BENTLEY Systems is set to integrate Google’s high-quality 2D and 3D geospatial content into its infrastructure engineering software and digital twin platform after the two have partnered to improve how infrastructure is designed, built and operated.
“By combining Google’s extensive geospatial content and cloud capabilities with Bentley’s infrastructure engineering software and digital twin platform, infrastructure professionals can improve their work and ensure projects and assets are created and operated with greater resilience and sustainability,” said Nicholas Cumins, chief executive at Bentley. “This partnership demonstrates how open standards, such as 3D Tiles, can help infrastructure professionals evolve their practices by leveraging the power of geospatial context.”
The partnership between Bentley Systems and Google was announced before the Year in Infrastructure 2024 Going Digital Awards event held in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 8.
The strategic partnership between Google and Bentley Systems announced on Oct. 8, 2024, leverages the engineering data created and managed in Bentley software alongside Google geospatial data and Cesium’s 3D geospatial applications, AI and analytics, and cloud technologies. PHOTO by JING GARCIA
Through the partnership, Bentley software users and developers could now use Google Maps Platform’s geospatial content, including Google’s stunning Photorealistic 3D Tiles, for “real-world geospatial context and immersive 3D experiences in their digital workflows.”
“Photorealistic 3D Tiles in Google Maps Platform power breathtaking immersive experiences and can transform workflows for architects, engineers, and urban planners,” said Chris Phillips, vice president and general manager of Geo at Google. “We’re excited to partner with Bentley to bring powerful geospatial context and capabilities that can dramatically improve how infrastructure is designed, built, and operated with data.”
As a digital representation of the physical world, digital twins unlock meaningful value and insights throughout the infrastructure lifecycle, from project planning and design through construction and asset operation.
The partnership complements Bentley’s recent acquisition of Cesium, the foundational open platform for creating powerful 3D geospatial applications. Cesium is the creator of the 3D Tiles open standard used by Google. Bentley is also collaborating with Google Cloud to deliver AI-driven insights for asset analytics.
3D geospatial app
Cesium’s 3D Tiles open standard, recognized as the foundational open platform for creating powerful 3D geospatial applications, has been widely adopted by leading enterprises, governments, and tens of thousands of application developers globally.
“A 3D geospatial view is the most intuitive way for owner-operators and engineering services providers to search for, query, and visualize information about infrastructure networks and assets,” Cumins said. “With the combined capabilities of Cesium and iTwin, infrastructure professionals can make better-informed decisions in full 3D geospatial context — all within a single, highly performant environment.”
The combination of Cesium plus iTwin enables developers to seamlessly align 3D geospatial data with engineering, subsurface, IoT, reality and enterprise data to create digital twins with “astonishing user experiences that scale from vast infrastructure networks to the millimeter-accurate details of individual assets — viewed from land, sky and sea, from outer space to deep below the Earth’s surface.”
“Joining Bentley marks an important milestone for Cesium as we continue our journey to create the best developer platform for the built and natural environment — founded on open standards and open-source technologies,” said Patrick Cozzi, chief executive of Cesium. “The combined power of our two organizations and our shared commitment to openness will provide new growth opportunities and create greater value for an already flourishing developer ecosystem that ranges from small startups to global enterprises.”
By leveraging the engineering data created and managed in Bentley software alongside Google geospatial data and Cesium’s 3D geospatial applications, AI and analytics, and cloud technologies, engineers can “design and manage infrastructure in context and at scale to address today’s most urgent challenges, from mitigating climate risk to maintaining aging infrastructure.”
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