World, meet Reflex…
Who?
You know, Reflex Render! The latest design collaboration tool! The name and interface are simple, its effort is complex, and its results are absolutely amazing! Sorry, I haven’t heard about that one. Who makes it? Reflex is developed and delivered by Advanced AEC Solutions, LLC (aAECs) out of Atlanta, Georgia, USA and can be found at www.aaecs.com.
What is it?
Reflex Render is a very flexible photorealistic rendering software solution for designers, architects, engineers, construction managers, and property lease managers, who must coordinate and convey the exterior and interior design of a building project with owners, designers, and construction team members! That sounds really cool!
How do you use it?
It’s rather easy actually! Reflex serves its clients as a digital design visualization tool to work within the Autodesk Revit platform of design tools. It does this preferably on a second monitor at your computer station. You’re working with Revit on one monitor and a Reflex viewer opens on the second monitor. This allows you to develop your Revit model and see the results of a design change in the Reflex viewer at the same time. Wow! This can save so much time from our design workflows? Yep, you know that really cool Revit model you’ve been working on? Reflex displays it exactly as you have modeled in Revit. Exactly! So, what if my lights are turned off? I’d have to say you would still be in the dark, lol. Nice. Thanks. No really! Reflex will visualize your modeled objects exactly as they would appear with every natural and artificial lighting effect taken into consideration. This would also include light reflections, refractions, surface textures, opaque, translucent, transparent and shadow conditions on and around every object. Ok, so if I model a pool of water and placed a person in the pool, would I see the body’s refraction in the water? Yep, and also the person’s body and clothing color depth and visual magnification change as well. Sweet!
But, does it use a lot of computer system resources? You know, considering how much this software does, you would think so, but it doesn’t! This software is considered a cloud–based system. Sorry, I have heard the term, 
but not really sure what that means. Well in short, a cloud–based system is a method of delivering computing as a service over the web rather than as a product that would have been installed on your computer. So, shared resources, software and information are provided to your computer and other handheld devices like a utility over a grid, much like your office power is delivered over the power company’s electric grid!
Reflex is delivered directly over the Internet in the same way. Do I have to install anything to use Reflex? Yep, considering you are running Revit on your computer, there is a software plug–in you have to download and install off the web. Once it is installed, you will need to upload your model to the aAECs’ Cloud, and magically your model beams into your Reflex viewer illustrating all your model has to offer, including geometry, materials and lighting. Beyond this 40MB plug–in, the rest of this very powerful program resides on the aAECs’ servers. After a simple install of this Reflex rendering plug–in, Revit is equipped to illustrate your design photorealistically, and so fast that you’ll be able to do multiple renderings in the time it used to take you to do one, and you’ll do it regardless of whether the images were exterior, interior, day or night. Really! If you think I’m kidding, I’m not! aAECs continues to amaze and impress professionals every day with its speed and quality. You HAVE to see this!
OK, but what can I view?
You can view whatever you wish as long as it relates to your modeled geometry! Using Revit’s camera views and a lit up area within your Revit model, you can view any modeled geometry.
Am I limited to where I go within my model? You know, like a lot of visualization software, I would have to create a path first. Oh, no path, and no worries mate! If you can create a camera view of a lit up area that interests you, you will see the image converge in the Reflex viewer. Converge, what’s that? As the model begins to materialize in the Reflex viewer, the image begins with a fair amount of graininess. Within seconds, this graininess is reduced dramatically, and as time goes by, the image detail clears further to create a very sharp rendering. How long does it take to clear up? Well, that can vary greatly depending on the geometry, materials, complexity and the lighting within the model. On average, you will see your modeled geometry within a minute of it converging in the Reflex viewer, and a very crisp rendering within an hour. No! I’m used to renderings taking over twenty minutes just to show me if the lights are on in the scene! Not with Reflex! You can put in a special modeled light fixture in your Revit model, pull it up in the Reflex viewer to check its light source, change the light value in Revit, pull it up again, all in a matter of minutes, not hours. Of course, I’d probably change multiple light fixtures at the same time. You know, to optimize my time! Of course, but you wouldn’t have to…
What about all the rendering setup time?
What setup time? Beyond creating your usual modeled systems and components like walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, lighting, furniture and casework, upload your Revit model to aAECs’ Reflex, and don’t sit back! Why, what do you mean? 
The Reflex viewer will display your modeled visualization so fast you won’t have time to go get coffee. Sorry! Ok, so I don’t have long to wait to see my modeled results?
Nope! Though upload times may vary based on your Internet service upload speed, you could have a moment to stretch! Oh, great! Yep, but remember, Reflex realistically illustrates interior and exterior scenes photorealistically without the heavy setup time. So, you won’t have to recreate your renderings time after time, with those times being hours upon hours, just to find the image still needs tweaking. Long gone is the comment “just set it up and let it run through the night”. The technology behind Reflex eliminates the traditionally long wait of rendering time, turning hours into minutes.
Standard 3D rendering techniques require expensive computer hardware, extensive setup time and lots of technical guesswork to produce and perfect virtual 3D scenes. Reflex allows even novice Revit designers to dynamically interact with highly complex 3D data in a manner that is not reliant on the user’s own in-house hardware and software capabilities.
What else can you do with it?
The possibilities are staggering, but to the point, collaborate! Turn on your imagination for a moment. Sure! Ok, now imagine you are a lead designer for an average sized architectural firm. You have created a very cool 
design using Reflex to visualize a major project and need to first, get a sign-off of the design by your client, second, illustrate the design to your engineers and production team, and third, convey to the general contractor and the associated trades what is needed for construction and fabrication. Sometimes, the people involved are pretty good at understanding simple 2D plans and elevations, other times, not so much! So, to save a whole lot of time, you have a meeting or two or three, to illustrate the design using Reflex Render. Before each interested party, you manipulate your Revit camera views to display your model photorealistically until everyone has seen and understands all aspects of your design. When you’re finished, you not only have a bunch of saved renderings for marketing and future design awards, you have the respect of the entire project team for a job well done.
Well, thank you for a great explanation of Reflex Render. Yep, you’re most welcome, and I hope you all use it with great success!
This article comes to you through the collaborative efforts of:
Scott A Ebert is the Revit API CM for AUGI, AEC/O Industry Analyst, and CEO of Advanced AEC Solutions, LLC, in Atlanta, GA, and can be reached at sebert@aaecs.com & http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottaebert
Bonnie K Gorman is the Executive Vice President of Business and Product Development at Advanced AEC Solutions, LLC in Atlanta, GA, and can be reached at bgorman@aaecs.com.
