data processing, thereby going from scan to actionable data in no time at all.

Aside from this property report, there have been further developments in how digital twins can be used on their platform. Large spaces can be navigated more easily with an inset map - fantastic for facilities management - and estate agents can put themselves front and centre with a new business card feature. This alongside the tags and notes that allow you to offer even more than the real world (you can put anything as a tag - pdf, video, link to another site), mean that the uses of a Matterport digital twin are endless.

In addition to this, they have added a scan to CAD function whereby Matterport will create a full CAD file of your scan area for you, a deliverable that joins scan-to-BIM, e57 pointcloud and schematic floorplans in streamlining processes in architecture, engineering and construction. With this latest update, Matterport have not only shown what can be done by leveraging their Cortex machine learning processing power and AI, but have enhanced their ecosystem not just in creating virtual tours, but genuinely useful digital twins of the built environment. And we’ve seen from the trailer that it’s not going to stop there. Their ‘Project Genesis’ promises the ability to remove all the furniture from a space with the click of a button so you can really visualise how a building can be used differently. It’s going to be hugely useful, not just for residential and commercial spaces, but industrial, with managers able to reconfigure their operations and ensure greater efficiency and safety.

Automating the Future

Finally, they have further developed their collaboration with a host of software providers that allow Matterport digital twins to serve as a platform for their particular specialism. For example, through the Autodesk construction cloud, Matterport users can work collaboratively to speed up as-built documentation by sending BIM files directly to their Autodesk package. With Procore, they can streamline project management on construction sites with easy quantity surveying and sharing of data. AWS integration is a glimpse into what’s possible with IoT devices being connected to a digital twin, with sensors able to provide real-time data. Think about it, if you’re running a factory and something breaks, wouldn’t it be useful to be able to provide information about what is wrong, how it can be fixed and the exact location to the technician who is going to repair it? It’s this connection between the real world and the digital that makes spatial data really useful; and the more that AI can be used to help us understand the built world, the more safely and efficiently we can manage it.