Bentley adds reality-modeling capabilities to Cesium software

Bentley Systems Inc., reported Oct. 15 that reality-modeling services are available for software from its Cesium subsidiary to advance its open platform for built and natural environments. It also launched geospatial capabilities for project delivery and asset performance, as well as an immersive-engagement application for Cesium-based infrastructure teams and stakeholders. These reality-modeling capabilities in Cesium’s ion software will be generally available before the end of 2025.

Since acquiring Cesium more than a year ago, Bentley has integrated technologies from both companies to run its own products and help developers build applications that visualize infrastructure data in real time and in full geospatial context.

“Our vision for infrastructure engineering is built on openness,” says Patrick Cozzi, chief platform officer at Bentley. “By integrating iTwin and Cesium’s capabilities, we’re creating an open platform for the built and natural environment that provides the necessary data for infrastructure professionals to design, build and operate in a real-world context.”

More specifically, Bentley has added reality-modeling services from its iTwin Capture software to Cesium’s ion. This creates an automated pipeline from data capture through geospatial visualization. iTwin Capture creates engineering-grade, reality models from imagery, and applies AI-powered feature detection, while ion allows developers to create and host content in the cloud to power 3D geospatial applications.

With these reality-modeling capabilities, Cesium ion can create detailed 3D visualizations, such as reality meshes, point clouds and Gaussian splats, directly from imagery, annotated by AI, and ready to stream in open-standards applications. Creating an accurate, engineering-grade digital model of existing built and natural environments, and offering it in a 3D geospatial context lets users make better-informed decisions.

"Being able to generate photogrammetry, point clouds and Gaussian splats as 3D tiles from drone imagery, stream them seamlessly to the web, and analyze the point clouds is a major milestone,” said Osarodion Victory Igbinobaro, co-founder and CEO of Aero AI, a Cesium user. “This release brings end-to-end 3D reality modeling into one accessible, high-performance pipeline.”

Geospatial context and digital-twin engagement

In addition, Cesium’s capabilities are giving geospatial context to Bentley’s open applications and infrastructure cloud products. For example, MicroStation 2025, the latest release of Bentley’s CAD software for infrastructure design, is supporting 3D tiles via Cesium. Engineers can now seamlessly integrate any 3D tiles content, including Google-based photorealistic 3D tiles and their high-fidelity reality data, directly into their design projects. This reduces the need to manually model existing conditions, accelerating project setup, and allowing teams to focus on designing solutions. These capabilities are also coming to Bentley’s open applications built on MicroStation for software designing roads, railways and bridges.

Cesium is also powering geospatial experiences in Bentley’s Infrastructure Cloud Connect unified environment that connects data and people across infrastructure lifecycles. With this geospatial context, also featuring Google Photorealistic 3D tiles, users can navigate more intuitively across and within their projects and assets available in Bentley’s Infrastructure Cloud.

Bentley also debuted iTwin Engage software that lets users engage with digital twins of existing and future assets. iTwin Engage will also have limited availability by the end of 2025.

Engineers often need to create immersive, photorealistic renderings of their designs, which is usually slow and inefficient, requiring specialized skills, and resulting in static visuals that quickly become outdated as design models evolve. With iTwin Engage, powered by Cesium and game engine technology, anyone can build impactful, narrative-driven content that brings projects and assets to life. Experiences are automatically generated, always current thanks to a live connection to the digital twin, and interactive—enabling not only design reviews, but also digital rehearsals for construction and remote inspections.

“The opportunity to present and communicate project plans with iTwin Engage, in such an appealing manner, is fantastic,” adds Simon Beards, principal planner at Laing O’Rourke, which participated in an early-access program. “The greater a team’s involvement in the plan, the more likely its chances of success because it supports a more collaborative way of engineering improvements.”