I'm a bit late in posting about the recent convention held a few weeks back in Hartford, CT. This annual event gathers representatives from all of the US departments of transportation and their contractors and vendors.
What a show it was! We enjoyed the company of a steady stream of enthusiastic visitors at the Autodesk booth all interested in the very loud buzz Civil 3D is making in the US DOT community.
It was also fun to see a competition for local school kids that AASHTO held. The task was to create a model of a community focusing on transportation and sustainable design. I was blown away to see what these kids came up with. We simply cant get these up and coming engineers and designers graduated and licensed soon enough!
Richard, Ben and Mike from Irving R. Robbins Middle School and their model
Please feel free to attend this very cool event at AU!
http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2008/09/autodesk-univ-1.html
My friend Cathy Wagenaar in the K-TEK booth, and my favorite new gadget at right—the Leica HDS 3000 Laser Scanner in the Leica booth.
Were you one of the almost 10,000 people there? This year I taught a few classes, took a few classes, reconnected with many old friends, and made many new ones.
I am embarrassed to tell you that I did not make even a single post or take even one photo at AU this year. Why? My dance card was much too full. It's a lame excuse, but it's the only one I've got.
This was my 12th AU—I think. I can't remember what year was my first...I'm getting old, don't you know.
It is still difficult for me to decide what aspect I like best about AU. The classes are second to none of course—but the networking is priceless. The social events in the evenings are always great as well. At the risk of sounding like a politician, I like them all.
Here are some good links to AU blogs, photos, webcasts, etc. by some friends and coworkers who found the time to snap a few photos and document the experience.
See you at AU 2008!
My friends on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) tell me that this Friday and Saturday (11/2 and 11/3), the island will be featured during a segment of Mysterious Journeys, a series on the Travel Channel. They also said that some of my friends from there (who you will be hearing more about in the near future), will be making appearances on this show. You can find the airtimes for the show HERE.
This past week, I attended the VII International Conference on Easter Island and the Pacific that was held at Gotland University in Visby, Sweden. Held every four years, this conference brings the world’s leading archaeologists together to present papers on Easter Island and the Pacific area.
You may recall that I visited Rapa Nui (a.k.a Easter Island) this past February (see February posts) and was fortunate enough to gain permission to survey for several days on the island. Due to the impression that Civil 3D made on the island’s government officials, I was asked to demonstrate Civil 3D at the conference.
During the conference, I had the pleasure of meeting many of the 160 attendees. I was in awe of the collective knowledge of the group and their passion for Rapa Nui. Clearly there is something seductive about the place. I have only been there once for six short days. Some of these folks have spent their lives and/or careers there. Their passion for the island is evident in their work and their conversations with me—a lowly software geek whose archaeological knowledge comes from The Discovery Channel.
Rarely have I been so nervous presenting in front of a group of people! Fortunately for me, the group was eager to see Civil 3D—specifically its survey, GIS, and terrain modeling capabilities. Archaeology, you ask? How can civil engineering software fit here?
Historically archaeology has been a 2D process. GPS and GIS technology is standard issue, as are paper and pencil for completing hand drawn sketches of sites, excavations, etc. Databases are also frequently created and managed to inventory sites and the artifacts they contain.
I was confident that by showing my audience the GIS, survey, and terrain modeling capabilities of Civil 3D I would gain some converts. For years many archaeologists have used GIS software to map their work. For me, this meant that I could expect questions about the interoperability of legacy GIS data with respect to Civil 3D. Using the MAP functionality in Civil 3D, I was able to demonstrate this was not an issue, since Civil 3D is built on top of AutoCAD MAP 3D.
Archaeologists have also used surveying technology for many years to locate and map their sites. The survey components of Civil 3D, including figures and description keys, provide a perfect set of tools on an archaeological dig—all in 3D. With total stations, GPS, and yes, even hand written field notes, Civil 3D can accommodate. Furthermore, any attribute data (size, age, color, condition, etc.) can be added to each point and then queried or used for thematic mapping purposes.
The 3D terrain models that Civil 3D can create offers a new and powerful benefit to archaeologists. Historically the creation of contours, cross sections, earthwork calculations, and drainage patterns has all been done manually with paper and pencil. I think it is fair to say the survey grade, 3D models that Civil 3D can create and analyze made a big impression on many of the attendees.
Clearly its application to archaeology is yet another example of just how adaptable Civil 3D is!
I would like to thank my dear friend Sonia, my new friends with the Easter Island Foundation and Gotland University, as well as the attendees who patiently tolerated my ignorance of all things archaeological.
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