GIS Tech News (#31)

Pushing Surveying Beyond Points

The new Trimble VX Spatial Station.

On February 9 in snow-sprinkled Colorado, Trimble, one of the largest survey equipment manufacturers, shuttled a group of reporters and editors from the Westin Hotel in Westminster to the AMC Theater nearby. The journalists were then ushered into a special screening room where Trimble executives had assembled. The premiere event, commemorated with mockup posters inspired by The Matrix and the Indiana Jones franchises, marked the launch of the Trimble VX Spatial Station, an advanced positioning system.

The Star of the Show

Taking full advantage of the cinematic venue, the company's IS (integrated surveying) portfolio manager Erik Schuetz and SI (spatial imaging) portfolio manager Omar-Pierre Soubra engaged the audience through an act of dramatized dialogue, designed to illustrate the tension between the traditional 2D survey workflow and the emerging 3D technology. But the real star of the show was the Trimble VX Spatial Station, an 11.5LB robotic measuring device mounted on a tripod.

Crossbreeding the Trimble S6 Total Station with DR (direct reflex) from the IS portfolio and the GX 3D Scanner from the SI portfolio, the company produced new equipment that combines the accurate positioning capability of the former and the video-overlaying and point cloud capturing technologies of the latter to produce 2D and 3D data sets. Read More >>

Cadalyst Labs Review: Autodesk Civil 3D

By Andrew G. Roe, PE

A smart product got even smarter when Autodesk rolled out Civil 3D 2007. The model-based software pushes the use of intelligent objects even further than its previous versions did and offers enough practicality for real projects. But is Civil 3D really ready to shine as the production tool of choice for civil engineering professionals? Engineering firms and public agencies around the globe are asking that question, as they cling to Autodesk's Land Desktop as their primary production software and  only eye Civil 3D as the wave of the future.
Read more>>

UPCOMING GIS EVENTS
Cadalyst's complete list of upcoming events is always available on our Web site. Cadalyst's sister publication, Geospatial Solutions, also offers a full calendar of GIS-related events.

Webcast: Autodesk Map 3D 2007 for Environmental Consulting Firms
February 21, 2007
This webcast, by Ideate, will show how to leverage your existing engineering software's functionality by accessing readily available GIS datasets including land use, flood zones, wetland delineation and district boundary data. Time: 12:00 Noon to 1:00 pm PT. Read more

Webcast: Tricks with Autodesk Civil 3D Styles, Labels and Expressions
February 23, 2007
Accelerate your ideas with Autodesk Civil 3D 2007 software and complete your transportation, site, sewer, storm drain, and subdivision projects up to 75 percent faster. All webcasts will be recorded for later viewing online. Time: 9 a.m. PT. Read more

Webcast: Civil 3D Quickstart Class
March 5, 2007
Learn how to navigate the new Autodesk Civil 3D interface; adjust drawing, feature and command settings; incorporate Autodesk Civil 3D styles into CAD standards; and exchange design data between Autodesk Land Desktop and Autodesk Civil 3D. Read more

Application-Oriented CFD for the Aerospace and Defense Industry
March 8, 2007
Carlsbad, California
This workshop by CD-adapco will focus on the application of a variety of simulation techniques to a wide-range of aerospace applications and demonstrate how flow, thermal and stress simulation can reduce costs and increase efficiency of the design process and help to engineer products that will meet future technological and economic challenges. Read more

NAFEMS World Congress 2007
May 22 - 25, 2007
Vancouver, Canada
NAFEMS, The International Association for the Engineering Analysis Community, has opened registration for its 11th International Congress. The congress will bring together leading industrial practitioners, consultancies, academic researchers and software developers with a common interest in engineering analysis. Read more

WHAT'S NEW AT CADALYST.COM
Visit the GIS Tech News archives to view current and past issues online.

Cadalyst 's February Web Exclusives Now Live Online!
The latest editions of all your favorite Cadalyst tutorials for AutoCAD and other popular CAD software, CAD Cartoon, Dialog Box (letters from readers) — plus all the content from the February edition of Cadalyst magazine — are now live on Cadalyst.com.

Announcing: Cadalyst Online PlanRoom
Cadalyst.com introduces Cadalyst Online PlanRoom, a free, easy-to-use, time-saving service to help you store, manage and share project plans and large-format drawings — all securely over the Internet. Powered by Ideal.com. Check it out today!

Get the Code!
Cadalyst's February code from Hot Tip Harry is now available for download. Michael Kolomiyets earned $100 for Linear Arc Dimension, an advanced object-manipulation routine that displays dimensions containing the length of an arc in AutoCAD.

WHAT'S NEW AT GEOSPATIAL SOLUTIONS  

Cadalyst's sister publication, Geospatial Solutions, offers a Web site packed with features, news, events and other information for users of geospatial technologies. Check out this latest news from www.geospatial-online.com:

Infoterra Garners Further ESA Funding for Respond Project
Infoterra Ltd. will receive further funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) for the next phase of the GMES project Respond, which provides the humanitarian relief community with geographic information services and support. Read more
 
GeODC Boosts Accuracy of New Forest Maps
New Forest District Council has improved the accuracy of essential Council information as a result of a data management project undertaken by GeODC. Following the Ordnance Survey's national program to improve the accuracy of base mapping, the Council had to update 115,000 unique map elements in order to maintain consistent, accurate and up-to-date planning records. Read mor