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

  • Road repairs take to the air
    November 29, 2018
    Automated road repairs using 3D printing could save money and reduce disruption, reports Kristina Smith It’s the middle of the night and in the street below a team is busy carrying out repairs to the road surface. But there isn’t a human in sight. A road-repair drone has landed at the site of a crack and a 3D asphalt printer is now busy filling in that crack. A group of traffic cone drones have positioned themselves around the repair location to protect the repair drone and divert traffic around it.
  • Bridge inspection: destructive versus non-destructive methods
    January 6, 2015
    Tens of thousands of bridges in the United States are in desperate need of repair. But where to begin analysing their deteriorating state? Roger Roberts* investigates tips and techniques for ensuring bridge safety The average age of America’s more than 600,000 crumbling bridges is 42 years – many are 60 to 80 years old. The situation is dire, with many described as functionally obsolete, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ latest edition of its Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.
  • SICK’s Free Flow Profiler scans vehicles on the move
    August 27, 2019
    SICK has launched the Free Flow Profiler vehicle measurement system that enables highly accurate 3D profiling of vehicles across multiple lanes in free-flow traffic The company says that the Free Flow Profiler is a “versatile and adaptable” all-weather system. It is “ideal for vehicle tolling and classification uses, especially useful in operations such as optimal weight loading of ferries or trains and for verifying vehicle dimensions to maximise revenue recovery”. During multilane, free road movem
  • Concrete paving developments boosting performance
    April 12, 2018
    Change is afoot at Miller Formless following its change of ownership, with investment in research and design a priority – Mike Woof writes Miller Formless is undergoing a process of change under its new ownership, with investment in the factory as well as in the product range. The recent tie-up between Guntert & Zimmerman and Miller Formless has brought additional global manufacturing capacity. Guntert & Zimmerman had established a manufacturing presence in India through an agreement with a local firm, a