Last Updated: 23 Mar 2021

This page provides you with some insights about the HOOPS Communicator roadmap. If you are interested in providing input or collaborating on any of the projects below, please contact HOOPS Communicator's Product Manager or Tech Soft 3D support.

RELEASE PLAN

HOOPS Communicator release schedule consists of a major release and two service packs per year.

Minor updates might be released in between according to needs:

• Fix regressions or high priority issues

• Deliver updated formats to reduce availability delays

RELEASE SCHEDULE

Provisional dates – Subject to change

FORMAT UPDATES PLAN

SHORT-TERM PROJECTS

Projects planned to be delivered in next release (next 4 months)

• Improved error reporting with Converter

  • Currently, HOOPS Communicator’s Converter does not offer flexible error reporting. Improvements are planned to provide flexibility for reporting, especially in the case of multiple file outputs. For example, if the user wants to load a CAD assembly, and generate several output files in one call to converter (eg: STL, SC, PNG, and PDF) they want to know if any of those operations fail and which ones succeed.

  • In addition, Converter will provide better logging information so it is easier to know if there are any problems with a file.

• New Animation Manager

  • HOOPS Communicator has offered the ability to use the Web Viewer API to create animations. The goal of the new Animation Manager is to simplify this for the user and provide the capabilities needed for industrial animation. Example workflows include technical instruction authoring, digital factory simulations, and BIM 5D simulations.

  • Capabilities will include camera animation (position, orientation, etc), translation, rotation, scale, visibility, opacity, and color changes for nodes. It will also include constant (on-off), and linear interpolations.

• Physically Based Rendering Support

  • Physically Based Rendering (PBR) is a different way of rendering models, which can provide a more photo-realistic quality. It typically relies on texture maps (for different channels), environment mapping (for realistic reflections), and different material properties such as roughness and metalness.

  • GLTF files contain all the information required for PBR and are supported by HOOPS Communicator (GLTF v2.0 and newer).

  • HOOPS Communicator will also offer API options to apply and manipulate PBR materials and rendering to models which do not contain them already (such as CAD file formats).

• IFC Improvements

  • Support additional classes and information that will help model analysis and querying. This will include both the semantic information and being able to display the relationships graphically.

    • Spatial relationships: Project, Site, Building, Story, Spaces, Walls.

    • New classes: Openings.

    • Optimizations for Pipes and Beams

• Support for assembly level features in shattered workflows

  • HOOPS Communicator currently supports assembly-level features in its monolithic mode. This project will enable assembly level features when used in Communicator’s shattered workflow (where each CAD part in an assembly is converted separately into a stream cache file. This is critical for partners in PLM.

• Support and display of Mates

  • This project will focus on delivering support of the CATIA V5 mates to help applications in Manufacturing simulation, Robotic, Kinematics Analysis and more generate a kinematics model of the assembly.

  • Mates will be supported both semantically and graphically.

  • Note that the support of Mates for other formats might be considered in future release cycles.

• New platform: Support of Apple Silicon platform

  • HOOPS Communicator will be ported to Apple's new ARM64 architecture. This is critical for partners using HOOPS Communicator with toolkits such as Electron, delivering a more native application experience (rather than web-based).

  • Beta support was already provided with HOOPS Communicator 2021.

MID-TERM PROJECTS

Planned or on-going projects that might be delivered mid-term (in one or two releases) – After 4 months / before 12 months

• Improved performance for large models

  • This project will focus on improving frames per second performance when working with large models, or data sets comprised of many files. Examples include BIM federation workflows and Digital Factory simulations.

• Improved support of HSF files

  • HSF files that contain drawings may not display correctly in HOOPS Communicator. This project aims to bring parity where possible between HOOPS Visualize and HOOPS Communicator for rendering.

• New format support: PLM/XML reader

  • PLM/XML format is an XML-based file format designed by Siemens PLM Software to facilitate interaction in product lifecycle management.

• New format support: Navisworks Reader

  • Navisworks is a 3D design review solution used primarily in construction industries.

  • This project will focus on the NWD format which corresponds to the publishing of a project, including all loaded models, the environment, views, and saved viewpoints.

• Improved support for SolidWorks materials

  • The support of visual models’ appearances (material, textures, decals) is meant for high fidelity rendering and full-color printing of parts and will serve PLM/Visualization as well as Manufacturing as a Service applications. The scope of this project is to improve the support of SolidWorks appearances by adding the surfacic projection for textures as well as decals.

LONG-TERM PROJECTS

Longer-term projects we are considering

• New format support: DGN Reader

  • DGN MicroStation is a CAD software platform developed by Bentley Systems and used in the architectural and engineering industries.

• Client-side Collision Detection

  • While HOOPS Exchange licensees can use an integration between Communicator and Exchange to check for collisions, this is a server-side integration. This project would aim to have collision detection performed on the client-side (in the web viewer).

• Add support for implicit modeling

  • The generative design market is pushing the boundaries of what can be manufactured. However, since they do not typically use standard BRep / single body mesh forms HOOPS Communicator cannot display these models efficiently. This project will be to investigate what changes would be required to make it easier for generative design applications to use HOOPS Communicator.

• Add DWG & Revit support for 2D Floorplan Generation

  • The current 2D Floorplan Generation only works with IFC models. Adding support for popular BIM formats is a common request.

• Support of massive point clouds

  • As workflows in BIM & AEC continue to use large point cloud sets, Communicator needs to scale its support for massive sets. Some workflows include comparing large point cloud sets to the original data files to check that construction is as designed.

• Investigate adding custom shader support to HOOPS Communicator

  • Currently, Communicator does not support custom shaders. This project would aim to expose the ability to insert your own shaders into Communicator's web viewer.

• Add ability to serialize changes to models from the Web Viewer to Stream Cache

  • Some partners have requested adding the ability to use Communicator in an editing workflow. This requires adding the ability to open a stream cache file and edit its contents.