Learn how water systems work with a virtual walkthrough in a Toronto high-rise

The water systems in the ceilings and walls of one’s home are often taken for granted. But not by water technology startup like reed water, whose mission is to make plumbing easier to manage, maintain and control. Look no further than 8 Eglinton Avenue East in Toronto, home to 623 families and individuals all relying on the same water management system.

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t hinder reed water much, as many of its IoT technologies are adept at collecting and executing data intake and control. But when they needed a way to virtually walk students through a complex water system filled with piping and equipment, they turned to Matterport.

The Chief Marketing Officer of reed water, Avishai Moscovich, describes the adoption of Matterport 3D digital twins further:

How has the COVID pandemic impacted you?

As with many businesses, it took time to adjust and understand how our clients reacted to the pandemic. We initially saw a period of hesitation with client spending, but that ended in late 2020. We moved fast and went to a full online mode of interaction with clients and prospects. For example, a professional association that hosts monthly in-person events that required travel on a regular basis switched to an online mode, allowing us to reach more audiences in other markets with much less effort. We do see that the pandemic has accelerated digital transformations in real estate and property management organizations. This trend favours the Reed (reedwater.io) product of an IoT connectivity software for water management in commercial properties.

What inspired the 3D capture of this space?

After 18 months of global pandemic, everyone has Zoom fatigue and a certain disdain with PowerPoint presentations. When we were asked to build an education course on water management in buildings, delivered virtually, we thought that a 3D scan could be incorporated into the course as a visualization tool for students to see what a 2D drawing looks like in real life.

It was very simple to scan using an iPhone, and they should try and incorporate Matterport 3D digital twins in their work as well as an added value.

We plan to do more 3D scans and eventually (with some development), incorporate real time IoT data from the reed systems into the digital twins.

What are the “must-sees” you want visitors to explore and why?

It is not often that people get to see the behind the scenes mechanical and water systems that run the buildings we live in, let alone know what each component is called and its function. By visiting the space, they can see just that.