Six new tools for today` s architects Presented By: Nashwa Youssif Abd ell hafiz Deborah Snoonian, P.E. Web Address: December 2004

Ever since acquiring Revit two years ago, The major upgrade in Revit 6 is a “design option” feature that allows architects to produce, present, and simultaneously track different versions of the same project for a client within a single file. This shortcut eliminates the need to create multiple memory-hogging versions of the same project and decreases the chance that designers will lose track of changes and revisions as design options are developed simultaneously. 6 Revit Autodesk With Revit 6, team members “borrow” design components from a single file to develop them simultaneously. Even as another user is working on the same design, which enables different team members to work on multiple aspects of a project simultaneously

It consists of three products: Atmosphere, the tool for creating the environments; Atmosphere Player. a plug-in similar to Macromedia’s Flash plug-in that lets anyone using a Web browser have access to files created with Atmosphere; and an optional, publicly available server where users can meet online to view, change, and annotate 3D content. Using simple keyboard and mouse commands, a viewer tours a 3D environment built in Atmosphere from different angles and viewpoints. Atmosphere Adobe Systems Architects can create and explore interior spaces with Adobe Atmosphere and its free viewer.

Pictometry and EFS give users dimension information directly from aerial maps (above, an image of Arlington County, Virginia). Pictometry has patented a system that combines aerial photography with measurement software in a service that lets users download high-quality digital images on which dimensions can be measured by a simple click of a mouse. And with the aid of Pictometry’s Electronic Field Study (EFS) software, users can get dimensional data for any feature—in a building, street, even a grove of trees—by pointing and clicking directly on the maps themselves. The company will add photographs of more locations over time. Online and Electronic Field Study Pictometry (EFS) Software

This leading seller of interactive whiteboards has released its desktop- size display and presentation device with a smaller footprint and at a lower price. The ID250 allows users to make notations on CAD files, photos, or other computer images directly on the display’s pressure-sensitive screen. The ID250 can be connected to a larger monitor or screen so that others may view the work being done. Additional software packages that come with the ID250, SMART Board and SMART Ideas, contain tools for inserting audio, video, and text notes into existing digital media. Sympodium ID250 Interactive Pen display The ID250’s surface is pressure-sensitive for pen input.

Laser ScanArm This device is a combined seven- axis laser-scanning measurement system—in English, this means it offers flexibility and portability. Designers and their collaborators can use the ScanArm to take the dimensions of physical models, or portions of buildings, for many different purposes. Its laser scanner measures more than 13,000 points per second. It comes equipped with software for analyzing the data, or “point clouds,” that are collected by the scanner; the point clouds can also be read by competiing software, such as Geomagic, PolyWorks, and Rapidform Faro’s Laser ScanArm can measure dimensions of physical models for digital analysis.

This portable electricity generator is aimed (for now) at the Japanese residential market, where houses are smaller and energy costs higher than in many other parts of the world. The Air Gen is the first portable fuel cell suitable for indoor use. It makes electricity from separately sold canisters of hydrogen that snap onto the equipment and can be replaced during operation. As long as the canisters are attached, it can supply electricity indefinitely, and unlike gasoline- or other fuel- powered generators, it doesn’t create excess noise or emissions that must be controlled. Air Gen Fuel Cell Generator The AirGen Fuel Cell Generator, intended for residential use, makes electricity from hydrogen.