Civil Immersion

Using Augmented Reality to Tour an InfraWorks 360 Model

If you’ve created an InfraWorks 360 model, you know there are many ways to visualize a proposed design on your computer screen.  If however, you are using an iPad or tablet you can actually take a “virtual walkthrough” of a model using augmented reality.  When the augmented reality feature is turned on, the InfraWorks 360 mobile app will identify your physical position (and view direction), and then match you to the corresponding position and orientation in the model.  As you walk, your iPad can serve as a “window into the future” allowing you to view a proposed design in the context of the existing site.

I experimented with this feature recently and was very impressed with the results!  I started by building a model of an existing fast food restaurant.  I then toured the restaurant site while using the InfraWorks 360 mobile app’s augmented reality feature. 

Before I started walking, I taped a camcorder to the back of my iPad, so I could compare what I was seeing to the “simulated view” on the iPad.

If you’re interested, I’ve created a video that walks through the process.  In the recording I demonstrate how to setup and use the augmented reality feature.  In addition, the recording includes a side-by-side comparison between the InfraWorks 360 view, and a real-world view.  If you get a chance, try experimenting with this feature.  You may find it to be a great way to add a little virtual reality to your next site visit!

 

Note: This recording demonstrates the accuracy I’ve been able to achieve using this technique with a three year old iPad.  That being said, there are many things that can affect GPS accuracy so it’s possible that your results may vary.

- Jeff

Tool for Tuesday: Export Style Catalog

There is nothing worse than feeling like you are constantly reinventing the wheel.

When using InfraWorks 360, have you ever wanted to leverage custom styles or content from one model in another one?  I know I have.  Perhaps you would like to leverage some cool city furniture one of your colleagues has used in one of their models.  I know I have.  The challenge is that an InfraWorks 360 Model is kind of like a self-contained box in that it holds all of the things it needs. 

As a result, sharing custom content between InfraWorks models is not as automatic as using other applications like Civil 3D or AutoCAD.  Does this mean we are destined to keep recreating the things we need??

Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to reinvent the wheel and instead be able to easily reuse the fruits of our InfraWorks 360 customization labor between models? 

The good news is we can by leveraging the concept of a Style Catalog!!

Check out the video below to see how it works:

 

-Jerry

Using GPS to Take a Virtual Walkthrough of a Civil 3D Design

Today’s smartphones and tablets provide surprisingly accurate GPS locations.  This makes them valuable tools for turn-by-turn navigation, geocaching, and more recently, catching Pokemon.  Today we’ll look at a technique that leverages this technology to do a virtual “walkthrough” of a Civil 3D design.

Just imagine being able to walk around a project site while using a mobile device to visualize your physical location within a proposed infrastructure design.  The workflow involves a combination of three tools: Civil 3D, A360 Drive, and the Google Earth mobile app.

If you’re interested, I’ve created a video below that walks through the process. 

 

Note: This recording demonstrates the accuracy I’ve been able to achieve using this technique with a three year old iPad.  That being said, there are many things that can affect GPS accuracy so it’s possible that your results may vary.

- Jeff

Tool for Tuesday: "EXPORTLAYOUT"

When doing production work, I would routinely be asked to provide a .DWG file of a portion of the overall project.  Essentially, the request went something like this…  “Send the sub-consultant sheet 25 of the plan-set.  They need it this afternoon”.  What was implied in the request but not necessarily stated was that the .DWG I create should ONLY include the geometry contained on sheet 25. 

Because we leveraged XRefs and Paperspace Layouts as well as Civil 3D objects, a request like this could be a challenging one.  In short, how do you quickly create a .DWG that only includes the contents of one sheet layout?  (Don’t forget you also need to maintain as much of the Civil 3D visual fidelity as possible)

Historically, this could be accomplished but it was an entirely manual process that was certainly not quick or easy.

Today there is a tool that makes the process a lot easier.  The tool is called EXPORTLAYOUT.  

Check out the video below to see how it works:

 

-Jerry

Exploring the New Subassemblies in Civil 3D 2016 Productivity Pack 3

With the release of Civil 3D 2016 Productivity Pack 3 comes a brand new collection of subassembly parts.  Included are nearly 30 new components representing a wide range of use cases.  This expanded content allows engineers to model even more types of curb, sidewalk, shoulder treatments, daylighting and pipe trenches "out of the box".

That being said, if you'd like to make some changes each new subassembly is provided as a .PKT making them easy to customize using Subassembly Composer.  The parts may also be reverse engineered if desired, to simplify the creation of brand new parts.

If you are interested, I've created a quick video that shows how to take advantage of this new content!

- Jeff

(Note: Productivity Pack 3 is a free-of-charge subscription benefit for users of Civil 3D. Instructions for downloading Productivity Pack 3 can be found here)

 

 

Tool for Tuesday: "TEXTALIGN"

Without order, there is chaos…  :)

Have you ever been challenged with having numerous Text Objects and would like to quickly reorient them on the screen?  (i.e. Line them up vertically, make their spacing uniform, change them from left justified to center justified…)

I used to come across this all the time when wrapping up my construction drawings.  The problem is that the process of altering text positioning is usually pretty manual and tedious.  Over the years, I have seen a lot of creative workflows to make it faster but it can still be very painful.

Having said this, there is a command that was added to AutoCAD a couple of releases ago that makes the task of reorienting large amounts of Text very simple and straightforward.  Problem is many folks (especially Civil 3D users) have overlooked it because when it was released, it fell under the new AutoCAD feature list rather than the new Civil 3D feature list.

 If you have not seen or tried the TEXTALIGN command, give it a shot.

Check out the video below to see how:

 

-Jerry

Visualizing Borehole Data Using the Civil 3D Geotechnical Module

If your civil infrastructure project requires the collection and visualization of borehole data you may be interested in exploring the Civil 3D Geotechnical Module.  The Geotechnical Module is a downloadable application provided free of charge as a Civil 3D subscription benefit.  To download the module, simply login to your account management page and visit the “Product Enhancements” area.

Detailed instructions for downloading the Geotechnical Module can be found here...
http://tinyurl.com/C3d-geotechnical

Using the Geotechnical Module you can easily import and display borehole data in 2D and 3D. Once imported, you can quickly create Civil 3D surfaces representing the various strata defined by the data. With a couple mouse clicks those surfaces can then be displayed in profile views that include strip diagrams of selected boreholes.

 

 

If you are interested, I’ve created a quick recording to help you get up and running using this time saving tool!

 

-Jeff

Tool for Tuesday: SelectSimilar

I know what you are thinking….  Jerry must be taking a Tuesday off because the Civil 3D SelectSimilar command has been around for forever and everyone already knows about it.

True, most folks are familiar with the select similar functionality but did you know there are two Select Similar commands in Civil 3D?  (AECSELECTSIMILAR & SELECTSIMILAR) This post is regarding the lesser known/used of the two. (SELECTSIMILAR)

In short, the SELECTSIMILAR command provides some additional functionality that the original AECSELECTSIMILAR command doesn’t have.  At the end of the day, the decision of which one to use is not an either/or decision.  Instead, they can both be helpful.

Check out the video below to see how:

 

-Jerry