Don't recreate... ReCap

Test of a 123d Catch generated point cloud into ReCap Studio

A lot of information has come to light since the last post, although ReCap Photo is still not available.

First, let's talk about the two different products. ReCap Studio (a free download desktop application), is included with all Autodesk 2014 Suites, and gives us the ability to clean, aggregate, organize and visualize point clouds. Using the .RCP/.RCS file format, it provides the ability to visualize 20+ Billion points which it is claimed, blows out of the water other point cloud tools available from Bentley which are said to cap around 3 Billion points. In my experience testing, it is very good for cleaning up files that I had previously generated from 123d Catch.

File formats that can be indexed		Formats created by Autodesk ReCap Studio
•ASC •CL3 •CLR •E57 •FLS •FWS •ISPROJ •LAS •PCG	•PTG •PTS •PTX •RDS (3D only) •TXT •XYB •XYZ •ZFS •ZFPRJ	•RCS. A single point cloud file that is saved in the Output folder after indexing. Point clouds saved in RCS format use meter as the unit of measurement. •RCP. A project file that points to the individual RCS files and contains information about them. •PCG, PTS, E57. Formats that can be exported.

Source: ReCap Help

ReCap Photo, available soon, is not a desktop application like ReCap Studio, instead, it is a web-based service that focuses on generating a point cloud from photos. In this blog we have covered extensively this topic under the tags of photogrammetry and 123D Catch. This new ReCap Photo service is basically the professional, higher resolution 123D Catch. This means that for certain situations (i.e. conceptual design), you may be able to bypass the use of an expensive laser scan and instead use photos to generate a point cloud. It is also claimed that it will also offer the ability to use targets to improve accuracy when generating these point clouds.

Quadcopter-digital camera workflow for generating a point cloud from photos (Courtesy of Autodesk)

The really cool thing about all this is that it can all be brought into Revit using the new point cloud format. Point clouds now have colour and we have more visual controls! We anticipate that ReCap Photo will have similar limitations encountered with 123D Catch, namely: the inability to resolve with good accuracy any shiny surfaces or walls behind obstructions. There is the possibility that some of these have been addressed with the ability to use targets, but we'll have to test and see. Resolution of photographs is improved, so that may improve accuracy too. So it is now time to go purchase your quadcopter, a shatter-proof camera and give it a try if you need to model a building shell. There are also opportunities for Rapid Energy Modeling. If you are doing interiors, then give us a call and we can give you some tips.

Finally, the remaining question from the previous post relates to modeling automation from the point cloud. The video released on Autodesk's page clearly shows a user creating a plane by selecting 3 points on a wall surface. My feeling was that it was meant to create a plane to aid in modeling, but upon further inspection, it seems like it is just a way of isolating elements you want to delete or isolate in regions (i.e. clipping the floor away to isolating a piece of equipment that you want to create a region for or simply delete). So my excitement about having new tools that automate model creation from a point cloud were short lived.

Finally, there is an archived on line presentation hosted by SPAR Point Group held on April 9th that covers and shows a lot of Autodesk's direction with these new tools. It is extremely recommended viewing if you want to see more details. Also, below I have included a shorter high level overview of the technology. A recent blog post has even more information.

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Forget Revit 2014, let's talk about ReCap

As significant as the improvements to the Revit 2014 platform are, we are surprised to see so little talk about what we think is a much bigger announcement: the availability of ReCap Studio and ReCap Photo. This appears to be a by-product of Autodesk's acquisition of Alice Labs and perhaps a development from 123d Catch.

I say perhaps because Autodesk is somewhat cryptic about ReCap Photo on their website, stating that it creates "...high-resolution textured 3D models from photos using the power of cloud computing." However, their demo video shows what looks a lot like the manipulation of an actual point cloud. A tell-tale sign of this is the perfect circles around where the laser scanning equipment was placed for the scan. So really what is shown (a high degree of automation in model creation from a point cloud with colour indexed points) doesn't match at all what the product description claims for either product  (Studio version - visualize, measure, edit point clouds; Photo version - take pictures, submit them to the cloud and get back a high density point cloud). Our assumption is that ReCap will do both of these things which really sets it apart from every other product as being the only one that supports both photogrammetry and point clouds, or perhaps more accurately: point clouds created from photogrammetry and laser scanning equipment.

Screen capture from ReCap demo video

In the demo video you see: 1) The ReCap environment navigating a point cloud and creating planes by simply selecting three points at known locations such as walls and floors. 2) Then inside Revit, add a wall and a door which they can see in context of the point cloud.  Note that 1 is not really related to 2... Are planes created in step 1 now available in Revit step 2? A small side note here that, Revit and AutoCAD products appear to have shifted from the traditional .PCG file to a highly compressed .RCP/.RCS - ReCap point cloud file format.

So, it really sparks the curiosity of whether or not this is the evolution of 123d Catch or not. Should the website description be accurate, we will all be able to at least test out this environment beginning April 12, 2013. The studio version should be available now, but at the time of posting, the link seems to redirect to the Autodesk App Exchange where we can find no trace of ReCap. *Update 3/29: Download link is now active (851MB).



Having played with 123d Catch for quite some time in an AEC environment, I am skeptical that you could get this accuracy in buildings, specially in the case of the demo video they show with blank walls. That is not to say that you couldn't get something semi-useful, it would just have a few obvious points where the translation to a point cloud would fail or additional set up work would be necessary. Anyway, we'll make sure to keep you posted as any news is made available.

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1.4x more efficient learning

These days everyone is creating videos, about Revit, BIM, the AEC industry, funny pets and dancing kids. Sitting down to watch an hour long+ Autodesk University video is a challenge for most people, so I have begun speeding up videos I watch. I have found that playing lectures at 1.4 times the speed is fast enough that I can still understand, yet slow enough that you can digest the information. The play speed controls can also help you slow things down, which is useful when the speaker is speaking insanely fast due to excitement or too much coffee. There are basically two options I see: one is when you can actually download a video, the other is if you are streaming a video.

Note: If you are having trouble downloading videos from AU, take a look at Luke Johnson's blog post.

Downloaded videos:

VLC Media Player and Windows Media Player both offer speed control. Windows Media Player is a little easier to fine tune.

Windows Media Player: Accessing speed controls after right clicking on the playback video

VLC Media Player: Accessing speed controls after right clicking on the playback video

Streamed You-Tube video:

If you opt-in to Youtube's HTML5 Trial you can unlock new controls that let you slow down or speed up videos. Super useful, but do take a look at the supported browsers. What Revit Wants StreamTransport

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Alcatraz

Over the break I ran through old pictures and found a series of 10 pictures taken on a boat tour of San Francisco a few years back. So I threw it at 123d Catch and the results were pretty amazing. See the YouTube video below.

3 "Soft" Benefits of BIM

Image by Christopher.F Photography via Flickr

These days there is a lot of interest in the ROI of BIM and ways of quantifying it. In my experience, working with multiple clients of different size, I have identified a lot of what I will call "soft" benefits of BIM. I call them soft because they are qualitative indicators that are harder to accurately estimate. Their benefit, however, is evident.

1. Less Interruptions
I hate interruptions. Interruptions often happen when there are problems in the field. A designer must respond by dropping whatever he/she is doing to go through the mental exercise of remembering why something was done one way or another. Using BIM helps make such conflicts more obvious and hard to avoid. By linking files from the different consultants together for coordination, design issues jump out as they would in a real life site inspection. BIM allows you to deliver a resolved design. These interruptions are hard (impossible?) to measure, as well as their effect on your personal productivity. Their avoidance is a significant benefit of BIM.

2. Attraction and Retention of Valuable Staff
Some firms have identified that moving to BIM helps them attract the brightest and most motivated staff. On the other hand, firms that resist exploring new technologies, processes and workflows often complain of losing their staff or having low staff morale. Well, if your staff isn't mentally stimulated, excited to come to work and challenged intellectually, why would they choose to stay with you? So think about that: BIM as a way of attracting and retaining your most valued staff which translates into obtaining and securing more interesting work.

3. Value Designing vs. Value Engineering
When used early in the design process, BIM allows designers to explore and quantify design options to find opportunities to bring value to a project without a huge investment of time. Try running multiple design options and doing early cost estimates and daylighting optimizations using traditonal 2D. By forcing a more integrative approach, the use of BIM allows quick and early comparison of things like aesthetics, code compliance and building performance. Like the previous point, this translates into securing more work because you can prove that you bring value to a project, not just a 3D model at the end.

Don't underestmate the soft benefits of BIM. The may make your practice more solid than you think.

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The Panacea of BIM - Part 2 of ...

English: Example of 3-point perspective. Model by "Noel" from Google 3D Warehouse. Rendered using IRender nXt and Google SketchUp (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We can do BIM, I swear!

A project just arrived and it requires a "BIM deliverable". Nothing more and nothing less... As usual, no additional details are provided as to exactly what this entails or even why it is required in the first place. What to do?

The competitive nature of the AEC industry and severe undercutting is unfortunately resulting in a lowest common denominator approach where pseudo-BIM takes the form of Frankenstein-esque Revit project files. After all, why would anyone pay a premium if there is an oversupply of people who are quick to claim that they can deliver a "kick @$$" Revit model? These building information monsters provide little value downstream to either general contractors or building owners (the two groups who arguably have the most to gain from true BIM).

General contractors are concerned with exactly how things will be put together and require a logical organization of a model that allows them to quickly quantify, coordinate, detect clashes and link schedules for task completions. This helps them mitigate risk in their practice.

The owner, on the other hand, wants information that can help them in the operation and maintenance of the building, manufacturer, warranty and service dates for expensive mechanical equipment as well as a model that can be used to identify and prioritize upgrade/retrofit opportunities on their building portfolio. This helps them save money in operations, maximize their profit and protect their investments.

On the design side however, most people seem to still be concerned with recreating the 2D graphical output of technologies from the last decade. After all, the legal contractual requirement is still in ink and paper. People fail to see the bigger picture of how their work may help others, and in so doing, help themselves. This is slowly changing thanks to legal enablers such as IPD contracts.

Real BIM makes it possible to reduce the amount of unnecessary rework that happens today where a model is created in SketchUp for renderings/visualization, in Revit for documentation/coordination, in IES VE by the energy consultant for energy analysis and daylighting, in ETABS and a handful of other products for structural analysis, in Revit again by the contractor because those designers have no clue how things are actually built... This is not to say that everything happens in an authoring tool like Revit, because it won't, but at least there can be strategies in place to reuse as much information as possible. This, I must emphasize, does not happen automatically!

The solution is to clearly define the specific uses that will be given to the model and then commit to work together for the success of a project from the very beginning. What you want to get out of the BIM will determine your modeling and communication strategies. This should be outlined in a BIM Execution plan to make sure everyone understands the "greater" goals of the project and is accountable for their behaviour and responsibilities throughout the project.

As pointed out by Kelly Cone at the Autodesk Media Summit earlier this year (paraphrasing): we are approaching a time when everyone is using Revit. For firms to be successful in the long term, they will have to demonstrate what value they can add and what they can do with their model. The days of just being able to provide a crappy Revit model at the end of the project are coming to an end. So what can you do with your model? and how many BIM Execution plans do you have under your belt?

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Model-based Coordination: Navisworks and BIMsight

I had the honour of presenting at this month's BIMbc user group meeting on the topic of model-based coordination. While this can be done in Revit, even using the freely available Revit viewer, there is always the issue of having manageable and responsive models that are easy to navigate and share. Tools like Navisworks and BIMsight fill this need by providing a quick way of navigating a model for the purposes of extracting information, associating files with objects and clash detection among others. Below are the slides I had prepared for the presentation giving my perspective on the two products. The slides focus on the degree of development of the measurement dimension tool in both programs.

Coordination using Navisworks or BIMsight from Edwin Guerra

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