Gehry Technologies has announced this week GTeam. The company says it is a new way for architecture, engineering and construction teams to collaborate and share project and 3D design information.
A New Web-based Platform
GTeam helps architects, designers, engineers, contractors, consultants and owners collaborate, synchronize and share files from anywhere in the world. This new web-based platform is already being used by some of the world’s largest construction teams and projects. And right now it is offered as a free technology preview.
01 - The new Gehry Technologies GTeam AEC SaaS offering. As you can see from this image the solution is platform agnostic according to the company but a viewer app is needed for the more advanced features. At the moment the server is only pushing out Windows .exe files for that.
One of the most innovative items in this new GTeam offering is its ability to not just provide a centralized online project collaboration environment but to have onboard BIM model viewing with powerful support tools. For starters, you can share your 3D BIM model without having to use native authoring tools or dedicated and associated BIM or 3D model “viewers.”
Onboard BIM and 3D Model Collaboration
GTeam automatically converts 3D files to a common format used for GTeam. This may work much like CADFaster the way it converts 3D BIM data into its own proprietary and highly condensed and optimized file format. We will investigate this when we talk to the company later.
GTeam converts automatically 3D files that are uploaded to GTeam in the following formats: Revit, AutoCAD, Digital Project, Rhino and SketchUp. There may be others and we will look at that shortly. Because of this you do not need to install or own BIM authoring tools simply for the role of being a collaborator or viewer of the BIM data (think, clients, client reps, consultants and builders).
GTeam is cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) technology so you get on-demand access immediately. There is no hardware to buy or configure and no setup or need for internal IT resources.
Operating System Neutral
GTeam works on any operating system, even mobile devices, through a standard web browser. The GTeam website for instance shows images from Apple’s Mac and iOS (iPad) operating systems as platforms for the solution. It appears the company has taken a completely platform “neutral” approach and is clearly embracing the rapid rise of the iPad in the AEC space in particular.
Features
We are about to send you to the GTeam website in a moment but a quick list of its key features includes the ability to not just view 3D BIM models but do measuring and 3D clash detection between 3D models even if they come from different authoring tools.
Of course there is 3D annotation, 3D Snapshot, reporting of BIM data and another great feature is 3D Sectioning.
GTeam works not just with BIM models but other 2D data as well, including PDF, Word, Excel, pictures and even video. You can group files together using File Sets and it supports file synchronization from your desktop to the cloud. We are not sure if it syncs from a server but we think it most certainly does.
Thumbnail viewing allows you to peer into 3D models without actually opening them up in GTeam. We think you can actually rotate them in this preview state as well. A complete audit trail is created in the system and there is advanced security and admin controls, including the use of both public and private folders and groups.
There is no pricing yet announced for GTeam. It is available for use now for free in this preview state and pricing will be announced later this summer. To learn more visit them here: http://www.gteam.com/