Google 3D Tiles of Vancouver, enabled through Cesium technology, that will be available within iTwin. (Photo: Bentley Systems)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- Bentley Systems’ Year in Infrastructure 2024—Bentley Systems, Incorporated (Nasdaq: BSY), the infrastructure engineering software company, announced a strategic partnership with Google to integrate Google’s high-quality geospatial content with Bentley’s infrastructure engineering software and digital twin platform to improve the way infrastructure is designed, built, and operated.
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. By leveraging the engineering data created and managed in Bentley software alongside Google’s geospatial data, 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.
Through the partnership, Bentley software users and developers can 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. 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.
Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins said, “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. This partnership demonstrates how open standards, such as 3D Tiles, can help infrastructure professionals evolve their practices by leveraging the power of geospatial context.”
Chris Phillips, vice president and general manager of Geo at Google, commented, “Photorealistic 3D Tiles in Google Maps Platform power breathtaking immersive experiences and can transform workflows for architects, engineers, and urban planners. 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.”