Skip to main content

Autodesk introduces new software tools

As World Highways was going to press Autodesk was due to announce the 2014 versions of its entire range of programs including AutoCAD, Civil 3D, NavisWorks and Revit Structural and others programs used by the road industry. As previously, they are packaged in suites; Standard, Premium and Ultimate. Key aspects focus around the inclusion of a completely new and fast point-cloud “engine” developed from the Alice Labs company acquisition made last year. Part of a new Autodesk Recap, standing for reality captur
April 25, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
As 3260 World Highways was going to press 685 Autodesk was due to announce the 2014 versions of its entire range of programs including AutoCAD, Civil 3D, NavisWorks and Revit Structural and others programs used by the road industry. As previously, they are packaged in suites; Standard, Premium and Ultimate.

Key aspects focus around the inclusion of a completely new and fast point-cloud “engine” developed from the Alice Labs company acquisition made last year. Part of a new Autodesk Recap, standing for reality capture, this will be able to open point-clouds in the main tools used in civil engineering such as Map, Civil 3D and Revit. Recap is included in all of them. The company says the new engine is fast, inputs most of the major formats, and can translate point-clouds into different local coordinate systems to match other data.

The Infrastructure Modeller tool, for conceptualising projects and testing sketch scenarios is now relaunched as a enhanced version, re-named InfraWorks.

In the Ultimate suite this will include roads and highway modules which allow early design sketches to be done with precision data, so that they can be imported directly into Civil 3D for further work. It will also link to the cloud for tasks like optimisation of the vertical alignment

– part of a general philosophy for all Autodesk products using more "infinite" computing power of the cloud for heavy "grunt" work, instead of the local desktop.  Rendering capacity is another aspect.

The cloud will also be used for communication, and design and construction collaboration, with BIM360 Glue, a cloud accessed tool for design integration and class detection, which is a “NavisWorks light" - accessed via a very small client application with full high quality graphics whatever the capacities of the local laptop.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Topcon develops advanced software tool
    February 8, 2013
    Topcon Europe Positioning is offering upgrades to its MAGNET software products, which have benefited from the firm’s recent tie-up with Autodesk. The MAGNET Enterprise package is a cloud service that connects the firm’s Field and Office products and provides a web-based interface to company data and new versions of MAGNET Field and MAGNET Office are available.
  • Topcon and Bentley join forces to model reality
    March 8, 2017
    Topcon Positioning and Bentley Systems are introducing the product of their joint development project at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017, a reality modelling software solution.
  • Bentley Systems launches OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition
    April 13, 2017
    The beginning of this year saw Bentley Systems launch a major advanced comprehensive global tool for today’s increasingly widespread BIM environment. Christmas 2016 came early for Bentley's global clients. In fact, they had a hint of what was going to be under their tree come the celebrations in December. On November 1, at Bentley’s annual global client gathering and awards event Year in Infrastructure Conference in London, the solutions provider announced that OpenRoads Designer CONNECT Edition would be a
  • Bentley Systems expanding product range and operations
    March 20, 2019
    Bentley pushes ahead with acquisitions and partnerships Software specialist Bentley Systems is expanding its range of software products both through key acquisitions and in-house developments, as well as developing its partnerships with other firms. Two firms Bentley has bought are UK company Legion (see box) which is a leading provider of advanced pedestrian modelling software. The other acquisiation is the Swedish company Agency9, which offers city-scale digital twin cloud services that will help enabl