Aeion Spatial vs Unity & Unreal Engine

Unity and Unreal require native app distribution.

On Meta Quest: You must publish to the Meta Quest Store or sideload an APK. This means:

• Meta Quest Store: Requires Facebook/Meta approval, content policy compliance, store fee (30%), and a privacy policy audited by Meta's team. Review times: 2-6 weeks.
• Sideloading: Requires enabling Developer Mode, uploading an APK, trusting the developer certificate. Users see a scary "Unknown Sources" warning.
• Apple Vision Pro: Requires an Xcode build and App Store submission. WebXR support is minimal — you're building a native visionOS app.

Aeion Spatial's approach: WebXR runs in the browser. A user opens a URL and enters VR/AR instantly. No app store, no approval, no sideloading warning.

```html <!-- Share a link. User opens it in Meta Browser on Quest. They're in VR. --> https://yourtenant.aeionos.com/spatial/meeting/q2-product-review

<!-- Or scan a QR code --> ```

The same URL works on:

• Meta Quest 2/3/Pro (via Meta Browser)
• HTC Vive Focus (via Vive Browser)
• Apple Vision Pro (via Safari)
• Any Android phone (via Chrome AR mode)
• Desktop browser (magic window / standard 3D view)

One URL. All devices. Zero friction.

Unity / Unreal: 6-18 Months

Phase 1 — Engine Setup (1-3 months)

• Install Unity Hub or Epic Launcher
• Configure build pipeline (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, WebGL)
• Set up version control (PlasticSCM, Perforce)
• Configure shader compilation pipeline
• Establish CI/CD for automated builds

Phase 2 — Core Features (3-8 months)

• Import 3D assets (models, textures, animations)
• Build scene graph and object management system
• Implement rendering pipeline (lighting, shadows, post-processing)
• Integrate physics engine
• Build character controller and animation system
• Implement VR input handling (Quest, SteamVR, OpenXR)
• Build networking layer for multiplayer

Phase 3 — Business Logic (2-4 months)

• Integrate product/inventory data API
• Build custom WebSocket server for real-time collaboration
• Implement XR meeting features (avatars, spatial audio)
• Build admin CMS for scene management
• Implement embeddable viewer with DRM

Phase 4 — Polish & Distribution (2-4 months)

• Performance optimization (draw calls, LODs, texture streaming)
• App store submissions (2-6 week review each)
• Privacy policy and compliance
• Bug fixes from production

Total: 6-18 months, 3-8 developers, $200K-$1M+ in engineering costs.

Aeion Spatial: 1 Day to 1 Week

Day 1 — Create scene (5 minutes)

• Open Spatial Editor
• Create a new scene
• Add objects or AI-generate them

Day 1 — Configure and publish (30 minutes)

• Set permissions
• Create embed config
• Paste iframe into your Commerce product page

Day 1 — VR meeting (1 hour)

• Create a VR meeting room
• Invite participants
• They're in VR from a link

Week 1 — Production integration

• Commerce product viewer, IoT digital twin, BIM import, character creator

Total: 1 week, 1 web developer, no additional cost (included in platform).

Unity and Unreal have no native AI 3D generation.

To get equivalent capability in Unity:

1. Research the market: Convai, Inworld AI, Replica Studios, Polyhive, Kaedim, Masterpiece X...
2. Evaluate each plugin's API, pricing, and limitations
3. Integrate the chosen plugin (typically REST API)
4. Handle provider failures, retry logic, format conversion
5. Manage multiple API keys and billing accounts
6. Update integrations when plugins update their API

In Aeion Spatial, AI generation is a first-class feature:

``` One request — Spatial dispatches to the best provider: jobType: "text_to_3d" prompt: "A photorealistic leather office chair with chrome base" resolution: "2048" outputFormat: "glb"

// → Dispatched to Luma AI (best for photorealistic) // → Output: glb linked to spatial asset record ```

Behind the scenes, Spatial's AI generation pipeline selects the right provider:

• Photorealistic quality → Luma AI (Neural Radiance Fields)
• Clean topology → Tripo3D (production-ready, no manual cleanup)
• Speed + PBR textures → Meshy (fast, up to 4096×4096)
• Texture sets only → Stability AI (SD-based, 5-30 seconds)

No plugin marketplace. No multiple API keys. No format conversion scripts.

In Unity/Unreal, real-time collaboration requires building from scratch.

Option 1: Build your own server

• Design a WebSocket protocol for scene state
• Implement conflict resolution for concurrent edits
• Handle reconnection and offline sync
• Scale the server for concurrent users
• Cost: $50K-$200K + $2K/month server costs

Option 2: Third-party service (Photon, PICO, Mirror, Netcode for GameObjects)

• Photon Realtime: ~$0.05/CCU + $250/month base
• PICO: Requires PICO hardware ecosystem
• Mirror: Open source, but no hosted solution — you manage the server
• Netcode for GameObjects: Unity-only, still requires server infrastructure

In Aeion Spatial, collaboration is built in:

Aeion's real-time collaboration engine is powered by Yjs CRDT:

• Sub-millisecond sync — CRDT operations merge deterministically, no server arbitration needed
• Offline-capable — changes sync when reconnected
• No custom server — Yjs providers run on Redis pub/sub or WebRTC
• Undo/redo replays — your undo undoes your changes, not collaborators'
• Object locking — prevents simultaneous edits to the same node
• Presence — cursor positions, selections, focus state shared in real time

Creating a collaboration session is a single call: // → Other editors see your cursor, selections, and edits instantly // → No server code to write, no infrastructure to manage

Neither Unity nor Unreal natively supports BIM formats.

Unity: FBX is the only real import path. Architectural BIM (IFC from Revit, ArchiCAD, or Vectorworks) must be exported to FBX first — which strips all semantic data (room boundaries, wall layers, MEP systems, material properties). You lose the "intelligence" of the BIM model.

Unreal: Datasmith provides better import support (Revit, SketchUp, DWG via AutoCAD), but the workflow is:

1. Export from BIM tool to Datasmith format
2. Import into Unreal
3. Rebuild material assignments
4. Rebuild lighting
5. Rebuild collision geometry
6. Test LODs and draw calls

Aeion Spatial's BIM importer natively parses:

• IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) — the universal BIM exchange format
• Revit (.rvt) — Autodesk Revit native format, including MEP data
• DWG — AutoCAD drawings, extruded to 3D with correct wall heights

Semantic data is preserved:

• Space/room boundaries → digital twin zones
• MEP systems → visualized in 3D
• Material properties → PBR material assignments
• BIM metadata → accessible as node properties

An architectural model from Revit opens in Aeion Spatial with full digital twin capability — IoT sensors bind directly to BIM spaces. In Unity, you'd spend 3 months rebuilding the intelligence that was already in the BIM file.

Unity and Unreal are standalone engines. They don't belong to a platform.

Building a 3D product viewer in Unity:

1. Build the viewer as a standalone application
2. Deploy as a native app (App Store, Google Play) or WebGL (limited)
3. Expose a REST API for product/inventory data
4. Write custom sync code whenever product data changes
5. Maintain two codebases (viewer + admin CMS)

Building a 3D product viewer in Aeion Spatial:

1. Create a scene in the Spatial Editor
2. Link it to a Commerce product record (via cross-module data binding)
3. Embed on the product page

The scene is automatically updated when:

• Product inventory changes (→ shows "In Stock" or "Low Stock")
• Price changes (→ updates in the 3D overlay)
• Variants change (→ camera focuses on the relevant option)
• The product goes on sale (→ promotional banner in scene)

No custom API. No sync code. The Commerce module's data bindings handle it.

The same applies to every module: CRM avatars, Smart Spaces IoT sensors, Production shot planning, Events venue layouts, Fleet vehicle models — each module's data connects to Spatial via the cross-module data binding registry, not custom integration code.