Will Archicad be the first true CAD app on the iPad?

Will Archicad be the first true CAD app on the iPad?

There are many rumours going around about which will get to be the first official CAD application on the magical iPad. I discussed in a previous article about the possibility of the tablet device having 3D technology, as many recent Apple patents are steering to such a conclusion. 



UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2011 - In the not so far future, we may see something very interesting from the company, who has been secretly hard at work in developing something, and the multiple rumours and signs are rapidly converging into only one possible outcome : the legendary and anticipated ….BIM Explorer (BIMX) for iOS !
Check out the new blog post >>> 
BIMx : ArchiCAD on iPad ?


Of course there are a few CAD-ish apps on the iPhone - like Mark on Call  or CADTouch  - but these are mostly vector based drawing applications similar to Adobe Illustrator , only less advanced of course. 

“...maybe VectorWorks or ArchiCAD” says Randall Newton as they are both established CAD + BIM applications on the MacOS X platform. Both programs are now under the umbrella of Nemetschek - one of the leading companies for the AEC software sector - having matured to a position where it wouldn’t take as much work to get onto the iPad as say the highly anticipated Autocad for Mac which is still in alpha testing. Autodesk is mainly a Windows based company, though their amazing sketching application Autodesk SketchBook Pro was met with great praise on the Mac and the iPhone|iPod Touch. They’ve taken a good step towards possibly edging their way in with Project Butterfly which makes it easy to view + even edit Autocad drawings via an internet browser, making it technically cross-platform. 

If Graphisoft could bring out a native iPad application or at least an Archicad project viewer like
Virtual Building Explorer, it would become a great tool to show off and describe designs anywhere with a great touch interface easy enough for anyone to understand the design over coffee or on the building site. 

Architect - Tech Writer - 3D Artist - 3D printing enthusiast