A technology first seen at AIA 23 (and a BEST of SHOW winner!!) Trimble’s SketchUp team has released a new AI-powered image search engine for 3D Warehouse.
AI-Powered
The world’s largest free 3D model library now gains powerful new advantages through a new visually-driven search function powered by AI (artificial intelligence) technology.
Users can now take a photo of an object or drop and drag an existing image into the 3D Warehouse’s search bar, and AI will quickly sift through the millions of pre-built 3D models in Warehouse and pinpoint the ideal matches. The new feature will help architects and designers speed up their workflows, helping them find exactly the models they are looking for.
The new AI-powered Image Search in the latest SketchUp 3D Warehouse.
“3D Warehouse used to be entirely based on keyword search, where you had to type in exactly what you were looking for in order to generate the right match,” said Steve Guzman, product manager for 3D Warehouse. “3D Warehouse Image Search eliminates that requirement, allowing users to overcome language barriers and incorrect search queries by matching images with models. Now, designers can more easily source 3D models or find alternatives for their clients who are often looking for very specific objects to incorporate into their designs.”
Manufacture Models
The new AI image search technologies also work in finding the ideal 3D models from product manufacturers, including parametrically configurable objects. Users can now easily search, filter, and download materials and texture swatches by simply typing the name of the material into the search bar and clicking the Materials tab.
“SketchUp’s ethos is purposely built around creating products that enable designers to be more nimble so that they can ideate and iterate faster,” said Sumele Adelana, senior product marketing manager for Trimble SketchUp. “3D Warehouse Image Search builds on that principle by removing some of the tedious and time-consuming aspects of conceptual design while also giving clients access to real, purchasable objects that can be easily incorporated into the design of their project.”
3D Warehouse Image Search is available to current SketchUp subscribers on desktop, web, and mobile. Those interested in subscribing to SketchUp can select a plan here, or start their free trial by visiting https:/
Architosh Analysis and Commentary
We noted in our AIA23 BEST of SHOW report that a thematic element at this year’s Technology Pavilion at AIA 23 in San Francisco was AI (artificial intelligence). Many vendors were talking about or beginning to showcase new machine learning algorithms and other AI-based technologies.
We felt that the new SketchUp 3D Warehouse AI features were notable because “one of the most challenging things about having a very large library of objects to search from 3D Warehouse is finding exactly what options you have and doing that quickly.” Users typically browse-search objects and go through loads of potential options, often finding things that may do for the task at hand, but then they keep looking, hoping to find something even better. This is tremendously time-consuming.
The new AI-powered image search feature will stop users from wasting that kind of time. The image you supply into the system will be image-matched by AI to the models that literally best match the geometry shown in the image you provided. We can see this kind of feature being emulated by other software vendors who have large model libraries.
