Autodesk and Epic deliver immersive design capabilities

At this year's Autodesk University, Autodesk announced a strategic collaboration with Epic Games to accelerate immersive real-time (RT) experiences across industries, with an initial focus on Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC). 

As part of Autodesk's ongoing goal of connecting the physical and digital worlds, the first integrated offering will be Epic Games' Twinmotion for Autodesk Revit, delivering real-time rendering and storytelling. 

Organisations in the AEC space face challenges to deliver project outcomes at a faster pace, at lowered costs, and with labour shortages, which require more open, connected workflows, and third-party integrations. 

Autodesk customers face pressing challenges to deliver project outcomes at a faster pace, at lowered costs, and with labour shortages, which require more open, connected workflows, and third-party integrations that work together. 

This joint effort with Epic Games aims to make immersive RT environments easily accessible to designers, engineers, and construction professionals so that they can deliver more innovative projects in less time.

As Revit is used to design, document, and deliver building and infrastructure projects, Twinmotion complements the process by creating real-time visualisations for a fast, interactive design process. Autodesk intends to make Twinmotion for Revit available to all Revit customers as part of an upcoming release.

"We know our customers are looking for more visualisation and collaboration experiences through extended reality," says Amy Bunszel, Executive Vice President of AEC Design, Autodesk.  

"Together with Epic Games, we will expand on what's possible. In immersive environments, designers can communicate to their project teams and clients with unparalleled realism how projects will look and feel upon completion for better decision-making and outcomes."

Epic and Autodesk have been teaming up since 2008 when Autodesk joined Epic Games' Integrated Partners Program, enabling integration of Autodesk 3D design software with Epic's Unreal Engine. 

In 2021, Epic and Autodesk collaborated to offer a new Unreal Live Link for Maya plugin, allowing Media and Entertainment (M&E) creators to stream data from Maya to Unreal in real-time. 

"The integration between Autodesk Revit and Twinmotion promises to deliver a truly seamless, real-time 3D experience for design professionals," says Marc Petit, Vice President, Unreal Engine Ecosystem, Epic Games.  

"We share a common goal with Autodesk, giving customers more time to be innovative. By tapping into Epic's ecosystem of real-time 3D tools and libraries, users can spend more time bringing their designs to life and less time handling complex data and technical workflows."

Looking ahead, the companies aim to develop experiences for customers beyond AEC, including M&E and manufacturing, bringing forth the value of real-time content creation. 

As members of the Metaverse Standards Forum, Autodesk and Epic Games are also driving open standards that enhance portability and integration, equip customers with immersive and collaborative technology, and deliver real value for customers.