Frequently asked questions

For the public browser demo, you need a current browser with suitable 3D graphics support. Install CONNECT locally for live PLC signals (beta). realvirtual for Unity requires a supported Unity Editor and a Unity licence valid for your use case, obtained separately from Unity.

realvirtual for Unity 6.3 targets Unity 6000.3 LTS. Use a supported version and review the release notes and your project before updating.

Usually yes, but only the current LTS release is tested and guaranteed. However, if there is no urgent reason for a higher version, we recommend using the corresponding LTS version.

For the browser: any current browser on desktop, tablet or phone – nothing to install, and the 3D rendering runs on the device itself, so there is no GPU farm and no streaming infrastructure. For engineering in the Unity Editor we recommend a PC with at least 16GB of RAM, 6 or more cores, and a current gaming graphics card.

The required Unity plan depends on your use case and the financial measures defined in Unity’s terms. Industrial use above US$1 million requires Unity Industry; for services, your client’s finances may be relevant. Check Unity’s current licence terms. The CAD importer alone does not determine the required plan. The browser application does not require a Unity licence.

Everyone who works with the Unity Editor – i.e., develops digital twins in it – also needs a realvirtual for Unity license. In the browser, viewing is always free; a realvirtual Commercial seat is needed per developer while you actively develop. realvirtual Commercial includes the realvirtual for Unity Starter and Professional plugins. Obtain the Unity Editor licence separately from Unity. Professional is also available on its own; the browser application does not require Unity.

A Unity build you compile with realvirtual for Unity can be shared freely and without licence costs – as a compiled build, not as an editable project. For the browser platform the rule is different: exactly one deployment fee applies per delivery (from €300 one-time), except for watermarked showroom and demo deployments.

Starter is free; realvirtual for Unity Professional is €1,250 net, one-time and perpetual. There is an annual, significantly reduced upgrade package for existing customers. The browser platform is licensed differently: realvirtual Commercial is €1,920 per developer per year, but with no subscription lock-in – after 12 paid months the licence becomes perpetual for the last version received, and updates come only with an active licence. realvirtual Commercial includes the realvirtual for Unity Starter and Professional plugins. Obtain the Unity Editor licence separately from Unity. Professional is also available on its own; the browser application does not require Unity.

realvirtual for Unity: yes, but only on one computer at a time, not on several simultaneously. realvirtual Commercial in the browser is licensed per developer, not per machine – the same person may work on as many machines as they like. Viewing what you delivered never needs a licence at all.

Both support model building, simulation and virtual commissioning and use GLB as a shared exchange format. In the browser, you work with the editor and CAD import; layout planning, DES and PLC connections through CONNECT are in beta. Unity offers C# development, PhysX, the asset ecosystem and standalone builds. Commercial includes the Starter and Professional plugins; obtain the Unity Editor licence separately. Professional is also available on its own.

realvirtual builds on proven engines – Unity for the engineering side, Three.js in the browser – instead of developing everything from scratch. Direct sales via the internet reduce costs.

Starter is free – ideal for getting started and for demos. It ships with the Siemens S7 TCP/IP and SIMIT Shared Memory interfaces and igus Rebel. Missing in Starter are CADLink and all other PLC and robot interfaces.

No, both are included in Professional. These are products for customers who only need individual features.

It provides ready-made parametric simulation components for material flow simulation – ideal for system integrators and material handling technology.

Yes, two – and the browser one needs nothing at all: open the live demo at web.realvirtual.io/demo, no installation, no account. For the Unity route, realvirtual for Unity Starter is free on the Unity Asset Store and includes a complete demo scene with drives, sensors, transport, and a Siemens S7 interface. Professional has no time-limited trial – instead there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

For the browser platform you can order realvirtual Commercial online at published prices, or request a quote. realvirtual for Unity Professional is available directly from realvirtual GmbH with a quote and bank transfer, or via the Unity Asset Store with a credit card. realvirtual Commercial includes the realvirtual for Unity Starter and Professional plugins. Obtain the Unity Editor licence separately from Unity. Professional is also available on its own; the browser application does not require Unity.

Options: start free in the browser with realvirtual, download realvirtual for Unity Starter free from the Unity Asset Store and learn on your own, attend training sessions, or "training on the job" – individual support via Teams.

Yes. We train your team in the browser or Unity, build an initial digital twin with you in a pilot project and help you use AI agents. We also develop interfaces and additional features on request. See the Services page for details.

realvirtual is the browser platform for industrial digital twins: CAD import and editor, simulation, layout planning and DES (beta), virtual commissioning through CONNECT (beta), 3D HMI and machine documentation. The Community core uses AGPL-3.0; the editor, CAD import and additional modules are part of Commercial. The public demo lets you try features from both editions.

No. There are three ways in. Import CAD directly in the browser: STEP, JT, USD, FBX or an asset from the Unity Asset Manager – converted locally on your own machine, without an upload (part of the commercial license). Export an enriched GLB from realvirtual for Unity Professional with all metadata and signal bindings. Or load any standard GLB/glTF file, for example from Blender. Signal bindings come from the open rv_extras schema, custom behavior from TypeScript plugins – no Unity license required.

Both let you build and simulate digital twins and perform virtual commissioning. realvirtual runs in the browser and adds layout planning and DES (beta), 3D HMI and machine documentation. Controller connections use CONNECT (beta). realvirtual for Unity Professional uses the Unity Editor with C#, PhysX and native controller interfaces. Models can be exchanged as GLB in both directions.

Community is free under AGPL-3.0, subject to its source-code and attribution obligations. Commercial includes commercial modules and support for €1,920 net per developer per year, plus the applicable deployment fee. The Starter and Professional Unity plugins are included; the Unity Editor licence is separate. See the edition comparison, pricing page and licence terms for features, deployment models and duration.

realvirtual itself speaks one protocol: rv WebSocket Realtime v2 – openly documented, bidirectional, real-time. Everything else goes through realvirtual CONNECT, the native gateway with drivers for Siemens S7, Beckhoff TwinCAT ADS, OPC UA, MQTT, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, Bosch Rexroth ctrlX, Keba, Festo AX, FANUC, Denso, ABB RobotStudio and SIMIT – including signal history in InfluxDB. Any third-party system that speaks the open WebSocket protocol can feed the scene directly.

Yes. realvirtual is a standard Vite production build – a static file server is sufficient for serving the application. For live PLC connectivity, add realvirtual CONNECT: the native gateway streams signals into the browser and includes signal history in InfluxDB. Deploy on your own infrastructure with full control – no cloud dependency, no login required.

Yes, through WebXR on supported devices and browsers. Available VR and AR features depend on the hardware and browser combination. The browser application does not require a separate app-store build.

The EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 applies in full from 20 January 2027 and explicitly allows digital instructions, including instructions embedded in the machine software – provided they can be printed, downloaded and stored offline and stay available for at least ten years. realvirtual is ready: link PDFs, technical drawings, and spare part lists directly to 3D components and failure messages. Version control via Gitea ensures traceability and 10+ year availability. Technicians open a link, click on a component, and see the relevant documentation in 3D context.

Nothing beyond the development work: watermarked showroom and demo deployments carry no deployment fee – even self-hosted on your own infrastructure and publicly reachable, with your models staying proprietary under the Commercial license. Three conditions: the realvirtual watermark stays visible, the content is purely presentational (no live connection to real machines), and no money changes hands – no paid access, the showroom is not part of a paid delivery scope, and no commercial offering is built on it. Only the developer license (€1,920/year) is needed during active development. As soon as one of these three conditions falls away, a deployment fee applies: for a public application under your own brand, or with paid access for end users, that is €4,900 per year. Keeping the watermark is not enough on its own once end users pay.

Yes. The Community core may be used commercially under AGPL-3.0, including the applicable source-code obligations and visible attribution. Commercial provides use without AGPL copyleft obligations, plus additional modules and support. The full licence terms apply.

Embedding the Community core is free under AGPL-3.0 when you meet its terms. For proprietary applications, Commercial costs €1,920 net per developer per year plus the applicable deployment fee. A public internet app adds €4,900 per year. Purely presentational, free showrooms with visible attribution and no live machine data may qualify for a deployment-fee exemption; see the pricing page and licence terms.

No. Commercial is a single tier: the full engine with all modules as code in your own deployment, priced per developer plus exactly one deployment fee. There is no module-based pricing, no per-user pricing and no asset-only package. The example scenes that ship with it, such as the campus demo and the logistics models with conveyors, transfers and turntables, are part of the delivery and not a separate asset pack. The lever for a lighter entry is the deployment situation (watermark visible, free of charge, no live data), not a smaller feature subset.

A native gateway shipped as a self-contained application for Windows and Linux: it speaks Siemens S7, Beckhoff TwinCAT ADS, OPC UA, MQTT, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, Bosch ctrlX and Keba on both platforms – plus Festo AX, FANUC, Denso, ABB RobotStudio and SIMIT on Windows – and streams the signals live into realvirtual in the browser. The complete realvirtual browser platform is embedded, demo scene included – plus signal mirroring, signal history in InfluxDB and the AI diagnosis backend.

Free for up to 20 signals (community registration, node-locked). Unlimited signals: Annual €1,250/year net or Lifetime €3,900 net one-time. For production use with realvirtual, CONNECT is already bundled: the internal site fee includes the CONNECT runtime, and machine-companion delivery with a live 3D HMI is €600 one-time per machine (platform + CONNECT, perpetual). Full details on the CONNECT product page.

Neither. Internet is only needed for activation and deactivation – at runtime CONNECT validates its license purely locally, even air-gapped; offline activation is available for networks without internet. And Unity is not required: CONNECT is the standalone and browser leg of the platform – inside Unity, the realvirtual interfaces talk to controllers directly.