Technology is improving the way we live and work every day and it’s no different for the construction industry. From drones to virtual reality, technology is helping us do things more efficiently than ever before.

Every few weeks, ConstructionDive.com provides a roundup of the latest technology product announcements that promise to boost productivity by saving contractors time, money and labor.

Autodesk’s Navisworks, which is used to review 3D models from each discipline involved in a construction project and consolidate models to detect discrepancies, is expanding its reach. It is now available as a plugin for InsiteVR, which builds immersive, virtual reality communication software for the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

InsiteVR is compatible with virtual reality devices to include Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, GearVR and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. IrisVR, an immersive design review and collaboration software, also announced a beta integration between its desktop product, Prospect, and Navisworks.

The plugin lets project teams review Navisworks models in VR devices. Users see an avatar with their name above them as they all explore and inspect their 3D models in VR. It creates a construction walkthrough experience before ground is broken, allowing for mistakes to be found and fixed, the firm says. Users also can better perceive elements like scale, object intersections and spatial relations.

Teams will be able to turn various elements on and off and remove obstructions to better review the model across disciplines. Speech-to-text annotations let issues be easily tracked and text is placed on a specific object so that it can be reviewed later, InsiteVR claims.

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