AEC Exhibitor Highlights from Autodesk University 2008

This issue of the AECbytes Building the Future series provides an overview of the AEC-related applications that were on display at the Exhibit Hall at the recently concluded Autodesk University 2008, where over 130 exhibitors were showing hardware and software solutions that work with Autodesk products. It is a follow-up to AECbytes Newsletter #38 published earlier this week, which captured the highlights of the general and building industry sessions of Autodesk University.

Let’s start by looking a whole new genre of applications that are being developed for viewing and exploring Revit models.

A New Category of Model Viewing Applications

ICEvision is a new application by Ice Edge Business Solutions that made its debut at this year’s event. It is a web-based application that allows navigation of Revit and AutoCAD models 150 to 200 times faster than in their native applications. The graphics are also of high quality. I was impressed with the demo I was shown, which compared the navigation of a model in Revit and subsequently, the same model imported from Revit into ICEvision (see Figure 1). A comparison can be seen online at http://www.vimeo.com/2354274. Users can not only explore their own models for visual analysis much more efficiently, but can also upload them to the web and share them with assigned users, allowing project teams and clients to view and understand the design in an immersive, high-quality 3D virtual environment. ICEvision models can also be viewed on the iPhone. The application is built using video gaming technology, which accounts for its superior graphics and navigation capabilities, in comparison to say, an application such as NavisWorks, which also has the capability to view and share Revit models more quickly than Revit itself. What would be even more useful for ICEvision to have from a collaboration standpoint is the capability for a distributed team working on different parts of the same model to upload their individual sub-models together, so that they could be viewed as a whole. Hopefully, this capability can be made available in a future version.

Another new application along similar lines that I saw was VEO-LUX, which also happens to be the first product of a new company, M-SIX. Similar to ICEvision, VEO-LUX is also intended for viewing Revit models on the web. However, the difference is that VEO-LUX concentrates on photorealistic rendering, using the Maxwell renderer. Instead of rendering a model within Revit, consuming time and computing resources, the model is rendered on VEO-LUX servers “in the cloud.” This is an actual example of the use of cloud computing to generate visualizations in minutes rather than hours, allowing instant, realistic feedback that can actually be used for analysis and design—as was discussed in the general session of Autodesk University that I wrote about earlier this week. VEO-LUX has some additional capabilities that go beyond just rendering. Along with each render, a snapshot of all the data needed to re-create the image is also stored, making it much easier and faster to recreate the rendering when a change needs to be made. Another useful feature is being able to use proxy objects as placeholders in the Revit project, which will eventually be replaced by complex geometry in VEO-LUX’s OpenGL viewer and/or in the final render, with a different level of detail for each. This is great for fixtures, furniture, neighbouring buildings, or anything else that would add significant bulk to the Revit project if modeled in detail. VEO-LUX also has capabilities for lighting studies, and it allows access to any rendered image from a URL, even while the image is being rendered, making it easier for geographically distributed team members to collaborate on a project.

A Revit model-exploring application of a slightly different kind was unveiled by Ideate, one of the leading Autodesk resellers on the West Coast. Called Ideate Explorer, it works as a plug-in to all the Revit 2009 applications and allows users to search, quantify, and view individual building elements by category, family, type, level and room. Users can also examine and change the current selection, inspect the current view or project, build complex selections from scratch, and zoom to individual building elements. The interface is similar to Windows Explorer and easy to use, with the search results displayed in a hierarchical view (see Figure 2). The search results can also be copied to Excel and Word to generate reports and create presentation materials. As the size and complexity of Revit models increase, finding specific building elements can be a challenge, making Ideate Explorer a handy little aid to have. In addition to exploring the model, it can also be used for auditing Revit projects to ensure that office standards are maintained. It is priced at only $95, and is free for those Ideate customers who are members of its subscription or premium support programs.

Supporting Tools Extending the Capabilities of BIM

Some of the tools in this category—which extends the core modeling and representation capabilities of BIM to cover many different aspects of building planning, design, and construction—have become “regulars” at Autodesk University, while others were exhibiting for the first time following their newly developed integration with Revit. One of the regular vendors was Trelligence, which showed the new version 5.6 of its space programming and schematic design application, Affinity. The enhancements in it include data-driven program relationships and bubble diagramming capability with visual alerts when spaces are not meeting an adjacency requirement as specified in the project program (see Figure 3); enhanced integration with Revit Architecture; a new SketchUp plug-in that provides bi-directional integration with SketchUp, similar to the one currently available with Revit Architecture; support for release 2x3 of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC); a new Report Writer that allows greater customization of reports, along with the capability to add 3D views; new ways to customize program views; better support for large projects by improved placement of rooms and buildings, access to all positions on the site, and enhanced zoom capabilities; and several additional usability enhancements.

IES was another exhibitor that has been demonstrating its sophisticated building performance software suite <VE> at Autodesk University for a couple of years now. I had provided a brief overview of <VE> in my article on Autodesk University 2006, and of VE-Ware, a free building energy and carbon assessment tool launched earlier this year, in my article on the AIA National Convention. Since then, IES has continued with its aggressive pace of development, releasing a plug-in for SketchUp in August that allows VE’s energy, carbon, daylight and solar analysis tools to be applied to early-stage conceptual models created in SketchUp. Last month, IES released two new suites of integrated sustainable analysis tools specifically geared towards architects. Given that the full-blown <VE> product suite is extremely sophisticated and can be perceived as being too complex for architects to use, IES developed the Architectural Suites as stripped down versions of <VE> with only those modules and capabilities that architects would find most useful. They include tools for analyzing energy consumption, carbon emissions, LEED daylighting, solar shading and artificial lighting, along with training sessions to get users up to speed quickly. The analysis tools are integrated around a central 3D model that can connect directly with SketchUp, Revit, and with other 3D design tools via the gbXML format, so that the analysis can be done without rebuilding the building geometry and multiple design iterations can be performed to create the best performing design. The IES Architectural Suites are obviously meant to compete with Ecotect, which has so far been deemed more architect-friendly and seems likely to grow in strength, following its acquisition and promotion by Autodesk.
 
Another regular exhibitor, InterSpec, used the opportunity to demonstrate an updated version of e-SPECS, the automated spec-writing solution that works with all the Revit BIM and AutoCAD based applications (see Figure 4). The updated version, 4.1, which is being released this week, continues to build upon the enhancements in version 4.0 that were briefly described in my article on the AIA 2008 Convention held earlier this year. The e-SPECS Editor module now includes the ability to return to the e-SPECS Checklist to make changes to previously edited and saved sections, enabling clients to make changes further into the design cycle using the checklist mappings to related paragraphs without losing the work already completed. Customers managing Office Masters using e-SPECS Designer now have a “Master Track Changes” feature, which facilitates better specification maintenance and project writing through the propagation of lessons learned, recommended or not recommended products, and other preferences to highlight during the project manual writing process. A new feature in e-SPECS Designer is auto-tagging of imported sections, which allows immediate use of those sections via the Checklist insertion or binding to BIM models for automatic insertion. Also new is e-SPECS On-Line, a remote hosted site that users can access from any browser to write specifications or to utilize InterSpec’s specification services.

I also had the opportunity to re-visit another vendor, CADworks, who had introduced their web-based collaboration and project management solution based on Microsoft’s Sharepoint and Virtual Server technologies, WebAxis, at last year’s Autodesk University. The company’s focus this year was on showing their MEP content libraries specifically developed for Revit MEP (see Figure 5). One of the biggest stumbling blocks in the widespread adoption of Revit MEP has been its lack of sufficient content for engineering design. CADworks had personally encountered this limitation in the course of its work, as one of its divisions offers MEP engineering services. After completing its first project with Revit MEP and building dozens of manufacturer-specific families, CADworks decided to move forward with the development of an extensive library of commonly specified equipment for the larger MEP community and established a permanent team for family creation and testing. Each family is tested by an engineer within a Revit environment before being published. The library now has over 1200 families with more being added on a weekly basis. Along with the content, CADworks has developed a search tool so that content can be easily selected by manufacturer and model from inside the Revit MEP session. In addition, a Web based portal is also available for the delivery of the content. Access to the content is available on a subscription basis, and the company also provides custom content creation services.

Moving on to structural engineering, I came across ADAPT, a suite of integrated design software for concrete floor systems, beams, frames, mat, and slab-on-grade foundations (reinforced or post-tensioned), that integrates with Revit Structure. The unique feature in ADAPT is that it works with the actual physical model that is created in Revit Structure, eliminating the need to create and fine-tune the separate analytical model. Also, it allows structural engineers to explicitly model structural components, including rebar and tendons, as fully editable objects. It includes 3D finite element analysis engines for detailed slab and foundation system design, and advanced rebar design capabilities to optimize the quantity and layout of the reinforcement. Bi-directional integration allows all design information including reinforcement bars and post-tensioning to be transferred to Revit Structure to complete and document the project. It also allows what-if analysis and iterative design by quickly updating the ADAPT model with changes made in the Revit Structure model. If desired, the design process can also be started in ADAPT, and the completed 3D slab or foundation model can then be transferred to Revit Structure for documentation and coordination.

A new exhibitor at Autodesk University this year was Solibri, showing its Solibri Model Checker application that can be used to analyze BIM models in IFC format (that Revit supports) for design integrity, quantities, accessibility, and constructability. It also includes visualization, walkthrough, interference detection, model aggregation, and collaboration capabilities. In my reviews of BIM applications, I have pointed out that most of them do a poor job of guaranteeing model integrity, so an application like Solibri Model Checker will become increasingly critical as we develop more applications to work with BIM models. In addition to checking that the model has been created correctly so that it can be properly used by downstream applications, Solibri Model Checker can also check the model for the satisfaction of design requirements, codes, and organizational best practices, which are available in the form of “rule sets” that can be applied to the model. Recall from my article on the AIA TAP 2007 conference that a customized version of Solibri Model Checker is being used as the model-checking application for the automated code checking initiative in the US, with SMARTcodes—“smart” versions of ICC’s international codes—being developed as the rule sets for the model-checker. Solibri has just released version 5 of the application, and AECbytes will take a detailed look at it in a couple of months.

Another vendor new to this year’s Autodesk University was Vico Software, which is now integrating its Virtual Construction Suite with Revit. Recall that Vico was spun out of Graphisoft’s Virtual Construction Solutions as a separate venture, shortly after Graphisoft’s acquisition by Nemetschek AG last year, and has until now, been built on top of ArchiCAD. I had provided a brief overview of Vico’s suite of six integrated solutions for construction modeling, estimating, scheduling, construction simulation, cost management, and change management in my article on the Technology for Construction conference held earlier this year. Vico’s integration with Revit will be greatly welcomed by those contractors who are interested in using Revit for BIM rather than ArchiCAD. It works by adding a “Publish to Vico” option to Revit, which transfers the building geometry, element types, and family names to the Vico database (see Figure 6). Subsequently in the Vico environment, the construction elements are identified and can be used by all the different Vico modules. The Revit integration opens the doors for Vico to consider integrating with other BIM solutions such as Bentley or Allplan as well.

Another “BIM for construction” application that I came across at Autodesk University was Synchro, which I had never seen before. This is a 4D construction management and simulation application developed by a UK-based company in 2001; it was released globally only last year. Similar to how Innovaya’s Visual Estimating creates the link between Revit and Timberline for BIM-enabled cost estimating, Synchro creates the link between Revit and Primavera for BIM-enabled construction management and scheduling. In addition to integrating BIM and project management data, Synchro also includes visualization and collaboration capabilities that allows the entire construction delivery team including owners, engineers, architects, operators, contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers and materials suppliers to share a single view of the entire project, as it progresses, in real time. The product seems to have gained traction among some leading construction firms including Turner Construction, Hill International, Tishman Construction, and MACE, and we will likely hear more about it as it starts being actively marketed in the US and other countries.

Other Software and Hardware Solutions

A growing number of tools is emerging in the field of civil engineering, an example of which is Civil Simulate, introduced at Autodesk University by Sivan Design, a developer of civil engineering CAD and GIS applications. Civil Simulate can be used to turn any AutoCAD Civil 3D, CivilCAD, and other projects into a 3D interactive simulation, allowing engineers to get a better understanding of their designs and the surrounding context. The software has the ability to merge the design with an orthophoto (an aerial photograph that has been geometrically corrected so that its scale is uniform like a map) and show an accurate virtual reality 3D vision of complex structures like junctions, roundabouts, interchanges, bridges, etc. In addition, the designer can utilize the software to demonstrate aerial views while conducting interactive drive-through simulations in different settings such as fog and night driving with distance measurement capabilities, making it possible to conduct visibility safety checks. The simulation is very fast, the accuracy level is +/- 2 cm of the CAD model, and the software is capable of handling even large scale engineering projects.

Another visualization solution, but of a different kind, that was being exhibited at Autodesk University for the first time was a suite of tools from Craft Animations called Craft Director Tools. Based on research in artificial intelligence and autonomous control systems, these tools simulate the complex physical behavior of 3D cameras and vehicles such as helicopters, cars, airplanes, boats and motorcycles and can be used to enhance realism in visualization and real-time 3D animation (see Figure 7). They also eliminate the prolonged tasks of key framing and scripting that is common in other animation applications, making them quick and efficient to use. They are being targeted towards users in various disciplines including visual effects, game development, and architectural design, and work with two of Autodesk’s visualization applications, 3ds Max and Maya. Craft Animations has just released free light versions of these tools, allowing more users to access their high-quality, time-saving and cost-effective animation capabilities.

Moving on to a completely different application area, I was introduced to Clarizen, an online project management application following the increasingly popular SaaS (software as a service) delivery model, which now integrates with AutoCAD (see Figure 8). The integration lets users update, change or create documents within the CAD environment so that all project information is available via AutoCAD’s main menu. In addition, information is accessible to managers, clients and other distributed teams via Clarizen’s online project management solution. The integration was developed in response to the need to be able to move between design and project management environments as seamlessly as possible, which can increase productivity and streamline project execution, particularly while managing multiple projects at the same time. The web-based model also allows firms to manage all projects and resources in a single environment. Clarizen is targeting not just the AEC industry, but many other industries such as automotive, transportation, education, government, manufacturing, and so on, and it is developing templates for different industries outlining best practices. It sees Microsoft Project as its main competitor. Plans are in place for a Revit plug-in as soon as the Revit API is sufficiently developed to make this possible.

CADzation is a regular exhibitor at Autodesk University, and this year, it used the show to preview the next release of its popular file conversion application, AcroPlot Pro. Scheduled for January 2009, the new version will include a major enhancement to the system printer installed with the product allowing users to output to more formats in addition to PDF, including DWF, TIFF, BMP, JPG, GIF, and PNG (see Figure 9). More file types specific to AEC and government are also slated for addition by the middle of next year. CADzation labels AcroPlot Pro as the “industrial-strength AutoCAD DWG to PDF Batch Converter” and by adding additional file type output from the system printer, users can now create the files they use for communication from a single software application. The AcroPlot Pro system printer is 32-bit and 64-bit compatible for Windows XP and Vista and AcroPlot Pro works with all versions of AutoCAD 2000-2009. Revit users can also utilize the AcroPlot Pro system printer for PDF and DWF file output.

On the hardware front, I checked out the latest offering from Z Corporation, a new service called ZPrints. It enables designers and engineers to order 3D printed models straight from AutoCAD 2009, responding to the increasing need for more 3D printed prototypes at every stage of the design cycle. AutoCAD produces 3D models that easily convert to the industry-standard 3D printing data (STL) format. ZPrints represents a partnership between Z Corporation’s 3D printing technology and Quickparts, a leading rapid prototyping service provider.

And finally, I saw the new SpaceNavigator for Notebooks by 3Dconnexion, which is compact and ultra-light, making it easier to take along to use with a laptop. It only weighs half of that of its desktop counterpart, and has a small footprint that makes it possible to be used even on airline trays. It also sports a new cap design that makes using it more comfortable and a simplified two-button layout for better control. It is a useful addition to 3Dconnexion’s product line-up of 3D navigation devices for 3D design and visualization, which I had described in detail in my article on Autodesk University 2006.

Conclusions

As I mentioned in my earlier article on Autodesk University 2008, the growing momentum of Revit as a BIM application in the AEC industry was very much in evidence in the Exhibit Hall, which was teeming with third-party solutions working with Revit. It was interesting to find that this third-party development was not just coming from established vendors such as VICO and Solibri who are now tying their products to Revit, but also in the form of brand-new solutions such as ICEvision and Ideate Explorer. It is also heartening to see that whole new ventures such as M-SIX are being started to serve the AEC industry, showing that it is still capable of attracting entrepreneurial talent. In the long run, this is going to benefit not just Autodesk and Revit users, but further the state of the art of AEC technology as a whole.

About the Author

Lachmi Khemlani is founder and editor of AECbytes. She has a Ph.D. in Architecture from UC Berkeley, specializing in intelligent building modeling, and consults and writes on AEC technology. She can be reached at lachmi@aecbytes.com.

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