IMAGINiT Geospatial Solutions Blog

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings…

Just a quick note to wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all. 

I have been on vacation, and on the road, for the last 2 weeks and my family and I have road tripped from cold, wintery Saskatoon, SK to sunny and much warmer Mesa, AZ.  We have had a great time, and have seen some incredible sites along the way.  Many of these landmarks and geological wonders have really made me think about the early explorers and specifically early surveyors and engineers, but more on that later as I gather my thoughts for some future topics.

Well, we’ve got another early morning tomorrow, and what looks like more snowy weather to drive through so I need to sign off now.

Until next time,
Take care!

Warren M

SPAR 2010

Innovate… Connect… Learn…

This is the slogan for the SPAR 2010. 

What is SPAR 2010 you ask?

I had to ask the same question when I received an email from Tom Greaves, the CEO of Spar Point Research LLC, informing me of the event.  Tom came across my post referring to Point Cloud technologies from Autodesk University and informed me of the upcoming event.

SPAR 2010 is the 7th annual conference on 3D Imaging and Positioning for the  Engineering, Construction, Manufacturing, and Security industries.  Topics include: 3D laser scanning, mobile, surveying & mapping, LIDAR, dimensional control, asset management, scan-to-BIM, CAD/GIS integration, security planning & forensics and digital heritage preservation.

As I mentioned in a previous post, 3D scanning, and point clouds in general, are showing up in a wide range of disciplines.  Obviously, as the 3D scanning hardware costs fall, the availability of data and service offerings increase, and Tom indicated that there are going to be over 30 different companies will be in attendance, including the major players in the industry.

The conference schedule includes over 30 different classes separated into Tracks for various disciplines., and the agenda looks like there is some great content to take in at this conference. 

Besides, what better place to be at the beginning of February than Houston, Texas? At least from my perspective, because as I sit here writing this article it is a balmy –26C (-15F) outside, with no end in sight for the cold front…

Until next time,
Stay warm!

Warren M

AU ‘09 – Day 2 & 3

Well, my day 2 at AU today was a little more ‘relaxing’.  Relaxing in the sense that I don’t have any ‘official’ responsibilities today other than attending my sessions.  I’m starting to get ‘the lay of the land’, and the Mandalay Bay convention center doesn’t seem quite as confusing as the first day…  Attendance this year is down quite substantially due to the economic conditions of many regions of North America.  None-the-less, the scale of these events is still mind boggling…

The first nights main event was the International Welcome Reception and Exhibit Opening: food, drink, giveaways, and conversation.  I was great to have the opportunity to chat with many folks coming by our booth

Last night was the annual AUGI Beer Bust, and again, a great time was had by all.  I had no booth responsibilities this evening, so I had the opportunity to take in the entire exhibit area, and there are some impressive technologies being show.  By far, the most exciting technology becoming more prevalent is the companies providing the laser scanning technologies.  The application for point clouds is unlimited… from geospatial and land applications, to mechanical and manufacturing applications, to the media and entertainment business.  Faro Technologies & Leica Geo-Systems are two hardware providers in this arena, and both were showing some impressive hardware and technologies.  Another technology that provided a huge ‘wow factor’ was imaging by Zebra Imaging.  This is another technology that spans many disciplines with respect to the types of applications for it’s use.

On Day 3, I co-presented with with Mike Schlosser in the Analyze This! class, and assisted with a lab by Nathan Moore, on consuming Point Clouds with the new Point Cloud object in AutoCAD Map.  Both sessions went very well, again with many great questions asked, and positive feedback.  The day, and conference,  wrapped up with the AU Party on Thursday night.

AU ‘09 - Day 1

Today is the official kick-off to the 2009 edition of Autodesk University.

The agenda today includes:

• The General Session Welcome, and Keynote
• Classes and labs
• International Community Reception and the opening of the Exhibit Hall

Louis Ball from the Autodesk Consulting group  gave a good presentation on migrating CAD data to Topobase.  He discussed many of the problems encountered during the data assessment, such as inconsistent, non standardized data, topological errors, and a variety of issues that can be present.  Louis discussed the basic process and strategies for dealing with many of these problems, and outlined the general process for a migration such as this.

The Welcome and Keynote address was just before lunch.  Carl Bass gave some insight into some of the companies ‘doing more with less’ using Autodesk Technologies.  Amory Lovins, founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, gave an insight presentation on a concept called ‘whole system design’.  Amory provided some very interesting, and  thought provoking ideas and concepts with respect to sustainable design.

My session this afternoon went great and without any hiccups, and there was some great questions and feedback from those in attendance.  I really enjoy seeing people learning, or seeing, something new in a piece of software that they use everyday and “didn’t realize it could do that”.  It is especially gratifying when they tell you that something you showed them can make their jobs easier, or ,more effective.

Well, off to get changed and ready for the opening of the Exhibit Hall tonight, where I will be doing some booth duty at the IMAGINiT booth.

Until next time,
Take care

Warren M

ADN Conference ‘09

Well I’m here in Vegas this week to take in the 2009 edition of Autodesk University.  AU, as it’s termed, is a gathering of Autodesk professionals from around North America and the world.  As the ‘university’ name suggests, AU is all about learning, and with more than 600  classes, labs and technical sessions, there is no shortage of content for all levels of users.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I will be presenting one class, co-presenting on one class, and assisting in two labs (GS118-2L & GS318-2L) at this years event.

The ADN Conference, or Autodesk Developer Network Conference, is usually held a day ahead of the conference opening, so I have flown in a day early to take in the conference.

So what is the ADN Conference you ask?  Well, to answer that question, you first need to know what the ‘Autodesk Developer Network’ is…

The ADN is a membership program for developers.  Whether your an individual or commercial software developer, the ADN membership: provides the business, software, support, and training you need to meet your customers’ needs.  Regardless of the applications you might be developing, the ADN provides developers with access to many resources.  The benefits of being a member of the ADN are many, and as someone who has done some development over the years, I can attest to the value of being a member.

Anybody that does any level of application development, or customization of Autodesk software products, should give serious consideration to becoming a member of the ADN.

So… now that you know ‘what’ the ADN is, back to the conference…

The ADN conference is a chance to network with fellow developers from around the world, and to really get at the heart of Autodesk technologies.  The conference provides the opportunity to:

• Hear from Autodesk executives and engineers where Autodesk is taking design software technologies in the coming year—and beyond.
• Learn about the latest Autodesk application development technologies—today and tomorrow.
• Do some networking of your own with Autodesk staff and your fellow developers during breaks, lunch, and the evening reception.

While much of what is discussed at these sessions today falls under NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreements) so I can’t talk about details, suffice to say there are some exciting things happening on the next product releases.  If you want to know how you to can see what’s coming in future product releases, check out this post!  The conference also gives developers insight into the long term goals and strategies for the Autodesk products, and I must say the future looks very bright.  The day was capped off with some great food, beverage, and fun at the ESPN Zone at the New York, New York.

Until next time,
Take care.

Warren M