Reality Computing

Digitally restoring cultural artifacts

The Mosul Museum in Mosul, Iraq was the country’s second largest museum. Although the museum was looted during the Iraq War, it was scheduled to reopen in 2014 and contained many priceless articfacts from the Assyrian era and from the ancient city of Hatra.

But before it could reopen, ISIS extremists took over the city. This past winter, propaganda videos showed the extremists using sledgehammers and power tools to destroy and deface some of the museum’s artifacts.

In an effort to at least digitally restore these and other lost artifacts, a group of researches created a volunteer initiative called Project Mosul. The researchers are part of the Initial Training Network for Digital Cultural Heritage—a European Union-funded initiative aimed at preserving cultural heritage using digital technology.

Reality Computing is at the heart of this effort. Visitors to the Project Mosul website can upload photographs or videos of the artifacts, and the project volunteers use photogrammetry to create 3D digital models of the artifacts from these images. The digital restoration becomes more complete and of a higher quality as more images are processed. The models will then be displayed in an online museum accessible to the public. The digital restorations are expanding to include other destroyed or damaged artifacts in the Middle East and beyond.

As the Project Mosul website explains, “While these 3D objects can never replace the artefacts that have been destroyed, they can serve as a starting point to keep the memory of these objects and their meaning alive. The 3D objects may initially serve in helping identify stolen items and aid researchers working on the destroyed items. Virtual reconstruction is not an end in itself, however, but the start of a reengagement with the meaning of these objects. It is hoped that the virtual representations will give an additional tool to the communities that wish to think about, learn about, and work on the preservation and dissemination of these important elements of a national, regional and global history, and to return a sense of agency to those left helpless in the face of the destruction of their heritage.”

For more information, check out the Project Mosul website or these articles:

• NPR’s All Tech Considered: Cyber Archaeologists Rebuild Destroyed Artifacts
• BBC: 'Cyber-archaeology' salvages lost Iraqi art

3D printing a steel bridge

Wait … What??

That’s right. Dutch company MX3D plans on 3D printing a steel pedestrian bridge over a canal in Amsterdam.

MX3D is an R&D company working to develop cost-effective robotic 3D printing technology. The company has invented a 3D printing tool in the form of a six-axis industrial robot with an advanced welding machine that can 3D print metals and resin in mid-air, without the need for support structures. The tool adds small amounts of molten metal at a time, enabling it to print extremely intricate metal shapes.

The first production test of the process will be a bridge in the center of Amsterdam. The structure will be printed in the span of two months. The printing will use multiple robots and take place on location—not in a factory setting. The tools will print their own supportive railing as well as the steel the bridge. The project is a collaboration between MX3D, designer Joris Laarman, Autodesk, construction company Heijmans, and others.

 

Computer rendering of the steel pedestrian bridge during printing.
Photo courtesy of Joris Laarman for MX3D.

The ‘compute’ and ‘create’ aspects of Reality Computing are at the core of this endeavor. Laarman is designing the bridge using the Autodesk software. MX3D’s website states, “The design of the bridge is a combination of the vision and craft of the artist, and the iterative power of Generative Design tools like Dreamcatcher. The team is also breaking away from traditional industrial robotic control strategies, using more intuitive systems based on technologies like Dynamo.”

3D printing is a well-established technology used by manufacturers for cost-effective prototyping, mold-making, and small-scale production. But its use for building and infrastructure construction has been limited to experiments with concrete structures. Large-scale 3D printing of metal and mixed material structures could have revolutionary ramifications for the construction industry.  

 

 

Although the exact location hasn’t been announced yet, the bridge is scheduled to be printed in 2017. 'Scheduled to be printed'  ….  a phrase not often used in conjunction with bridge construction!

In addition to the MX3D’s website and YouTube video above, check out these articles about the project:

• Chicago Tribune: 3D printing could be future of infrastructure
• Fast Company: This Robot Can 3-D Print A Steel Bridge In Mid-Air
• ArchDaily: MX3D to 3D Print a Bridge in Mid-Air over Amsterdam Canal

Documenting the world’s oldest known tools

In 2011, a team of archaeologists working in Kenya discovered stone tools that were subsequently dated to be 3.3 million-years-old. In addition to finding the oldest stone tools known to man, the age of the tools has changed our thinking about the world’s first toolmakers. Traditionally, the genus Homo (which includes modern humans) has been credited with the first use of stone tools. But the tools found in Kenya predate the oldest known Homo fossil by half a million years. The findings were reported this spring in Nature Magazine (May 20, 2015).

 

One of the oldest tools known to man.
Click here to view and interact with the stone tool in 3D.

 

Now, Reality Computing is allowing people to digitally view and interact with these stones tools. Dr. Louise Leakey, who was part of the team that discovered the tools, used Autodesk technology to create 3D digital replicas of artifacts for preservation, education, and further research. For several years, Leakey has been using Reality Computing to document fossil collections in a virtual laboratory called African Fossils, where the public and scholars alike can examine the objects via the web or download models of the fossils for 3D printing.

The stone tools were digitized (capture) and Autodesk Memento software was used to convert that captured reality data into high definition 3D meshes (compute). The resulting 3D models can be viewed on the AfricanFossils.org website and downloaded for 3D printing (create).

Check out these articles to read more about the stone tools discovery and the use of Reality Computing to digitally document and preserve these artifacts!

• National Geographic: Wrong Turn Leads to Discovery of Oldest Stone Tools
• BBC: Oldest stone tools pre-date earliest humans
• Autodesk’s In the Fold blog: Out of Africa and Into the Future: Oldest Tools on Earth Captured Using Cutting-edge Technology
• 3DPrint.com: Autodesk & Dr. Louise Leakey Share 3.3-Million-Year-Old Stone Tools with the World via 3D Printing

Where building construction meets shoe fabrication

The World is Flat is a class offered by the University of Virginia (UVa) School of Architecture. This hands-on fabrication seminar introduces students to digital fabrication and is taught by Melissa Goldman, the architecture school’s manager of fabrication facilities.

But the world, and the buildings on it, aren’t flat. So why the name The World is Flat?

“Students who are learning design and construction techniques for spaces and structures usually deal with components that are initially flat, such as boards, sheet metal, panes of glass, and so on. These materials then have to be cut, milled, folded, nailed, welded, and bolted to build a building,” says Goldman. “To help push the boundaries of construction, this class encourages students to think differently about construction—exploring and experimenting with materials and fabrication techniques that can more efficiently turn flat things into real three-dimensional products.” But in a semester-long class, the type of product they can actually produce is limited.

Which is where shoe fabrication comes in.

Every semester, the course has a different fabrication focus—from subassemblies that fold flat to advanced CNC milling techniques. The focus of the course this spring was 3D printing. In the first half of the semester, the students split up into different groups to design and fabricate a real three-dimensional product: custom-fitted, 3D printed shoes, created with the help of Reality Computing.

Capture -- The students used their smartphone cameras and software from Autodesk (123D Catch and Meshmixer) to generate 3D models of a student’s foot (see image at right).

Compute -- With Autodesk Fusion 360 software, the students used the model of that student’s foot to design a custom-fitted shoe around it—a shoe that could be 3D printed.

Create -- Iterations of the shoe design were printed for experimentation and testing on various types of 3D printers, some belonging to UVa and some in the manufacturing facility of a local shoe company: OESH Shoes. Goldman’s students were able to use OESH’s printers to prototype their designs beyond the capabilities of the 3D printers in Goldman’s facility—working with multi-material printers to explore and test how material selection and design choices influenced the flexibility and durability of their shoes.

 

Rural gas field development with Reality Computing

GHD Pty Ltd is a global firm that provides engineering, architecture, environmental, and construction services. The firm recently used Reality Computing for the site design of a new gas plant for Horizon Oil, an Australia-based oil and gas exploration, development and production company.

Located in a remote (currently confidential) location with only helicopter access to/from the mainland, the plant complex also includes a wharf and 80 kilometers of roads. An external consultant designed the gas plant itself, whereas the earthworks, drainage systems, and roads around the gas plant site were designed by GHD. Given its rural location, the team had a very large area to choose from for the location of roads and building sites to minimize the amount of earthworks required.

GHD used model-based design, Reality Computing, and Autodesk software to develop its design and work more efficiently with other project consultants and designers. Model-based visualizations also allowed GHD to keep the client involved throughout the entire design process without them needing to interpret very technical 2D drawings.

Create -- For its preliminary design effort, GHD imported 3D scanned data (LiDAR), aerial imagery, and other geographic and topographic data into InfraWorks to create an existing conditions model of the proposed site. The design team used this base model as a reference to determine the best locations for the wharf, road alignment, and gas plant.

Compute -- The use of these existing conditions informed the designers’ decision-making when evaluating proposed alignments. For example, when placing the road alignment, they were able to highlight clearance zones that should be avoided due to local community requirements for fresh water areas, vegetation area, and so forth. By using the existing conditions model and the plant footprint, GHD also optimized the plant layout based on the cut/fill requirements for various elevations of the different pads on the building site.

Create -- In addition to using InfraWorks for preliminary planning, GHD used the software to create 3D visualizations that helped visually communicate planning options to its client and virtually transport the client to this difficult-to-access location. GHD also used InfraWorks to communicate the design to project stakeholders and nearby residents through a series of model-based rendered images. For example, GHD used InfraWorks to show local residents that the plant would be almost completely hidden from the vantage points of their respective villages.

Click here to see more 3D visualizations of this project.  

Reality Computing goes underground

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-destructive method for locating and mapping underground objects by transmitting high-frequency radio signals into the ground that bounce back when they hit a buried object or a boundary between different material types. GPR surveys were first used in 1929 to measure the depth of a glacier in Austria and, in the following decades, likewise used to map the thickness of ice sheets and glaciers. In the 1970s, people started to use GPR for applications not involving ice.

Today, GPR is used for a wide variety of underground applications. These include studying groundwater, bedrock, and soils. Mapping remediation sites, archaeological features, and cemeteries. Detecting mines and unexploded ordnance. Locating buried evidence. Even prospecting for gold and diamonds! For all of these applications, Reality Computing plays a part—helping teams using GPR to capture existing conditions underground and developing a digital map of that underground area.

Reality Computing using GPR technology is frequently used for subsurface utility engineering.
Image courtesy of GEL Geophysics.

Another very common use of GPR today is the location of underground utilities. Unlike less expensive electromagnetic (EM) tools that can only detect metallic utilities, GPR can detect commonly used, non-metallic materials such as plastic conduits and concrete storm & sanitary sewers.

For example, South Carolina-based GEL Geophysics used GPR and Reality Computing last year to carry out underground utility surveys in preparation for two separate construction projects planned for the downtown Charleston area: the expansion of the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium and drainage improvements adjacent to the central energy plant for Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

Construction in historic Charleston is always challenging due to underground infrastructure congestion, and the fact that some utilities in this area were developed over 200 years ago. GEL’s subsurface utility engineering investigation for these projects provided reliable data on the exact location of underground utilities—helping its clients coordinate new designs with existing infrastructure and avoid unexpected issues during construction. Final deliverables included detailed 2D drawings and 3D project visualizations of all detectable buried infrastructure and obstructions in the area.

Gaillard Municipal Auditorium: The city is improving this auditorium complex by renovating the existing exhibition hall, adding a new banquet hall and performance hall, and constructing a new building for municipal offices. The project site encompasses an entire city block and requires infrastructure upgrades to and around the site, including the underground utilities beneath Alexander Street, one of the streets bounding the project.

MUSC plant: Greater Charleston’s water utility is planning some drainage improvements adjacent to the MUSC’s central energy plant (on Bee Street), including the design of a drop shaft for storm water distribution to the utility’s storm water drainage tunnel.

To support design efforts on both of these projects, GEL used GPR technology, Reality Computing, and Autodesk software to map the buried infrastructure.

During the investigations, the firm used GPR systems as well as EM pipe and cable locators to capture and record depths along the utilities at specific intervals. This reality-captured data was imported into Civil 3D software to create 3D models of the underground features, as well as conventional 2D drawings. In addition, the firm used InfraWorks to create 3D visualizations and animations exposing all the utilities buried under the streets in the context of the surrounding cityscape, complete with correct depths and pipe sizes. These visualizations helped some project stakeholders, who may have found it difficult to get a complete visual picture of the situation from 2D plans and sections, get a better understanding of expected construction challenges posed by the existing infrastructure.

GEL’s underground surveys help its utility clients and their contractors better plan trenching and construction efforts. By virtually exposing previously unknown utility conflicts, Reality Computing and GPR help projects to be completed without costly relocation of existing utilities or unexpected field delays.

For more information on both of these projects, click here (page 36-39). And check out these YouTube videos for the Alexander Street and Bee Street 3D InfraWorks animations!

Giving sports a complex with Reality Computing

A Norwegian sports complex is getting a makeover with the help of Reality Computing. Located on the outskirts of Oslo in Langhus, the 250-acre Langhus AIL sports club plans to upgrade and expand several existing facilities, and also build a new 3,000-seat outdoor soccer stadium, a 40,000 square-meter clubhouse and activity center with a pool and water park, and 4 outdoor soccer training fields. The project also includes 2 kilometers of new roads including a new 350-meter highway bridge, 3.5 kilometers of new pedestrian and bike paths with culverts and bridges, a parking garage, and three outdoor parking lots.

 

Sweco—a Scandinavian engineering, architectural, and environmental consulting firm—used model-based processes, Reality Computing, and Autodesk software to develop the conceptual plans for the expansion project.

Capture -- The firm used scanning and photogrammetry techniques to capture existing conditions of the site and the buildings, and ReCap software to process data from a terrestrial laser scanner and digital images from a camera mounted on a drone. This reality-captured data served as a reference and backdrop for Sweco’s conceptual design.

Compute -- The firm also imported survey, terrain, and GIS data into AutoCAD Civil 3D to determine suitable building sites, estimate earthworks, and develop preliminary site plans. Revit was used to model some of the existing structures and planned structures, and cloud-based tools in Autodesk A360 were used for project collaboration and data sharing.

Create -- Project visualizations were particularly important during the early phase of the design process for client reviews, public outreach, and fundraising. For example, the team used InfraWorks software in meetings with the client and local officials, enabling them to easily navigate the model, zoom into areas of interest, and quickly try out design alternatives based on feedback during the course of the meetings.

In addition, InfraWorks was used to create an animated movie file of the project that accurately reflected the real world with the conceptual design proposal visually layered on top of it. This file is being used to help local politicians, the media, cultural organizations, and local residents better understand the project. It is also being used by the sport club to attract potential investors, as well as new members and member organizations such as the Football Association of Norway and the Norwegian Swimming Federation.

Click here to view the animation. 

Building a new 140-year-old bridge

A railroad bridge in York, England dating from the mid 1800’s was recently renovated with the help of Reality Computing. Network Rail (the UK authority responsible for the Britain’s railway network) needed to make major repairs to the Scarborough Rail Bridge. The project involved the design and reconstruction of the cast iron structure that crosses the River Ouse—replacing the ornate but aging bridge with an aesthetically similar structure that can also accommodate today’s heavier steam engines.

The bridge is in the middle of a residential area with narrow streets as well as being close to several important rail lines. Network Rail used a model-based workflow, Autodesk software, and Reality Computing to design and build the replacement bridge, and coordinate the new structure with the existing sub-structures and its surroundings.

Laser scanning and ReCap was used to capture the existing conditions of the bridge and the surrounding environment. Cloud-based processing was essential for this reality capture step, as the point cloud was over 30-gigabytes and Network Rail's IT assets could not handle such large data sizes.

Designers used this existing conditions data in Revit as a reference for their design efforts. Navisworks was used to capture the work of all the disciplines and for virtual clash detection to coordinate the project. In addition, Reality Computing and the visualization capabilities it offered gave the extended project team and other stakeholders a better visual understanding of the design and the proposed construction techniques. As a result, project stakeholders had confidence that the complex structure was going to fit the existing environment and was buildable. And since the bridge is located in a prominent part of ancient York, accurate visual representations of the project also supported planning approval and public outreach efforts.

Click here for more project images, or here (page 54) for more information about the project.

Apple getting realer about Reality Computing

Point cloud from a single frame

Apple recently invested in exciting Reality Computing capture technology by buying LinX, an Israeli camera technology company. LinX develops very small multiple-lens cameras that can be incorporated into mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. In addition to capturing 2D still images, the cameras can capture accurate 3D depth information.

The multiple lens are used to calculate tiny discrepancies between images taken at the same time, enabling the creation of detailed 3D depth maps. By capturing both depth information and color, the LinX cameras can create 3D point clouds of objects from a single frame. By combining frames taken from different angles, a point cloud of an entire object or scene can be captured.

That scanned data can then be used in a variety of way (the ‘compute’ part of Reality Computing). For example, you could add or remove objects from a photograph, or use the 3D scanned image of a face in facial recognition software, or calculate the distance between points in a picture.

Once cameras like this become mainstream, everyone will basically have a 3D scanner in their phone…the possibilities are endless!

Click here to read a MacRumors article about LinX’s camera technology.

Reality Computing Power for As-Built Conditions

Reality Computing is helping to transform a century-old decommissioned coal-burning power plant into a new student center for Wisconsin’s Beloit College. The renovated facility will include a conference center, lecture hall, theater, pool, fitness center, gym, and a suspended track winding through the structure. In a nod to the building’s former role, some coal bunkers and steel tubing from the original plant are being preserved and incorporated into the design of the new facility.

The building’s age as well as its numerous catwalks and stairways rendered the existing as-built plans unreliable. So to facilitate their design effort, the project’s design team contacted TURIS Systems, a Wisconsin-based technology consulting group, to capture existing conditions of the building and develop accurate as-built documentation. But the current building is crowded with power generation equipment and many areas of the building and its steel structure are too far out of reach to measure by hand.

 

Reality Computing was used to capture and develop as-built conditions for this century-old power plant, being renovated into a new Beloit College student center. 277 scans were used to capture point cloud data such as this.
Image courtesy of TURIS Systems. 

 

So TURIS turned to Reality Computing in the form of laser scanning (capture) and 3D modeling (compute) to document the as-built conditions. Limited line-of-site issues required TURIS to perform 277 scans to fully capture the building. They used Autodesk ReCap to register the scans and then, with point cloud data as a reference, used Autodesk Revit to model and document the existing building structure, MEP components, power generation equipment, and so on. This accurate as-built information was then turned over to the project architect (Studio Gang) to guide their design effort. The whole process required only three weeks to complete, whereas the design team had budgeted a couple of months to capture that same amount of data—saving time and delivering more accurate information.

For more information about this project, check out this case study video from TURIS. In addition, this AECbytes article, Putting Point Clouds to Work: Then, Now, & Later, profiles the project and also has some very interesting descriptions of how TURIS is using Reality Computing for construction and post-construction applications.