OpenSpace and Procore Integrations Streamline AI Workflows for Builders

OpenSpace, an automated 360° photo documentation and analysis company, today announced three new integrations with Procore, a provider of construction management software, expanding existing shared capabilities between the two platforms. Users will be able to embed OpenSpace virtual walkthroughs inside of Procore projects, as well as two new integrations with Procore’s RFI and Observations workflows. These new features streamline visual documentation, RFIs and QA/QC processes for builders, among other benefits.

Procore Integration

In collaboration with Procore, these new integrations were developed to allow builders to experience the full suite of OpenSpace’s virtual walkthrough, progress analysis, and new RFI and Observation creation workflows, all without ever leaving Procore. These features will benefit builders by providing a full site visual record and making it possible to automatically attach visual references and precise project locations on floor plans to RFIs and Observations. Having this visual and location context readily available reduces ambiguity and simplifies collaboration among multiple stakeholders.

Headquartered in San Francisco, OpenSpace is a construction technology company using artificial intelligence to automatically create and navigate 380° photo representations of job sites. Builders can attach an off-the-shelf 380° camera to their hardhat and walk the site as they would normally do, while OpenSpace manages the image capture. Data is then uploaded to the cloud, and OpenSpace’s algorithms automatically map the images against a site plan, organizing them and stitching them together to create a photo representation that can be navigated and used for comparisons. This way of automating documentation is easier and faster than traditional methods.

Procore offers the ability to organize and streamline construction workflows, which further expands OpenSpace’s product offering.

On average, customers report that OpenSpace allows for 30x faster data capture compared to traditional, manual methods, allowing them to document sites more frequently and more completely.

Jeevan Kalanithi, CEO and co-founder of OpenSpace spoke with AECCafe Voice about the features of OpenSpace and their collaboration with ProCore. 

1. Who is your primary audience for this new technology? 

OpenSpace is typically used by general contractors on all types of construction projects.  Within the GC, we engage at the project-level with project engineers and project managers.  Procore is a leading project management platform so the OpenSpace-Procore integration streamlines the use of images to support Procore observations and RFIs.

2. Do construction professionals actually use these integrations on the job onsite, or back at their desks? 

Both. In the field, project engineers can use their Procore accounts to login via their phones, take a photo, and then directly create an Observation or assign it to an RFI.  Back at their desks, anyone who has viewing access can review OpenSpace images directly in the Procore project.

3. What mobile devices such as the 360 degree camera that is attachable to the hardhat are recommended to be able to make the best possible use of the new integrations?

OpenSpace currently supports the Garmin Virb 360 camera.  It has great image quality and is very configurable.  The OpenSpace mobile app runs on both iOS and Android smartphones.

4. Will these types of integrations be made available with other construction software other than Procore?

Yes, we also have single-sign-on and embedded viewing with Autodesk BIM 360.

5. Tell me about the new Embedded Experience application from OpenSpace. 

The OpenSpace Embedded Experience for Procore embeds complete OpenSpace projects inside of Procore projects. It brings the full suite of OpenSpace features include 360-degree virtual site walks, high-resolution smartphone photos, RFI and Observation generation, and the BIM Viewer into Procore accounts. It supplements Procore experiences to make them even more complete by bringing the full visual record of projects. Any photos taken of the site can be used to generate an RFI or Observation, automatically linking to location on a drawing. Both companies have shared visions in creating modern and easy-to-use workflows for construction, and our partnership takes this one step further by allowing customers to take advantage of our features without ever leaving Procore.

6. Is there a way to connect the OpenSpace documentation with indoor mapping and 3D scanning, or to compare the stitched together images for the site plan with 3D scans for greater accuracy? 

The OpenSpace images are aligned, stitched, and then “pinned” to the plans.  In other words, it is seamless to go back-and-forth between the images and the floorplan.  Users can also upload their BIM into our system and we will align it to the images.  Using our split-screen mode, the model lets viewers navigate and view the images side-by-side.

7. Why would a customer choose OpenSpace for data capture over more traditional methods such as 3D scanning? 

It all comes down to speed and simplicity.  Speed results in more complete capture coverage and simplicity results in broader adoption.  The net result is a much more complete, trusted, and up-to-date digital representation of the construction project.  Traditional 3D scanning is fantastic for specific high-value milestones, but is too complex and slow to be used for everyday capture.  OpenSpace is a fully automated “passive” system that requires zero extra work.  Builders are already walking the jobsite, now they can just press start and capture as they walk.

8. What is the price point for the Procore software and the OpenSpace integrations? 

Procore integrations are free with our standard product.

Tags: AEC, architects, architecture, Cloud, collaboration, construction, design, engineering, engineers, infrastructure, visualization

Categories: architecture, BIM, building information modeling, construction, construction project management, engineering, field, point clouds, project management, reality capture, video, virtual reality, visualization

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