Buildings placed on the real map
For the internal planning team of a European government, we built an XR tool that places planned buildings on real maps. Planners walk around a design at life size in VR, or check it on a phone in AR, before anything is approved. Computer vision recognises pedestrians, buses and cyclists, so planners can also see how a new building would change the way people move.
- CLIENT
- A European government planning team
- INDUSTRY
- Government and urban planning
- WHAT WE BUILT
- VR and AR planning tool with computer vision
- WHERE IT RUNS
- Meta Quest, iPhone and Android
- 3 platformsMeta Quest, iPhone and Android
- Life sizeWalk around a building before it exists
- On the real mapDesigns placed on real geography
- 3 kinds of movementPedestrians, buses and cyclists recognised
Plans that only experts can picture
Planning decisions are made from drawings, numbers and maps. Even experienced planners and decision makers struggle to picture how a new building will really sit in its surroundings.
A misjudged height or position at the planning stage turns into expensive changes, or public objections, later.
A building also changes its surroundings: how people walk, where cyclists ride and how buses get through.
The team needed a way for everyone involved to see the same building, at real scale and in its real location, and to understand its effect on the people around it, before approving it.
Let everyone stand next to the building first
We built one tool that works in VR for deep reviews and in AR on a phone for quick checks. Visuals are confidential, so this page uses illustrations.
- 01
Walk around it in VR
In VR, users walk across a virtual map and explore building elevations at life size.
THE CHALLENGEScale and height had to feel real, so decisions made in VR hold up in reality.HOW WE SOLVED ITWe modelled to real dimensions and tested viewpoints until heights and distances felt right. - 02
Place it on the map in AR
On a phone, the 3D building appears on top of a real map, so teams can check position and height.
THE CHALLENGELining up digital buildings with real geography.HOW WE SOLVED ITWe anchored every model to map positions so it appears where it will actually stand. - 03
See how people move today
Computer vision recognises pedestrians, buses and cyclists and follows how each of them moves through the area.
THE CHALLENGEA real street is messy: people overlap, stop and change direction.HOW WE SOLVED ITWe set up the recognition to tell pedestrians, buses and cyclists apart, and to follow each one. - 04
Test the effect of a new building
Planners use that movement to decide where to build next, and to see how new construction would affect pedestrians.
THE CHALLENGEMovement data only helps if a planner can read it.HOW WE SOLVED ITWe turned what the cameras see into movement patterns that planners can read alongside the plan. - 05
Simple enough for any planner
A clean, simple interface means anyone in the planning team can use it in review meetings.
THE CHALLENGEPlanning teams are busy and not always technical.HOW WE SOLVED ITWe kept the interface to a few clear actions with plain labels. - 06
Clear enough to decide with
High quality models make each design easy to judge, so reviews focus on decisions, not on reading drawings.
THE CHALLENGEDetailed models still had to run on phones and a standalone headset.HOW WE SOLVED ITOur art team built in Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, ZBrush and Substance Painter, then optimised everything for mobile.
Everyone sees the same building
Planners and decision makers can review a design together, at real scale and in its real place, and see how it would change pedestrian movement, before it is approved.
- Clearer discussions between planners and decision makers
- Better decisions early, when changes are cheap
- A clear view of how new construction affects pedestrian movement
This project is under NDA, so we cannot show it publicly. Book a call and we will walk you through it privately.
What it is built with
Planning something people need to picture?
From city plans to products, we make plans you can walk around. Start with a Prototype Sprint, or book a call.