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

  • Piling accurately with Trimble’s new tool
    June 10, 2019
    Trimble is offering a new system that can help to boost the quality of drilling and piling work. The firm’s new Groundworks Machine Control System has been developed as a streamlined machine control solution for drilling and piling operations that helps optimise productivity and quality. The firm claims that this highly sophisticated system allows contractors to carry out drilling and piling operations more quickly, safely and accurately than using conventional methods. “Engineered for ease of use, Trim
  • Intelligence built in to Dynapac machines
    January 16, 2017
    The highly sophisticated Fleetlink telematics system developed is now being offered across the road machine range. The system allows users to optimise fleet usage and reduce maintenance costs, boosting overall efficiency and fleet management and increasing uptime and productivity.
  • Extended Traffic Control in 2014 and beyond
    April 3, 2014
    One leading traffic control solution company has announced a major acquisition to broaden its customer offer, while the delivery of an ambitious real-time journey information service for Scotland’s motorists is well on track. Guy Woodford reports Kapsch’s TrafficCom says its high-profile recent US$16 million acquisition of Transdyn will enable it to offer current and future customers worldwide an extended end-to-end product and solution portfolio for intelligent transport systems (ITS). The acquisitio
  • Compaction mapping efficiency
    February 16, 2012
    An efficient pass count mapping system for both soil and asphalt compaction machines is now being offered by Trimble. Called the CCSFlex, this package is designed to offer both asphalt and earthmoving contractors an easy-to-use and affordable system for pass count mapping. The package is said to suit both small contractors as well as contractors with large fleets and can be used on a variety of surfaces, from residential and country roads to major highways and airport runways. The system is said to offer a