saVRee Leverages 3D Models to Create Immersive Training Modules About Engineering Machines
About saVRee
saVRee is an online engineering training company that uses interactive 3D models to educate students and employees about complex machines. saVRee’s main customers are universities, technical schools, and large corporations.
saVRee gives their users access to over 400 engineering-related interactive 3D models. Each model can be viewed from any perspective or sliced in half to reveal a cross-section. Additional educational content, such as video tutorials, podcasts, and quizzes, is also available through saVRee’s website.
The challenge: create effective learning modules about complex machines
Learning how complex engineering machines operate can be difficult when the only educational resources you have are books or photos.
These resources have their limitations; trainees cannot see the machine from every angle, watch it in action, or examine its internal parts.
The solution: leverage the Sketchfab 3D Viewer to create immersive and interactive learning materials
“Without Sketchfab, saVRee would not exist.”
—Jon Russel, Founder, saVRee
To create powerful learning materials, saVRee focused its strategy on 3D visualization. They leveraged:
Interactive 3D models
- saVRee replicated more than 400 engineering machines in 3D, uploaded them to their Sketchfab account, and embedded them to their website using the Sketchfab embed functionality.
- saVRee users are able to interact with 3D models in real-time directly through saVRee’s website, making learning more interactive and engaging compared to traditional text and photos.
The Sketchfab Viewer API
“The additional options made available through the API make Sketchfab the only real choice when trying to build any advanced 3D interface/configurator.”
—Jon Russel, Founder, saVRee
- saVRee leveraged the Sketchfab Viewer API to toggle the visibility of any part of a model so that the users can view cross-sections of machinery (model sliced in half).
- The ability to explore inside each 3D model helps learners understand how a piece of machinery is built and functions.
Annotations and animations
- saVRee added animations to some 3D models to show its users how the machines operate.
- They added 3D annotations to models to highlight important components or link to additional resources, such as videos, tutorials, and quizzes.
Video tutorials
- saVRee also recorded explanatory videos that demonstrate how to explore their 3D model embeds. saVRee went from 0 to 85k YouTube subscribers in 24 months thanks to these videos. See the example below:
The overall result is an effective and fun learning experience that is a massive improvement over the traditional method of learning.
Why Sketchfab?
“We chose Sketchfab’s 3D viewer because it offers the best compromise between performance and realism (in terms of online rendering). The platform is expanding and adding new features such as VR and AR, which also conforms to our goal of continually improving saVRee. Sketchfab is now also considered the de facto site for hosting 3D models, and this opens other possibilities to connect it quickly and easily with foreign APIs and tools; these are important factors for any growing company that wishes to build a business around Sketchfab.”
—Jon Russel, Founder, saVRee
May 2021
