At Lands End

Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler prototypes Integration of Building Energy Analysis with Green Building Studio

Check out this awesome prototype of selecting a building in AIM and displaying its Energy Utilization Intensity, Annual Energy Cost, and Annual Carbon Emissions using Autodesk Green Building Studio in concert wit AIM.

More on the Building Performance Analysis blog!

New AIM How-to Videos Posted to the YouTube Infrastructure Channel

The Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler ecosystem gets more exciting everyday!  As we continue to release hot, new features, such as the storyboard, found in AIM 2013 R2, you will also see a steady stream of great how-to videos that accompany new features.  In the series below, Andrew Vernon, a principal content developer and AIM expert, takes you through the nuts and bolts of using the storyboard feature to create content rich videos and scenarios.  Enjoy! 

How to flatten terrain coverage easily in AIM?

Howdy folks,

today I would like to talk about a nice little feature which enables you to flatten out terrain patches. Recently a couple of users humbled across this section and therefore I’d like to post it today.

So why would you flatten a coverage?

You can draw a coverage representing a green space or a beach. These patches will eventually be part of the terrain and texturing it. This means that the green spaces or beaches or whatever you draw will follow the terrain.

But there are other use cases where you need to have a coverage which is flat. Think of parking areas or football fields. You might also use a coverage not only for texturing the terrain rather than flatten the terrain. Think of water areas (in case the terrain underneath is grumpy) or leveling a proposed site before you place a building or some structure on it for planning purposes.

In order to achieve to flatten a coverage you have two choices:

1. Draw or import a coverage in AIM. Zoom into it and select one of the vertexes. Use the little
    blue cylinder and move one vertex up/down just a little. This will flatten the coverage at an average     height of all vertexes.

2. I must be said that this workflow is a bit tricky and therefore I want to provide a better workflow based     on a little script.

• Unzip the Download FlattenSelectionSet.js
• Open the model in AIM
• Select the feature(s) you want to flatten
• Show the JS window (ribbon -> Manage -> Create and run Scripts)
• Press “load” in the scripting window (top left) and select the unzip JS script
• Press “Start script” in the scripting window (center left)

 

• NOTE: the coverage will be flattened to the height of the lowest vertex and is set in the 4th row
  of the script: geom.To3d(bbox.Min.Z). In order to specify s custom height like 145 m for example oyu need to change it to geom.To3d(145.0).

Hope it helps and feedback is welcome.

Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2 & Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler Web & Mobile Released!

We are (VERY) excited to announce the official release of Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2 & Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler Web & Mobile Released.  These releases bring many enhancements and new ways to view AIM models for engineers, designers and planners as well as stakeholders. 

Key Enhancements and Features:

Autodesk® Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2 software delivers several enhancements to our Autodesk® Infrastructure Modeler 2013 desktop software and our Autodesk® 360 Infrastructure Modeler cloud service. With Autodesk® Infrastructure Modeler 2013 R2, Autodesk® Subscription customers will gain new tools designed to help better communicate their designs and produce high quality, low-touch design presentations in addition to new publishing options.

• Storytelling Tools – Enables users to better convey the details of their designs to non-technical audiences with the ability to create camera paths, fly-through animations, and videos that include titles, captions, points of interest and storyboards.
• Rendering More Realistic Models – Helps users produce higher quality renderings with new photorealism tools like progressive ray trace, more realistic sun/sky models, and high and low definition range output.
• Open Standards Support – Enables user to access CityGML, the standard many municipal bureaus in Europe use to store city data. CityGML data may contain a whole city’s structure (including detailed 3D models), roads, pipes, and textures in different levels of detail. The inclusion of CityGML can greatly improve our user’s ability to incorporate detailed data into their designs that was previously unavailable.
• Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler for Mobile* – Now, infrastructure professionals can share their models as well as specific scenarios in a more secure cloud environment - via Autodesk® BIM 360™ cloud-based services- with public stakeholders who want the ease and convenience of using an iPad® mobile digital device. Available via the Apple iTunes app store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/autodesk-360-infrastructure/id557267648?ls=1&mt=8
• Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler for Web* – The new Web application enables interested parties who are not Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2013 users to view models and specific scenarios via a link using their Web browser, giving broader access to project proposals and more. To download the web plug-in, please go here: http://autodesk.com/aim360webdl.  You can also view a list of published scenarios via the Autodesk 360 Infrastructure Modeler Web portal: https://aim360.autodesk.com/portal/

 Here's something to wet your whistle...

 

Roadstudy made by Multiconsult

 Hello out there,

towards the weekend I want to share an awesome road study video creaed by Philip Hon from Multiconsult in Oslo. This video shows an assignment of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen).
Multiconsult has evaluated 17 alternatives plans for a new highway in the city of Fet

Rigth now we are working on various story telling tools in AIM and we are close to achieve those results :-), but let's have a look and an ear on this study brought to you by Infrastructure Modeler (AIM), Civil 3D, 3Ds Max and else.

Enjoy and think of your next planing and how AIM can fit into this game.

 

Have a great weekend!

Using 123d Catch to Capture 3D Models for use in Infrastructure Modeler

Heve you ever noticed that many of the city models generated from publically available data are often missing some of the cultural or finer detail from the real world scene, such as statues, fountains, etc.?  While these finer elements can easily be captured and modeled using production reality capture systems, like LiDAR, I have found that sometimes I don't need all of that, I really just want to stick the single statue of Yoda, from the Lucas Films' headquarters, on my front lawn and call it a day. 

Well, now anyone can do this using a standard camera via Autodesk 123d Catch.  123d Catch is a free application that allows you to capture multiple photos of just about any subject which are then sent to the cloud and and turned into a 3D digital object.  This provides a really interesting solution for capturing some of that final detail needed for a city model to make it look complete. 

So, here's how I captured Yoda (or as best I could anyway) and stuck him on my front lawn...

1.  I downloaded 123d Catch and watched all of the tutorial videos.  These are a must as you'll soon see (my Yoda model is...well...kind of off).
2. I took about 40 photos of the Yoda statue and imported them into 132d Catch
   
3. After sending the photos to the Cloud via 123d Catch, I did my best to match some of the unmatched points in the scenes.  For best results hold the left mouse button down to zoom in on points to be matched.  I didn't do this and my model suffered in the end.
4. After resending the model to the Cloud again, 123d catch finally had a relatively decent(ish) model of Yoda...at least one good enough to export.
   
5. Exporting to an FBX via the File menu is easy
   
   
6. Finally, I manually placed my Yoda(ish) model in my AIM model
   

And that's it!  With a decent camera and some good photos, anyone should be able to enhance AIM models with 3D captures.

 

Colorize Building models in a more realistic way using aerial images

Today I want to show you how to colorize your model instead of using the predefined 3D façade elements. Thanks to Manuel, who came up with this.

So why would you want to do this?

As you can see in this infrastructure example your focus lays upon the civil design of the new road segment. The surrounding models aren’t too relevant in a high level of detail for this purpose, although you might want to give them a realistic look by choosing common colors from within this area.

So here is how your workflow will look like:

• Open your desired model in Google maps or Bing maps. Make sure you turn on the bird eye perspective, so you can see the facades.
• Create a snapshot of an area which you think the facades are representative for the model.
• Download GIMP (or choose another tool to do the following)
• Open the screenshot in GIMP
• Select “Window” in the menu and go to “Dockable dialogs” to select “Palettes” (see picture)
• Go and create two new palettes as shown in the picture. One for the facades and one for the roofs if needed.

          

• Now you will need to open the “toolbox” and select the “color pipette”
• In the settings of the pipette you might check the radius of the scanning size. NOTE: when using the pipette on the image you will see the actual radius size.
• You need to select the “add to palette” option

  

• Make sure you have selected the right palette (roof or façade)
• Now you can go and click through as many facades as you need. Note: you will see the palette filling up.
• Redo it for the roof palette. 

 

• Once you are done you will find your two palettes there: C:\Users\xxxxx\.gimp-2.6\palettes
• Note: settings are found under EDIT/Settings or Preferences

 

• Go and open them in an editor and select the RGB color descriptions
• Download the file "Download RandomBuildingColors" and unpack it.
• Open the “RandomBuildingColors.js”  file and enter YOUR new colors according to the once you will find in there.  Replace them with yours.  Safe it!
• Do it for roofs and facades.
• Go back to your un-textured AIM model and open the “Create and RunScripts” under Manage
• in the menu.
• Open the “RandomBuildingColors.js”  and hit “Start Script”

 

• Voilà you are done!

 

Autodesk® 360 Infrastructure Modeler, part of BIM 360, LIVE!

Yesterday we released a new service to the Autodesk cloud, called the BIM 360 Conceptual Design and Feasibility Evaluation service, also known as Autodesk® 360 Infrastructure Modeler or just AIM 360.  Like its predecessor, Project Galileo Online (PGO), AIM 360 enables users to publish, store, and manage large models in the cloud. Users can invite other authorized team members to access, download, and edit shared models simultaneously, and review multiple project proposals using the same data more securely without sending files via email or external hard drives.

Check out the video tutorials here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD69B6EE8CB608060

To get started using AIM 360, go here:
http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/Infrastructure_Modeler/enu/2013/Help/0186-For_Subs186

Enjoy!

Exchanging Data with Civil 3D (AKA What BIM For Infrastructure is All About)

Over the past couple of weeks I have had quite a few emails land in my inbox about using AIM as a way to visualize 3D models and content coming from Civil 3D.  Firstly, I have to say we love seeing these emails as they help to validate how powerful a tool like AIM can be when matched up with an incredible design tool, like Civil 3D.  I would say that the effectiveness of the two is greater than the sum of their parts. 

Having said that if you have "played" with the 2013 releases of AIM and/or Civil 3D, maybe you have noticed the new "Export IMX" button in Civil 3D and AIM as well as the import IMX capabilities in both.  IMX is the new exchange format that allows you to exchange ALL relevant 3D content and metadata used by both apps.  So, while the 3D model import/export capabilities work well for both AIM and Civil 3D, because IMX was built from the ground up to deal with the complexities of exchanging infrastructure model data, it does a better job in most cases and is more flexible than other 3D model types. 

There is a great video tutorial for exchanging data using IMX found here:
http://docs.autodesk.com/CIV3D/2013/ENU/animations/data-ex-aim-c3d.html

I hope you find this as useful as I do.  Cheers!

 

Infrastructure Modeler and Next Dimension of Real Estate

This weekend, while reading the “paper” (i.e. Flipboard via an iPad), I came across an interesting TechCrunch article, titled “Real Estate Will Always Be The Best Investment: Time To Augment It”.  The gist of this article is about answering the question, “what is the next dimension of real estate and how can it be most opportunistically exploited?”  The answer laid out in this article is that Augmented Reality will be that real estate game changer enabling users to find and visualize what might be in the context of what is.  However, I think the real answer goes a lot deeper than that.  And I believe Infrastructure Modeler is the shovel, drill, or backhoe that will help us to dig deeper.

If you’ve ever seen a rendering of a real estate plan, you would recognize right away that A) these renderings are really NOT models at all but are simply 2D-ish artist renderings that do little to tell a story outside of the context of the immediate surroundings; and B) the renderings have NO geographic context other than to name more or less where something may exist on a map.  Just take a look at a current example, like the planned development of the new 49ers stadium being developed in Santa Clara, California. Looking at some of the images here, can you really tell where this is going, what it’s going to look like within its surroundings, or how it’s going to be affected by the environment, like shadows?  Nope.  In other words, to get to something more realistic, maybe augmented reality is not the answer, but merely an outcome; maybe geospatially-correct/aware models are the answer and the means to get to augmented reality.  In fact, I would venture a guess that even if there were a model available for something like this, given its size, complexity, and the possibility to truly explore it from the inside-out, it might be easier to simply do so from the web or 3D visualization on a tablet first. 

Using this as an example (plus the need to put together a simple but flashy demo for another real estate focused group, here at Autodesk) I decided to show how Infrastructure Modeler could easily fit the bill as the “next dimension of real estate” tool, that would enable all of the other cool things, like augmented reality, to happen.

 

To create this video, I did what Infrastructure Modeler does best, I imported a model, in this case a model of a Starbucks coffee shop, and placed it in context of the city.  While this is a super simple example, what seems to be compelling to the audience requesting this demo is that they can immediately see where the model is in context as well as how it will affect other stuff (technical term) around it and will be affected by other stuff.   In other words, with this simple use case, Infrastructure Modeler has already proven that it’s time to change the game.  Augmented reality might be part of the game, but the models and geography come first.