Live rendering technology, originally developed in the gaming industry for achieving photo-realistic interactive gameplay, is sweeping through both Hollywood content creation and the AEC/development industries.

Live rendering technologies offer profound technical opportunities in design visualization, collaboration, and innovative use of interactive media in our built environment

Unreal Engine by Epic Games and Unity are the two leading platforms for live rendering/gaming development. Their embrace of real time raytracing, which allows for accurate lighting simulation, is poised to radically transform architectural lighting design. For example:

Want a taste at how powerful these platforms are? Here are two short videos showing examples of architectural settings running with live rendering. Remember – you can walk through these spaces with this quality of photorealistic rendering live and interact with the environment to make changes on the spot, via a variety of technologies ranging from touchscreens to VR googles to full size “cave” projection rooms.

Unreal Engine recently released two well-produced webinars – one exploring Unreal in AEC and the other exploring Unreal in entertainment/content creation. Both are stunning in offering glimpses as to how leading professionals are experimenting and embracing such technologies. Make sure to check them out!