Collaborative world-building software Arkio runs on Oculus Quest as well as other devices and can import models from Revit, Rhino and SketchUp for a cross-platform multiplayer service which could save builders time and money.
Arkio allows real-time revisions to 3D designs live in collaboration with others. We’ve tested a promising version of the software on Oculus Quest, with both Oculus Touch controllers and controller-free hand tracking. Arkio’s interface is very interesting with tools that snap and slide for careful sizing of walls and buildings. You can easily view models at full 1:1 scale to get a look from a specific perspective, or size the world down into a miniature and make big changes.
The team behind Arkio is launching the service publicly out of its previous beta for free until September 1. After that, there will be a free tier planned alongside monthly payment tiers for pro and enterprise level services.
“Arkio is for architects and anyone that wants to design spaces. We have seen Arkio used by professionals and hobbyists alike, designing buildings, interiors and entire urban areas. Some people are using Arkio for game level design, stage design and landscape design. We have seen people with no prior 3D modeling experience design their house in VR in less than a day,” says Founder and CEO of Arkio, Hilmar Gunnarsson.”Arkio is completely free until September 1. Our goal is to make Arkio affordable and available to as many people as possible so we will have a Free tier along with our Pro and Enterprise plans starting in September. The main difference between the free and paid tiers will be around the collaborative aspect, e.g. size of meetings, and the workflow integration available.”
“We know we are just getting started and that there are many things we need to improve in version 1.0 and beyond,” Gunnarsson wrote in a blog post. “This includes enabling users to add precise dimensions inside Arkio, the ability to create more complex geometry and making working with imported 3D models as seamless as possible. Our ambition is also to make Arkio even easier to use, so that anyone can start designing within minutes.”
You can download Arkio and check it out for yourself at https://www.arkio.is/get-started with links to download the software across all major platforms.
Building in VR is something of a holy grail. Early efforts like SculptrVR and Tilt Brush sparked imaginations and expression, and varying levels of creative freedom in VR are unlocked in apps like Tvori, Rec Room, even Facebook’s Horizon and the game engine Unity. So while Arkio is geared toward professionals in architecture, the founders see a chance that it could be useful beyond that market as well.
We’re planning to have Arkio’s team in our studio for a live interview soon, so tune into our channel and let us know if you have a question for the developers.
This post was originally published June 1, 2021, but we changed the publish date to June 8, 2021, to post it back onto the home page in connection with a live interview in VR.
