At the 2016 Connext Conference, DIRTT Environmental Solutions (dirtt.net) announced a system that allows anyone to see a real-time video of an existing space that they want to remodel with an overlay of three-dimensional elements and objects they want to install. ICEreality permits users to use virtual reality to see how a counter, a custom-cut door or new walls, windows, blinds and furniture will look.

This morning DIRTT will announce the next evolution of this system – the new ICE is an interactive 3D platform that enables the real-time interaction of construction and design partners to create a space together at the same time even if they are in different locations. Created by DIRTT co-founder and VP of software development, Barrie Loberg (who was recently named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People for his work or helping customers construct their future), the new system allows remote users to see what the others are creating in real-time inside mixed reality headsets, creating immersive 3D environments. Video of Loberg’s presentation to DIRTT employees will be added to this post once it is available.

The use of mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR) in construction showcases the powerful technologies that have a number of different functions aimed at making once-complicated tasks easier and more accessible to everyone. With DIRTT’s ICE, the design phase of the construction process can be opened to everyone, rather than just design professionals. Allowing designers, engineers, contractors and clients to collaborate on single design within an immersive model of the proposal has the potential to change the nature of design and could hypothetically eliminate problems including budget and schedule .