In ArcGIS Reality Studio 2026.1, you can now import external data into your project, bringing new flexibility to how you validate, edit, and collaborate.
By adding external data (such as meshes, rasters, or Gaussian splats) you can enrich your spatial context, improve editing precision, and enable teams to work in parallel on the same project. Existing datasets (whether from previous Reality Studio projects or other authoritative sources) become an active part of your workflow.
The result is a more scalable approach to QA, where collaboration, context, and editing all come together, even if you work in fully disconnected environments.
How can I benefit from adding external data?
External Data allows you to bring additional datasets directly into your project from the Home tab, making them immediately available for QA, geometries drawing, and editing.
- Add meshes, raster, or Gaussian splats
You can seamlessly integrate external datasets, including outputs from previous Reality Studio projects or other sources, into your project, to use them as references. - Use raster as imagery or elevation data
Raster data is automatically categorized as Imagery or Elevation.
When added as elevation, it can be used as the active elevation source while drawing 3D geometries, ensuring accurate vertical positioning.
For example, external imagery and elevation raster can be used together as support for digitizing water body geometries, in preparation for the next reconstruction job.
Use high-fidelity 3D context for editing
Meshes and Gaussian splats provide rich 3D representations of reality.
These are not just visual references, you can snap directly to them when drawing correction geometries, improving precision.
How can I work in parallel across multiple contributors?
Beyond improving individual workflows, these capabilities unlock QA in parallel.
With shared reference context in place, and the new functionality to merge geometries, teams can work simultaneously on the same project with ease.
The workflow looks like:
- Each contributor adds the product to be inspected in their independent Reality Studio instance. This can be repeated for each valid licensed workstation.
- Multiple contributors independently create corrections using the same reference context.
- External datasets (meshes, raster, splats) ensure consistent visual alignment across users.
- Edits can be combined into a single geometry dataset during import.
To merge geometries, simply select all of them while importing into your main project. Reality Studio will automatically merge them and create a single geometry, that you can apply to improve the reconstruction results.
In practice, teams can divide QA by:
- Geographic areas
- Data types (imagery, elevation, mesh validation)
- Review objectives (accuracy, completeness, artifacts)
All without duplicating projects or losing alignment.
This transforms QA into a scalable, parallel process, while still maintaining a single source of truth for reconstruction improvements.
Can this be used in offline environments?
Yes. This is a key advantage.
For users operating in secure, disconnected, or bandwidth-constrained environments, accessing contextual data is often a challenge.
Adding External Data changes that.
- You can load rich reference datasets locally
- Maintain full QA and editing capability without connectivity
- Work confidently with accurate 3D context and elevation sources
This ensures that even in restricted environments, teams do not compromise on quality or workflow efficiency.
Who benefits most?
Not every team faces the same constraints, but for those working at scale, under tight timelines, or within secure environments, the impact of External Data is immediate and measurable.
- Enterprise teams
Distributed teams with multiple licenses can collaborate efficiently without stepping on each other’s work. - Service providers
Large-scale production pipelines benefit from parallel QA, accelerating delivery while maintaining quality. - Government and defense organizations
Operating in secure or offline environments, where access to contextual data is limited but the need for accuracy and consistency still remains.
Across these use cases, External Data removes friction from QA workflows, consolidating results and more reliable outputs without compromising control or consistency.
Key takeaways
With External Data, Reality Studio enables QA to evolve from a sequential task into a parallel, team-based workflow. A fundamentally better way to perform QA:
- Multiple contributors working in parallel
- Shared, high-quality reference data, ensuring consistency
- Precise editing with snapping to 3D representations
- Structured consolidation of feedback
- Controlled updates through reprocessing
And importantly:
All of this works both in connected and offline environments.
The result is faster QA cycles, higher confidence in outputs, and a workflow that scales with your team.
What else is new in 2026.1?
There are many more updates to make processing, QA, and collaboration even better, giving you the tools to manage complex projects with confidence.
You can see an overview of all features in ArcGIS Reality Studio 2026.1 here.
Ready to Upgrade?
If you’re still on an earlier version, now is the perfect time to update to ArcGIS Reality Studio 2026.1.
Stay connected
To learn more about Reality Studio, you can visit our product page, check the resources, or the technical documentation.
If you have any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you! Visit the Esri Community page and let us know what you think.
If you’re interested in any of our Reality solutions, please check out our webpage and contact us for more information.
