Archivo etiqueta 3D
3D 4D 5D Go! : The 5th D of BIM Cost Coming Into Focus
Por Jim Foster - Adoption, BIM, New Technologies - September 18, 2012
To reduce costs for any project or product, look at the inputs; can they be improved? Break out the Cost of Goods Sold, or Cost of Sales. In construction the Cost of Sales (which will include material and labor) is at a whopping 84%. This leaves leaving only a 16% gross margin for everything else. To put this in perspective Walmart operates at around a 25% Gross Margin. So is it any wonder the need to lock down costs and reduce waste is more extreme in this industry than most? Compare it to its aligned industry the AE (Architecture Engineering) industry whose gross margin is 3 times as high and there is good reason that BIM was initially more widely adopted and implemented by the construction trades. Any advantage in reducing costs, improving margins or making a firm more competitive in the marketplace will find a receptive audience in construction.
Cost saving were first realized with BIMs starting with the 3D coordination of the digital model, clash detection and then scheduling(the 4th D) of construction and the reduction of the cost of labor. Downtime for crews due to change orders or having material unavailable was reduced. Now we are starting to see more firms focus on the cost of materials and how they can be managed and best integrated into a project.
RIB Software , based in Stuttgart Germany is a leading provider of technical ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software solutions for the construction industry recently announced the acquistiono of MC2 one of the leaders in cost estimation software for the construction industry or the 5th D of BIM. In the official press release RIB stated ‘Major step taken in the US market for 5D-BIM technology’. In July Trimble acquired WinEstimator another leader in cost estimation in the United States.
3D Model with photos from your iPad
Por Jim Foster - 3D, BIM, New Technologies - May 9, 2012
Autodesk announced the release of 123D Catch for the iPad. I have not yet tried the iPad version, but assume it’s mostly the same since before you chose the photographs to be sent to the cloud, and now it is sending photos you are taking from the iPad. One of the criticisms I had with it before is that you had to follow a very particular way of taking photos, which apparently I was not very good at because all my results came back looking like a kaleidoscope. However, everybody is looking for an iPad app/strategy these days and this helps. And if you get good at framing the pictures, using this on site to get basic 3D geometry, most likely for massing purposes or some initial energy analysis, well that’s very cool.
Leica 3D Disto : You want answers? I got answers.
Por Jim Foster - 3D, As Builts, BIM - July 20, 2011
So if you wonder if this social media stuff works, if blogging is worth it, well my recent post on the Leica 3D Disto wound up on the Leica shore and John Anderson from Leica GeoSytems was kind enough to answer some of the questions I posed. So those of you who were sitting on the edge of your seat. Here ya go.
Why not include bluetooth as almost every laptop, netbook and the new iPad comes with it and seems a glaring omission.
Leica- The interface between the hand held control unit and the 3D DISTO is via WiFi on a dedicated IP address. (You can not tie into the local network and use it that way) The user can select between various channels if there is a conflict with an existing one in the work space and multiple units can be used on the job site together. WiFi was selected for its stability, range, and bandwidth. The software is Leica proprietary and only runs on our hardware however, we can provide the GSI interface to software partners wanting to incorporate the hardware into their specific applications.
How about if it came with an ‘app’ for iPad and Android instead that could drive instead of its own proprietary piece of hardware.
Leica- The 3D only operates on Leica supplied hardware and software. It controls movement, laser, camera, and all software functions including calibration and tilt sensor controls. The wide scope of functionality provided by the proprietary interface was multiple man years work, and it comes with proven Leica quality and stability.
I wonder if you can move it around in the same room because most rooms I know of are not completely open with shots available to every point you needs, and how you would coordinate points for integrated output?
Leica-Yes, most definitely. We include a function called “Secure Location” where the user measures 3-5 points that are visible from the current and proposed position. You can then pick up and move the unit or continue the job tomorrow or next week provided your Secure Points have not moved. A picture is captured of the secure points at time of measurement so that they are easy to reference later on. Additionally, if you want to confirm the unit has not been bumped or moved, there is a “Check Location” feature where you select the image of the secure point and then the 3D will put the laser on the target. If the laser is off target then you know it’s been moved and you can run the Relocation program to correct for the new position.
There is some software available called ‘Room Scan’ but have not seen enough of it to know.
Leica- Room Scan is the primary drawing interface. You can scan horizontal or vertical points plus measure single points using the laser and view screen. When completed, you can export a DXF and view a 3D rendering in most viewers or cad types of programs. There is a great demo of the scanning aspect of this at http://ptd.leica-geosystems.com/en/Leica-3D-Disto_94606.htm Then click Videos tab and 3D room scan. Remember, the 3D Disto is primarily for measuring, recording, and projecting data points. Leica is providing the tools to gather data and export in a universal dxf, csv, txt file formats to the customers choice of application software. How the user manipulates the data after that point is totally up to them.
Okay, but what remains to be seen is this the fill in product between range finders and laser scanners that has found a niche? I now have another question? Can it provide a Room Outline at the specified cut plan? Inquiring Minds. Because that would be a super feature.
Leica 3D Disto : Capture 3D Points for As Builts and Layouts : BIM
Por Jim Foster - 3D, As Builts, BIM, Professional Building Surveyors - June 3, 2011
I cannot pronounce much more than it exists as I have not had my hands on one, and the video included below seems to use it mostly for layouts, not for data capture. NAFTA Leica_3D_Disto_Word-Flyer1.0 . However, when Pointclouds seem excessive from a data and price perspective, and one needs to determine points on inaccessible or complex geometry, this could be the aspirin (does anyone take aspirin anymore) to that headache, or for that matter doing complex ceiling systems or even reflected ceiling.
So what’s on board besides the laser? Camera with 8x Zoom so you can see far off points and DXF input and output and while there is some more stuff that seems to be the most important and data transfer to anything else is via USB stick. Why not include bluetooth as almost every laptop, netbook and the new iPad comes with it and seems a glaring omission. How about if it came with an ‘app’ for iPad and Android instead that could drive instead of its own proprietary piece of hardware.
I wonder if you can move it around in the same room because most rooms I know of are not completely open with shots available to every point you needs, and how you would coordinate points for integrated output? There is some software available called ‘Room Scan’ but have not seen enough of it to know.
MSRP is set at $7995 so up to surveyors, etc to think if it is worth the price tag.
Pretty Sweet 3D : Nokia Launches Ovi : Wants be your new map destination. #GIS #3D #BIM
Por Jim Foster - 3D, GIS - April 27, 2011
Thanks for Bruce Lang for bringing this to my attention. Browser Plug In to Navigate the Earth, many cities are in 3D, I quickly browsed the East Coast and both Boston and New York look pretty sweet. Utilizing technology from C3 and from their blog:
C3 uses modern camera equipment to capture as many as one image per second of the same object from up to 100 different angles. The images are then used to automatically reproduce the shape of the objects with very high accuracy. After that, an image processing software automatically drapes each shape with the texture chosen from the pictures of each object. The same process is being applied for all objects – buildings, houses, trees, and hills – the result is a seamless canvas of 3D-data where the resolution (8 to 12 centimeters per pixel) and quality is consistent over the entire model. This is the secret to C3 maps’ realistic look compared to competitors’ hand-made and cartoonish appearance.
You can get the plug in here. Understand that the photo is screen shot from the product, you can spin it around change perspective, go around the building to the other side, sweet.
However, Why? Think of it this way, how many times do you use google maps, or live maps, in a week, in a day, to navigate, to check something out and then think of all the ways I can sell you stuff if you are using/looking at my map? So if I have better eye candy to get you in my store, so be it. Not like Nokia is a small company but certainly like to see people swinging at the hegemony. And did you notice the comment ‘competitors handmade cartoonish appearance.’ Who you talkin about Nokia.
We’re Going Inside : Buildings and BIM
Por Jim Foster - 3D, Built Environment, New Technologies - August 20, 2010
New technologies have developed around the capture capture of existing buildings in a digital environment. Laser Scanning comes first to mind, and now Photofly from Autodesk, however, these seem to best address the exterior of the buildings and are used in particular circumstances that warrant them. Now comes the backpack scanner, and thanks to Erik Lewis and his blog Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad BIM for bringing it to my attention and I’ll quote him here:
“Incredible. Between PKNail and emergent technology like this, I see a real future in gathering existing facilities information into BIM databases…”
Laser Backpack Creates Instant 3D Models
Very cool.
Photofly : Real 3D from Photos : Cloud Computing Magic : #bim #cloud
Por Jim Foster - Autodesk, BIM, Existing Conditions, Laser Scanning, New Technologies - July 24, 2010
While I have not taken this for a test drive yet the videos and technology behind this are impressive and could provide a very valuable tool set. First, a word about technology. Too many times software presupposes too much knowledge or interest on the user, that is this software can do some amazing stuff you just have to sit down with it, go through the manual, try and use it, sit in a classroom, hit the user groups, etc. to master it and make it a useful and successfully incorporate into your workflow. If you are like me you might be open minded to that but the benefits of learning a brand new software package have to be pretty amazing to entertain that process. Enter Photofly. From what I have pulled up and I included two videos here you upload standard digital photographs, which could range from your iphone to your 18 Megapixel Digital SLR, and Photofly does its magic in the cloud utilizing its own servers to render a photographic 3D image, that can be scaled using a known dimension to a dimensionally correct model that can also be exported to AutoCAD as a pointcloud. What?!$% From my perspective this is invaluable, and brings to the forefront technology that was only available from laser scanners. I am not saying this takes their place but any time you can put another arrow in your quiver for building surveying and documentation, the better. And if this is as intuitive as these 2 videos make it out to be, this is a home run.
Photofly Intro Video
Wrigley Field Gets Modeled From Tourist Photos
3D from Photographs : #BIM #3D
Por Jim Foster - 3D, BIM, Built Environment - February 23, 2010
The world wants an easier way to get 3D. Photographic manipulation has been around for awhile. I remember sitting in a presentation by Yonald Chery for Mok3 which created photo immersive 3D, and this was back in 2004. The technology is still used today in something called supertour. A quote from 2004 at the time-
“This Mok3 thing could be bigger than SketchUp, especially for interior designers and architects,” Geoffrey Moore Langdon tells me. “It is like a PhotoShop that allows you to push-pull the images into correct 3D with the ease of SketchUp. Thus from a single photograph, you quickly create a 3D model:
It was ahead of its time, but we are seeing more entrants into the field. Autodesk acquired RealVIZ and its Image Modeler software, you can view a demo here. And today in the NY Times today there is the article Computers Turn Flat Photos into 3-D Buildings. Where they are using a crowd sourcing/social media aspect to data collection and improving the algorithms to stitch this stuff together. A project out of Cornell and University of Washington morphed into Microsoft’s Photosynth where you can view 3D images that have been stitched into “quasi 3D” through a browser. However, Photosynth appears to be limited by the number of photographs and data so the bigger desire was to scale this thing. So the same folks have been crunching more numbers and algorithms to create a more robust platform and a web site called Photocity was created entice people to add data and create the digital 3D construction of the WORLD, okay maybe not the world but then again…
BIM : Explode Value Engineering : #BIM #AIA #Revit
Por Jim Foster - 3D, BIM, Revit, ROI, Uncategorized, Virtual Construction - January 11, 2010
I am not an architect, nor do I play one on tv I simply have a small company that surveys buildings. While that may not qualify me to design one I have had the benefit of being in hundreds of buildings, surveyed them, see how they were put together, and they functioned with people in them, so with this little bit of information I feel qualified on commenting on architecture in general. And before I start I want to say that I believe architecture has the ability to transform and inspire like few other arts or disciplines because I can walk by a statue without noticing it (which I hope I don’t but were all in a hurry sometimes) but tougher still to ignore the building you are entering, or working in or even passing by, however, with that said I am unfortunately underwhelmed by most buildings I’ve been in or pass by, or have worked in. Too often we exist in a world that is value engineered, that is something has been designed to be produced as inexpensively as possible. I understand that, less expensively built; more people can afford to purchase; we all win, fine. Good in cars and televisions, unfortunate in buildings. We live in a center core, curtain wall efficiency that drains most of the fun, awe and art straight out of a building. And if you are trying to do something inexpensive, yet impressive this too can be a daunting task. But there are examples, artchitect turning shipping containers into homes comes to mind, like Adam Kalkin, Another is a home we surveyed designed by Carl Koch as part of community on Snake Hill. Now personally I thought it was fantastically ugly from the outside, looked like a box, seemed kind of cheap but as I entered the house, which still had all its original materials and finishes I was amazed how everything made sense, nothing wasted, coherent, took advantage of passive solar while providing lots of light and a great view, lines were simple, I was impressed but again this happens so seldom.
However, I have hope more and more architects are designing in 3D, even Architects who never once fired up CAD are embracing SketchUp as way to think and communicate in 3D. BIM allows design to happen digitally and with true BIM packages allows analysis and fabrication to build a building more cost effectively and real ROI metrics for making choices. Now this could be used for good rather than evil by providing hard bids on designs that were thought to cost prohibitive before, or proving new designs digitally and communicating them to developers and owners in 3D convinces them of their merit. What I hope is that ‘value engineering’ ceases to be a proxy for taking all the fun out out of a building but instead becomes part of the process that brings 3D digital design and BIM into reality and physical structures that continue to awe and inspire.
OGC 3D Fusion Summit @ MIT
Por Jim Foster - 3D, Built Environment, New Technologies, Point to Point Laser Technology - June 22, 2009
This event is being put on by the Open Geospatial Consortium, tough to type, tougher to say but it is one of many pushing for open standards and interoperability. They will be speaking about these issues and new tchnologies. I hope to stop by for some afternoon sessions and our lead technologist will be going so I hope to post on the presentations and findings.
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