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AutoCAD WS is a cloud application that allows you to view, edit, and share drawings through a web browser or a mobile device including iOS and Android phones and tablets.
The latest version AutoCAD WS 1.4 supports GPS. It also supports viewing of 3D drawings and remote plotting using any web-connected HP ePrinter.
Autodesk has announced that two DevCamps will be held in June. DevCamps are for folks who want to learn how to use the APIs of Civil 3D/Map 3D, Inventor, Revit and new Autodesk web services and mobile technologies to develop custom applications or to integrate with other applications. DevCamps offer training for both beginners and experts on the APIs. Probably the best thing about DevCamps is that the engineers who developed the APIs and the product managers responsible for them will be there so you have the opportunity to talk to them directly.
There is also a Business Development track for folks responsible for strategic direction and investments as well as Autodesk specific sales and marketing topics.
Two DevCamps are being held in June 2012.
AEC
When: June 6-7, with a DevLab on June 8
Where: Boston, Massachusetts -- near Autodesk’s AEC Division headquarters
Manufacturing
When: June 13-14, with a DevLab on June 15
Where: Portland, Oregon -- near Autodesk’s Manufacturing Division headquarters
Following each DevCamp theer will be a day long DevLab. The DevLab has no specific agenda and is designed for interactive coding and problem solving. You should bring your laptop and expect to work on your code as you do in your own office. There will be a team of developers available to review your code, answer your questions, and make suggestions.
If you want to be informed of regular updates on these events, including agenda information, when registration opens, and early bird registration discounts, please send an email to Melrose Ross at email address [email protected] giving your full name and company name.
I've blogged previously about AutoCAD in the cloud, also known as AutoCAD WS, which allows you to do AutoCAD design with a browser or an iOS or Android device. Now there is an AutoCAD Isometrics WS technology preview available free on Autodesk Labs that is an Autodesk Cloud service for creating, storing, viewing, and sharing isometric drawings. You can design and collaborate on isometrics across multiple platforms - desktop, web, and mobile devices - with full DWG compatibility. To do this upload PCF files from AutoCAD Plant 3D, Autodesk Inventor, or 3rd party applications, and then generate isometric drawings on cloud servers. You can share and view the resulting isometrics through the AutoCAD WS web and mobile applications. There is a video introduction to AutoCAD Isometrics WS.
Earlier this year, Autodesk announced new software for conceptual design as part of its BIM for Infrastructure portfolio. Infrastructure Modeler represents the convergence of design, GIS and 3D visualization and is intended to help users create models that represent the existing natural and built environment using GIS, digital terrain models, CAD, BIM, and a variety of imagery data; sketch and evaluate multiple alternative conceptual designs for projects; and use 3D visualization technology to communicate what these design alternatives will look like to stakeholders.
Infrastructure Modeler 2012 is now available in French, German, and Simplified Chinese versions. Portuguese, Russian, and Japanese versions are expected soon.
Last year about this time I blogged about the Master Municipal Construction Documents Association (MMCDA) which maintains a set of templates for tendering and contract administration for municipal infrastructure projects that is geared toward government, consultants, contractors, and owners. The documents are appropriate for municipal works projects, both underground and street level, and have been widely adopted in British Columbia. The MMCD have been specifically designed for use in projects that can be characterized as municipal works (underground to street level), involving unit prices for the majority of tender items, and where the laws of British Columbia apply.
The documents include MMCD Templates for AutoCad Civil 3D for construction and record drawings that provide a common CAD standard that is is expected to enable comparability and consistency of presentation across the province. The Civil 3D template project is focused on "internal drawing structure, external drawing presentation, and post construction GIS submissions".
Standarding Asset Data Management
At the GITA PNW conference this week Andrew Walther and Jonathan McIntyre outlined a new MMCDA project, the Asset Management Data Repository (AMDR) project, that is intended to assist local governments in meeting the requirements of PSAB 3150 (similar to GASB 34 in the US) by defining a standard data model and a process for managing as-builts from engineering design to records management.
Under PSAB 3150 municipalities are required to manage infrastructure assets under a set of standard accounting rules. For most municipalities, existing infrastructure records are incomplete, out of date, and often not accounted for financially, according to accounting standards. As a result of PSAB 3150, municipalities are actively engaging in developing an accurate and uptodate record of assets.
The AMDR project is designed to assist local governments in BC to adopt a standard approach for asset management including as-builts.
Autodesk has announced Autodesk Cloud, a collection of web-based capabilities, products and services. Autodesk began providing cloud-based applications for the design industry more than a decade ago with Autodesk Buzzsaw. Autodesk Cloud enables users to begin using the cloud to access and store their work; to view their work through web browsers or mobile devices; and to share their work with other users, I've blogged previously about AutoCAD WS which allows users to perform CAD design with a browser or with a mobile iOS or Android device.
Autodesk cloud is provided through partnerships with multiple partners, including Amazon and Citrix. Amazon Web Services for more than three years has hosted applications such as Autodesk Homestyler software and Autodesk Seek web service using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) and Elastic Block Store (EBS).
Additional cloud services provided by Autodesk include;
Autodesk Cloud services are available now worldwide in English and will be available soon in other languages including Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.
Autodesk has announced new software for conceptual design as part of its BIM for Infrastructure portfolio. Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler 2012 is designed for GIS, planning, and civil engineering professionals to help evaluate future infrastructure designs. Infrastructure Modeler is intended to help users create models that represent the existing natural and built environment using GIS, digital terrain models, CAD, BIM, and a variety of imagery data; sketch and evaluate multiple alternative conceptual designs for projects; and use 3D visualization technology to communicate what these design alternatives will look like to stakeholders.
You can find videos here.
AutoCAD in the cloud, also known as AutoCAD WS, is getting a lot of interest. AutoCAD WS enables you to share AutoCAD drawings (DWGs) including viewing and editting over the web. Users can view, edit, and share drawings with just a browser, or with standalone iOS or Android apps.
Hosting your data on your own servers
One of the questions I hear often from large organizations is, can I host the drawing files on my own servers instead of uploading them to Autodesk servers ?
With the 2012 release, AutoCAD WS now allows you to host your data on your own servers. AutoCAD WS streams your data from your servers into the AutoCAD WS web and mobile apps, so you don't have to manually upload or keep copies of your drawings on Autodesk servers. This new capability is known as Anywhere Storage and was released last week.
Using this feature users can connect their AutoCAD WS accounts to a variety of external and internal storage sites. Basically it lets you map an external server into your AutoCAD WS account. All rules including permissions are determined and administered by the external service or server. The protocol used to transmit the data to AutoCAD WS is the industry standard webDAV secured protocol, supported by all major platforms and content management systems (Dropbox, Windows Server, Sharepoint, Buzzsaw, Documentum, Box.net, and others).
There are tutorials on how to set this up at the AutoCAD WS tutorials site, for example, to connect AutoCAD WS to Windows Server or SharePoint.
I blogged previously about Project Butterfly, an Autodesk Labs Technology Preview that allowed AutoCAD users to edit AutoCAD drawings over the web just using a Web browser. Last September Autodesk announced the commercial availability of AutoCAD WS, which is is a web application that allows you to view, edit, and share drawings (.dwg) through a web browser or a mobile device.
Since the mobile apps became available from the iTunes store, the AutoCAD WS mobile app has been downloaded over one million times by iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users. In addition, users have uploaded more than 1.2 million drawings.
If you are interested in new technological approaches for the challenges facing the utility, municipal government, and other industries, such as smart design, integrated substation design, records management, reducing truck rolls with high resolution imagery, convergence, digital cities, sustainability, open municipal geospatial data, and you would like to share ideas and experiences with other folks in the industry, then you might think about coming to Autodesk University in Las Vegas, November 29 to Dec 1.
You can access last year's classes at the AU web site.
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