Multi-user collaboration has changed how teams review sites, but being in the same 3D space doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is seeing the same thing. One person may be zoomed in on a pipe rack while another is one floor up checking a clash. Without structure, a shared review can become disjointed.
Video calls have the opposite problem. Everyone watches one person’s screen, which suits presenting but not collaboration, and screen-shared 3D walkthroughs often feel choppy and disorienting.
A more effective approach sits between the two. One person guides the session, while everyone else stays free to explore and rejoin the group when they need to. The latest Cintoo Workspace release is designed to strike this balance.
Cintoo Workspace already brings distributed teams together inside high-fidelity reality capture. Now it also gives them the tools to coordinate what they see, where they go and what they discuss.
Think of it as a typical site walk – someone leads the way, the team follows, and everyone gathers when there’s something important to discuss. Cintoo Workspace brings that same structure to virtual reviews through a guided collaboration approach:
Lead: One person guides the review, determining the focus for the session.
Follow: Participants opt in to be guided by the Leader - they receive Gather requests and can jump to any team member's position at any time, while staying free to explore.
Gather: When everyone needs to focus on the same thing, the Leader can bring all participants together at a specific location.
Effective spatial collaboration isn’t simply about moving together but having situational awareness - knowing where you are, who you’re with and what everyone else is looking at.
That’s why Cintoo Workspace provides clear visual cues. Participant and role indicators show at a glance who’s leading the session and who’s following so there’s no doubt about who’s steering. Inside the digital twin, avatars, nametags and spatial markers make every team member visible in context.
For a wider view, the radar shows where everyone is across the site. Participants who have gone off to explore on their own can see where the Leader is and find their way back to the group, while the Leader can keep track of the whole team without interrupting anyone.
The Leader sets the project for everyone, and Participants who accept a Gather get the Leader's workzones and resources, so when the conversation turns to a specific area, issue or document, the whole team is referring to the same information.
This results in a review where people can move freely without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Bringing the team to the same spot is beneficial but bringing them together around the right information is where the real value lies.
Once the team is together, Cintoo Workspace lets them work directly with the project information that matters. Shared project resources mean everyone is looking at the same data, in the same place, at the same time. Annotations let team members flag points of interest and leave comments right where they apply, so feedback stays tied to real-world context instead of getting lost in emails or meeting notes.
Measurements can be taken and discussed in situ, turning questions like “will this fit?” or “how much clearance do we have?” into answers the whole team can see. When it’s time to work through issues, the Leader can gather the group at each one and open it for everyone and decisions can be made there and then.
This transforms the digital twin from something the team simply looks at into a place where the team gets work done.
A guided review, from start to finishHere’s how a typical session could go. A project manager is reviewing the latest scan of a plant upgrade with an engineer, a contractor and the client, all joining from different locations. |
Guiding a review is a skill and the right tools make this easier. Cintoo Workspace gives the Leader everything they need to run a focused session without getting in anyone’s way.
Gather lets the Leader bring the team together the moment something needs everyone’s attention, with no more “can you see what I’m seeing?”. Shared context and resource management means the Leader can make sure the whole group is working from the right project information at the right time.
Session controls, including mute-all, help keep discussions on track when a larger group is involved. And when someone else is better placed to lead part of the review, such as a specialist explaining their area of expertise, they can request control or the Leader can assign controls so the session carries on smoothly.
Not everyone has a VR headset on their desk, which is why the desktop experience is a core focus of Cintoo Workspace. Team members can join from the device that suits them best, whether that’s a VR headset or their usual computer. They can even join from an immersive room.
However they join, everyone is part of the same session, seeing the same Leader, the same markers and the same project information. This makes guided collaboration practical for entire project teams, not just those with specialist hardware.
What this means for real-world workflowsThe same approach works across a wide range of everyday tasks, such as: |
Cintoo Workspace doesn’t just let teams meet inside reality capture, but it makes it easier to work together once they’re there.
The future of reality capture isn’t simply about giving everyone access to the same data. It’s about giving teams a shared spatial environment where they can explore, discuss, measure and make decisions together, with one person guiding the way and everyone free to look closer.
We'll be showcasing the latest release at R-CON in Boise on October 12-15 and running a webinar on October 20. We'll demonstrate how simple it is to connect to your reality capture data and invite colleagues, and show how teams are accelerating project reviews, minimizing site visits, and making faster decisions.
Or, if you're ready to start collaborating with your team in Cintoo Workspace, complete the form below and we’ll send you everything you need to get up and running!