AURA Engine is a real-time 3D platform that fuses GIS, BIM, and AI to create living digital twins of cities and sites. It lets users query spatial data in plain language, run zoning checks, and visualize photorealistic scenarios at 60 fps on city-scale models. The platform runs on Unreal Engine and supports dual-globe switching between photoreal and analytical data views.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Urban planners, architects, and developers often work with fragmented data sources—GIS layers, BIM models, and geospatial files—that are difficult to combine and interpret. Traditional map viewers are static and cannot simulate real-world conditions or answer complex spatial questions, forcing teams to rely on manual analysis and disconnected tools that slow down decision-making.
Solution
AURA Engine provides a real-time 3D environment that integrates GIS, BIM, and AI into a single live world. Users can ask questions in plain language, and the engine retrieves relevant data, performs spatial analysis, and returns answers directly on the map. The platform supports photorealistic rendering powered by Unreal Engine, enabling users to test designs against real sun angles, terrain, and urban data. It also includes a dual-globe system that lets users switch between photoreal 3D views and analytical data maps without leaving the scene. AURA ingests multiple file formats, standardizes them into one schema, and builds a navigable 3D web of relationships across documents, data, and locations. The engine runs at 60 fps on city-scale models and supports collaborative sharing across devices.
Target Audience
Primary users are urban planners, architects, real estate developers, and government agencies that need to analyze land use, zoning, environmental conditions, and infrastructure at city scale.
Features
- Plain-language query interface that interprets user intent and returns map-based answers
- Real-time zoning analysis that weighs designs against local rules and suggests compliant changes
- AI-driven interpretation of heat, slope, and solar imagery to generate site-specific insights
- Dual-globe system for seamless switching between photoreal 3D and analytical data map views
- Unreal Engine 5 material system for high-fidelity lighting, surfaces, and materials
- Multi-format ingestion pipeline supporting GIS layers, shapefiles, CSV, JSON, and BIM models
- Node-based interoperability with five processing stages and four parallel lanes for data fusion
- 1-click parcel clipping and live digital twin runtime for board-ready visualizations
- Cross-device workspaces that sync progress across studio and field environments