PLANNING, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION & MANAGEMENT OF ROAD ASSETS December 2014

New point cloud technologies

Point
handle massive datasets efficiently

Also
clouds
BIM: New developments
widen perspectives for
engineering software
Modelling: Advances improve
operating effectiveness
Design: Sophisticated new
tools assist project design

A supplement to
 More Than Just a Pretty Picture

An intelligent model helps designers

predict performance and save design
time throughout the lifecycle.

The final construction reflects the value

of BIM throughout the project.

Images Courtesy of Parsons Brinckerhoff and Arup Joint Venture

Intelligent Models from Design to Build

See the difference. Use 3D models based on proven transportation engineering design with
Bentley software. When building the 5.6 billion dollar Airport Link, Northern Busway and
Airport Roundabout Upgrade project, the Parsons Brinckerhoff Arup Joint Venture team
delivered the design and carried out the construction in record time. Using Bentley’s broad
range of road, bridge, tunnel, geotechnical, and collaboration software, the team reduced
design time, field errors and construction costs.

Why not use proven Bentley BIM transportation

software on your next project?
www.bentley.com/OnlyBentley

© 2013 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, ProjectWise, and MicroStation are either registered or unregistered
trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product
names are trademarks of their respective owners.

4412_AD_BIM-WrldHighwys_8-25x11-75_1113.indd 1 11/22/2013 3:05:50 PM

 Contents

December 2014:
05 Comment
07 Feature article:
BIM
New BIM advances promise a third

07
wave of software advances

13 Modelling
More effective modelling packages will
optimise project delivery

19 Design

25 Asset
New tools and capabilities are helping
speed design processes
19
management
Users can quickly identify targets for asset
management using new software

28 Cover story:

28
Point clouds
Powerful point cloud technologies permit
massive datasets to be gathered

32 Traffic
Improved vehicle flow permits greater traffic
volumes utilising sophisticated software

34 Survey
Employing UAVs allows fast aerial
surveying at low cost

36 Projects
A tricks historic bridge upgrade project
benefited from precise planning using
software

38 Machine control
Shorter timescales can be achieved
by introducing new machine control
technologies

40 Products
Optimising performance onsite is
delivering gains to the bottom line 34
Software for Road Infrastructure 03
 MACHINES MOVE DIRT BUT INFORMATION

moves mountains
Your decisions drive production. Today, with 2D and 3D project monitoring
in VisionLink, Trimble can show you real production in real-time. And help
you align assets and drive the best results for all your projects. Real-time
project monitoring goes far beyond any asset management solution on the
market today. VisonLink measures absolutely and provides the data directly.
So you have the on-site
awareness you need to move people,
machinery and mountains.

To get the information you’re looking for go to:

THE CONSTRUCTION
heavycivil.trimble.com/getreal TECHNOLOGY STANDARD

Trimble Heavy Civil Construction Division (800) 361–1249 (937) 245–5154 FAX: (937) 233–9441 © 2013 Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. TC186 (07/13)

Smarter
packages
I
n the construction software sector a high-speed
flow of technological developments is helping
deliver new and improved solutions to customers.
The software providers have developed a diverse
array of solutions both for specific applications and
also for a much broader range of duties.
The key players in the sector are fiercely
competitive, with some of the larger firms also
having made a string of acquisitions to grow their
portfolios. This situation looks set to continue too,
with some smaller specialist companies likely to
be bought up in the future. Partnerships between
key technology players meanwhile offer greater
integration of software solutions.
Through the use of the latest software packages,
surveyors, designers, engineers and clients can work
cooperatively on large projects, boosting efficiency
and reducing costs. Snags can be identified early
on and corrected, reducing the risk of the need for
changes during construction with all their inherent
Welcome
costs. Major savings can be made in materials, both
by optimising design processes and reducing the
need for contingencies during construction and also
by cutting waste. Similarly, the need for reworking
can be reduced or even eliminated entirely,
delivering further cost savings for projects.
By integrating cloud computing and the
capabilities offered by the internet, construction
software can deliver additional gains in operational
efficiency. And new and more effective point cloud
systems can increase the efficiency and speed of
surveying tasks, providing comprehensive and
accurate data for project participants.
The latest advances in building information
modelling (BIM) operations can also deliver major
economies to clients, by optimising working
processes even in large-scale projects.
Mike Woof
Editor, World Highways
The Informed Authority
Software for Road Infrastructure 05
 Scandinavia´s leading
consultants are
now designing
roads and rail with

BIM for Infrastructure

using
NovapointDCM & QuadriDCM
Unique BIM modelling and collaboration in the Cloud

VIANOVA SYSTEMS AS | Telephone +47 67 81 70 00 | www.vianovasystems.no

TO rOad cOnsTrucTiOn

www.constructiontv.tv
Contact: Roger Adshead | radshead@ropl.com | +44 7768 178163

New technology advances
are pushing software
beyond the
BIM model
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water with the ongoing
development of building information modelling (BIM), a whole slew of technology
developments is opening up even wider perspectives for engineering software
and the way it works
“I
think we are in the middle of a third wave of
advances,” said one leading developer, Bentley
Systems’ head of technology development
Keith Bentley. “First there was the shift from paper to
computerised drawing tools. Then came a transition into
the 3D drawing and from that the development of 3D
design models and BIM.”
These were made possible by hardware developments
advances, in the first place the PC itself and then
the arrival of advanced 32-bit workstations, “…and
particularly the networking of them together.”
Computers progress constantly of course, with the
Moore’s “Law” doubling of capacity every 18 months
or so, but now there is a set of new technologies
representing a paradigm shift. Bentley, speaking at the
company’s recent conference in London, listed the
mobile phone or tablet, and equally important the arrival
of near-universal radio linkage “so that you are always
in touch”; the ubiquity of cameras in such devices of
relatively high definition, and just as important other
detectors, such as the global positioning system (GPS)
and orientation; the growing availability of almost
unlimited on-tap computing power and storage in
the “cloud” provided by firms like Microsoft; small but
powerful batteries, which now make very mobile devices
possible; and the power of graphic processors developed
for games but offering huge additions to calculating
power.
BIM
“Even five years ago this was still anything but normal,”
he said.
On top of such hardware changes there is also the
capacity for computers to distribute their tasks among
other computers, or perhaps into the cloud and huge
computer capacity there.
“And we have techniques like ‘big’ data handling,
though I prefer to call it ‘fast data’,” he added.
All this is a new transition point he declares, on a par
with previous step changes, and one that still has huge
potential for software development. “We are perhaps one
third of the way into this shift upwards,” he said, “…and it
is very challenging for the software developers to keep
up with all the possibilities.”
The kinds of changes being offered in design and
construction are particularly noticeable at present in
the transition from design modelling to field use and
during the construction process itself. Across the various
suppliers the provision of interaction in the field with
design models and information is accelerating. Bentley
said its latest generation of “connected” software is
designed to take advantage of all platforms from mobile
phones to desktops but the other vendors are right there
too with new field and on-site automation.
But the possibilities go far beyond. Both the big
vendors Bentley and Autodesk are exploring intelligent
models more and more, and the concept of “augmented
reality” is being heavily researched. This does the kind ��
Software for Road Infrastructure 07
 BIM

Even five years ago this was still

anything but normal
Keith Bentley

�� of thing that science-fiction and TV series like Sherlock
illustrate, superimposing maps, 3D models and written
information on to the world view imaged in front of the
user. Hold up a tablet or iPad and pertinent information
about the view ahead will float up with technical details
of roadside installations, or a cutaway 3D view of the
utilities just beneath the road surface.
Achieving this future is not cut-and-dried and some of
the technical challenges to be solved remain substantial;
it is not so easy, for example, to pin down the position of
a tablet or phone to such a fine accuracy at present that
it can display a model accurately superimposed on the
scene in front of it.
But the research is being done, by the vendors and at
many major universities.
All this fits together with ongoing BIM developments
of course, which wants to see the design, construction
and commissioning process tied together in a
continuous collaborative sequence, with data being
accumulated in 3D digital models to enrich them as they
pass through the construction sequence.
According to the UK Government strategy, which
has a five-year programme for a basic level of BIM to
be implemented by the construction industry by 2016,
models are to be constantly updated with buildability
information, “as-built” records and “as-installed” details for
services, plant and equipment to pass on to the client. At
present this data collection is done separately to the 3D
modelling process, although tied to it.
It is beginning to happen but process of data transfer
is still not fully worked out.
The complexities of working out how to implement
BIM is only partly down to the software and its
possibilities or shortfalls.
“Just how much data should be passed on, for
example, is a key question,” said one IT specialist
at contractor BAM Nuttall in the UK. It is a project
management and control decision rather than a
software one, involving looking at just what the client
needs to have. Is every site change and interaction with
the subcontractors actually of any importance once the
project is handed over?
Technology will help but even this is not the end
of the matter. A big part of recording the data and
passing it on is describing what has to be passed on. The
Construction Operations Building Information Exchange
(COBie) system for recording data in spreadsheets is
taking a significant time to develop for infrastructure,
for example, according to Bentley specialist Paul
Scarponcini.
He is involved in the minutiae of just what different
data columns should be called on spreadsheets, precisely
the format of the data to be entered into particular cells
and so forth. It is crucial to agree this so that software
developers can tailor their software to match.
The passing on and use of data accumulated during
design and construction is seen as one of the most
valuable aspects of BIM for the future. Major cost savings
are delivered due to information such as maintenance
requirements, as built information and manufacturers’
names for equipment being incorporated into the
client’s data model.
It saves time and money in commissioning, makes
facilities management and road maintenance more
efficient and informs the way a project can be used once
it is running.
Of the major vendors, Bentley has got itself ahead
in this area with its acquisitions of asset management
systems in recent years and their development as
AssetWise.
One big system being installed at present is with
the Highways Agency in the UK, said to be the world’s
seventh biggest asset owner, since it includes all the
major roads in England and Wales. This is an Exor system,
now part of AssetWise.
It is a major part of where software and BIM is going. BELOW: The UK’s Highways
Agency is introducing asset
management technology from
AssetWise to improve efficiency

08 Software for Road Infrastructure

 BIM

Software supports
super structures
Innovation, from design to on-site execution, is alive and well, thanks to a good
helping of software application – David Arminas reported from software developer
Bentley’s annual global conference, held this year in London

S
uccessful project
delivery is
increasingly about
hard men and women
using software to get
the job done and this
year’s global conference
in London by US-based
software developer
Bentley highlighted
some innovative – and
startling – examples.
As usual, the Year
in Infrastructure 2014
event had a gala
evening where Bentley’s
Be Inspired Awards
showcased major
infrastructure works
including road, bridge
and tunnel projects.
The common thread
was how to make the
best use of software
to overcome design
and construction challenges. The breadth of projects ABOVE: The Advancing without major reinforcing or widening.
Comprehensive BIM award
was impressive, taking in, apart from highways work, was taken by engineering
The majority of steel girder spans, 106m long, will
contracts in offshore oil platforms, manufacturing design firm HDR for its Tappan be constructed along the river and barged to the
plants, power and chemical plants, liquefied natural Zee Hudson River Crossing site for installation by the Left Coast Lifter – a barge
gas terminals and harbour developments. supporting a crane with a 100m boom and a lift
The Advancing Comprehensive BIM award was capacity of just over 1,600tonnes. The crane will lift
taken by engineering design firm HDR for its Tappan an entire span that includes everything except the
Zee Hudson River Crossing, the New NY Bridge, in pre-cast concrete deck. The bridge will have pre-cast
Westchester, New York. The original bridge crosses pile caps and pre-cast concrete decks; the only cast-in-
the Hudson River at one of its widest points. But the place concrete is the columns.
27m-wide cantilever structure is pushing 60 years old, “I think that we just about used every single software
well past its 50-year expectancy and carrying about tool that Bentley had to offer,” said Luigi Nimpo, CAD
138,000 vehicles daily. It is due for closure in 2017, by manager and BIM lead at design firm HDR, part of
which time some of the new 5km Tappan Zee Bridge the Tappan Zee Consortium that includes design,
should be open. engineering and construction firms Fluor, American
In 2013, the New York State Thruway Authority Bridge, Granite and Traylor Brothers.
began building the new US$3.9 billion eight-lane “Most of the design work was done in Microstation
bridge, a double-span design of four lanes per span in and Inroads software, for coordination of the geo-
opposite directions. It’s also designed to take a rapid coordinates,” said Nimpo. “New York State wanted the
transit rail line between the two road decks in future bridge to be geo-spacially located on their files. There ��

Software for Road Infrastructure 09

 BIM
�� were about 1,000 users on the project, based around
North America, in Kansas City, in Canada, New York,
Florida and Dallas.”
The old bridge had an accident rate of twice the
state average, suffered often and severe congestion
and had no mass transit capability. The new bridge has
extra-wide shoulders for emergency use and space for
express public bus use. Importantly, it’s built to last a
century without major repairs.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
picked up the award for Advancing Information
Technology with its move from a paper-based
construction process to a completely electronic one.
“No more paper. End of story,” said Stuart Laakso, a
technical leader in the department's working group.
“We use mobile devices on all our construction sites
to get documents out. Contractors now have access
to all our data, all our forms. That’s paperless for every
project in the entire state,” he said.
But it’s been a tough cultural challenge to get away
from believing you have to have a piece of paper
in your hand. “Operatives used to struggle carrying
boxfuls of plans and documents, cluttering up their
vehicles as well. The ability to search through a
document rather than having to flip through pages
and pages has been an advantage in the field,” he said.
“I have 35-year veterans sometimes getting connected
up faster than 18-year-old kids.”
Laakso has helped train department employees as
well as contractors’ employees in going paperless. The
state pays for its supply chain partners to have licences
for the software. They get back that expense through
supply chain efficiency savings. But while they have
access to the MDOT database, they can’t create their
own databases.
One of the most expensive projects undertaken
10 Software for Road Infrastructure
TOP: The Innovation in Bridges
Award was taken by the Anhui
Transport Consulting & Design
Institute for its Second Wuhu
Yangtze River Highway Bridge
TOP RIGHT: The winner of the
Advancing Urban Infrastructure
was the design for the yet-to-
be built Santos–Guarujá tunnel
project ABOVE: The Port of
Miami Tunnel was a winner in
the Innovation in Megaprojects
category
since going paperless in 2012 has been the start in
February of a $115 million urban freeway project in
Detroit. “It was an accelerated project where we shut
down the entire 7 miles (11km) of freeway for eight
months, reconstructed it, and re-opened. We could
not have done this without going paperless and using
Bentley’s Project Wise,” he said.
The winner of the Advancing Urban Infrastructure
was the design for the yet-to-be-built Santos–Guarujá
tunnel project, a first for immersed tunnel work in
Brazil. Importantly, it will drastically reduce crossing
time across the kilometre-wide bay that separates
the two Atlantic coastal municipalities of Santos and
Guarujá, about 80km from São Paulo.
It may be only 1.7km long, but it will cut out a 45km
route that includes a bridge all too often congested
with heavy goods vehicles – a journey of more than
an hour. By ferry, the crossing is only 20 minutes but
often has a 90-minute rush-hour wait. The $1.3 billion
project, including access roads, is a joint venture by
Engevix Group, Themag and Planservi with contractor
DERSA. Estimated completion date is March 2018.
 BIM

It was an accelerated project where we shut

down the entire 7 miles (11km) of freeway for
eight months, reconstructed it, and re-opened.
We could not have done this without going
paperless and using Bentley’s Project Wise
Stuart Laakso

“The most difficult aspect of the project so far has
been the sharing of information among partners, but
we have been using Project Wise, as we have done for
many projects in Brazil for several years,” said Franciane
Menegazzo Araujo, a civil engineer within Engevix. As
a job leader for the geometrical layout project, she has
spent 18 months designing lanes, viaducts and other
roadside furniture leading up to and away from the
proposed tunnel entrances.
Putting in place the tunnel sections will require that
all river traffic is stopped, “as well as some cooperation
from the weather gods for quiet waters,” said Araujo,
who gained valuable experience designing a ringroad
around São Paulo.
The tunnel’s three sections will be built on land,
sealed off at each end and removable water ballasts
attached. They will be suspended underneath huge
pontoons that tug boats push out into the bay. Ballast
will be removed and the sections will slowly sink into a
trench, to be filled in with a protective layer on top.
A tunnel in each direction for vehicles will be
separated by a third tunnel, for pedestrians and
cyclists. At each end of the tunnel as it emerges from
the river, there will be separate exits and entrances for
pedestrians and cyclists, for safety reasons, said Araujo.
The Innovation in Bridges Award was taken by the
Anhui Transport Consulting & Design Institute for its
Second Wuhu Yangtze River Highway Bridge near the
city of Wuhu in China’s south-eastern Anhui province.
Much of the overall 55km project is a raised highway
to protect thousands of small farms. The Wuhu project
rose above stiff competition, including from Hanson
Professional Services, for its work on a bi-modal bridge
as part of Alaska’s 140km Northern Rail Extension from
the southern coast northwards. Phase one of the line is
the bridge that now crosses the Tanana River at Salcha,
allowing year-round land access to a large isolated
military base. It previously had been reachable by land
only in winter when the river freezes.
Other winners include, in the Innovation in
Megaprojects category, the Jacobs and Bouygues
Civil Works Florida project Port of Miami Tunnel and
Access Improvements. The Well-Connected Alliance
took top honours in the Innovation in Roads category
for its Waterview Connection project in Auckland,
New Zealand. The alliance includes Fletcher
Construction, MacDow, Obayashi Corporation, Beca,
Parsons Brinckerhoff and Tonkin and Taylor. Both
projects are highlighted in the October 2014 issue of
World Highways.
Contact
Bentley Systems
www.bentley.com
Trimble
www.trimble.com
Bentley and Trimble announce
modelling cooperation
In London and Las Vegas, the
message was the same. Trimble, a
surveying systems and software
developer, and Bentley jointly
announced they will pool their
resources for product development.
The announcement by Bentley in
London was made at the same time
as that by Trimble who gave details
of the collaboration to attendees at
its annual conference in Las Vegas,
in the US.
Trimble, based in Sunnyvale,
California, develops positioning
technologies, such as GPS, lasers
and optics as well as software
content specific to the hardware.
Trimble’s products focus on
applications requiring position or
location – including surveying,
construction, agriculture, fleet and
asset management, public safety and
mapping.
Their goal, they said, is to make
BIM more useful beyond the design
stage. Contractors, too, often must
create their own 3D models for
construction visualisation. At the
same time project owners do not
expect their designers’ BIM work
to survive the construction process
and provide visibility into the
engineering and analytics that are
essential for more efficient operation
of the asset.
Bentley and Trimble said they will
work jointly to ensure architects’ and
engineers’ construction modelling
work is preserved and referenced for
use through the project’s lifecycle.
The aim is to allow the sharing
of schemas across design and
construction applications to ensure
that constructible models maintain
semantic fidelity. Contractors
already have greater flexibility in
performing field layout tasks as they
now accept Bentley’s i-models in
Trimble Field Link. The companies
are also cooperating on developing
industry standards, such as the Open
Geospatial Consortium’s intrinsic
geo-context down to construction
levels of detail.

Software for Road Infrastructure 11

BIM

BIM in
modelling
Until now, some of the most advanced BIM deliverables have
not been useful beyond the design stage. Constructors have
been left to create their own discrete 3D models for construction
visualisation, while owners do not expect their designers’ BIM work
to survive the construction process and provide visibility into the
engineering and analytics that could be useful during operations

T
his discontinuity has undermined the potential solutions that will transform the design to construction
benefits of BIM for improving the performance of workflow.”
projects and assets. To remedy this, Bentley and Customers familiar with the collaboration affirm its
Trimble are joining forces to ensure that architects’ and value. Andy Kayhanfar, director of Virtual Construction,
engineers’ construction modelling work is preserved and at Las Vegas-based Kiewit, said, “One of the challenges
referenced for further use through the building lifecycle. we face in construction is translating design models into
Bentley and Trimble are pooling resources for meaningful construction models for survey utilisation in
product development – for example, sharing schemas the field. Bentley and Trimble have provided a solution
across design and construction applications to ensure that helps drive greater efficiencies and reduces rework
that constructible models maintain semantic fidelity. and risk when translating the design model to the
Contractors have greater flexibility in performing field survey.”
layout tasks as they are now able to accept Bentley’s
BELOW: Trimble survey
i-models in Trimble Field Link. The companies are also tools provide effective data Contact
cooperating to advance standards, for instance the gathering Bentley Systems
Open Geospatial Consortium’s ‘intrinsic geo-context’ www.bentley.com
down to construction levels of detail. Trimble
Benefits from the partnership that have already www.trimble.com
been realised include saving time, reducing rework,
preserving design intent, and accelerating project
delivery via the seamless transfer of information from
concept through construction.
Bryn Fosburgh, vice president responsible for Trimble’s
Construction Technology Divisions, said, “We are now
really hitting our stride working with Bentley so that
our mutual construction modelling activities help our
users, working together on projects, to get the most
advantage of constructible models. We see a great
many ways to transform workflows so that BIM’s lifecycle
benefits can be achieved.”
Harry Vitelli, Bentley Systems vice president,
construction and field, agreed. “Bentley’s ongoing
collaboration with Trimble is delivering real-world

Bentley’s ongoing
collaboration with Trimble is
delivering real-world solutions
that will transform the design
to construction workflow
Harry Vitelli

12 Software for Road Infrastructure


LEFT: A turbo-roundabout
in the Netherlands with
bicycle paths BELOW: Turbo-
roundabout analysis
Turbo-
roundabouts
The turbo-roundabout is added to Transoft’s
Torus swept path program
T
urbo-roundabout analysis is a key new feature
in the new version 5.0 of Transoft’s Torus
Roundabouts software. These new types of
gyratory junction have special characteriistics that
require particular tools for analysis.
The turbo-roundabout is a design developed in the
Netherlands to create faster throughput junctions by
requiring traffic to make a turning decision in advance
of the roundabout, selecting an entry lane according
to the exit; the nearside lane usually being for taking
the first exit.
A series of special characteristics define the
roundabouts. These include a special spiral layout
for the lanes with smooth markings. Raised but
mountable lane dividers are used and at least one lane
offers a choice of direction. Two or more of the exits
are twin lane. The roundabouts also have approach
legs aligned perpendicular to the circulatory lanes and
there are aprons in the central island and armpit to
keep a narrow lane width for passenger vehicles while
Design features including tools for evaluating
path overlap, for introducing S-curves at
entries; for designing spiral markings based
on drive paths and for using swept paths to
dictate geometry for outer aprons, central
islands and curb edges
MODELLING
providing additional driving surface for HGVs.
All these additional elements are taken into account
in the new software when it calculates swept paths
and fastest path.
Other features in the software allow checking
of vehicle swept path and fastest path for custom
designed roundabouts, including circular or non-
circular central islands drawn in CAD with a new
Adaptive Roundabout tool.
Roundabout templates are available for starting
roundabout design by selecting from different regional
design methods.
Design features include tools for evaluating path
overlap, for introducing S-curves at entries; for
designing spiral markings based on drive paths; and
for using swept paths to dictate geometry for outer
aprons, central islands and curb edges.
Transoft has also recently released a new version
of its swept path analysis software Autoturn V9. New
features include vertical profile simulation allowing
both overhead and under body clearances to be
taken into account, sightline analysis, and the capacity
to analyse special load vehicles with independent
steering at each end. For the designer there is also a
new grip point editing function.
“We have also added more vehicles to the library of
standard types,” said marketer Elsa Girandeau.
Contact
Transoft Solutions
www.transoftsolutions.com
Software for Road Infrastructure 13
MODELLING

Novapoint additions to V19

Two viewers for Novapoint’s object-based BIM road design software
have been launched, for browsers for PCs

N
orwegian software maker Vianova has added that it is being worked on. Once work is complete
significant new features to its Novapoint it is uploaded to the model which is updated,
V19 software, the most important being two eliminating problems with version control.
viewing systems to allow outside parties to examine The structure of the software allows selection
and observe the central data and design model. of parts of the model by a object or a task-based
Novapoint V19 is a completely reworked version system. It allows each engineer to see and take
of the modular road and rail design system which account of work being done by all the other
now uses an integrated central model for all aspects disciplines.
of the design from road alignment and geometry One shortfall in the initial version of the new
to drainage, electrical works, signage, lighting and QuadriDCM has been that outside parties, such as
structures. As in its previous incarnations it has a client representatives, have not been able to see the
wide range of modules for different design functions model in progress. The two new viewers now allow
such as pipes, tunnels, bridges, road signs and them to do so says Heidi Berg, Vianova QuadriDCM
markings. product manager.
Until V18 the output of the modules could be First is the Easy Access, which is a system for the
combined in a viewer module to look for clashes but design engineer or manager to gain access through
the different design elements remained separate. mobile devices, tablets and phones, to the model.
The new version launched last year uses a single Each user has a sign-in password and then receives
central 3D model for all the components which are a display of all Quadri projects integrated into a map
represented as attribute-laden “objects” interacting view. By clicking and selecting, a dashboard view of
in the same model, in a similar fashion to the three- a particular project is brought up from which it is
dimensional models in “intelligent” architectural and
structural programs such Autodesk’s Revit, Bentley
System’s AECOsim, and Tekla Structures.
Though the Novapoint objects are not yet
“intelligent” the software development is heading
that way and it is possible to describe the software
as the first “true BIM” in road design. It currently
has a library of 1500 specific object types with
relationships held as the “Nordic Feature Catalogue”
for such elements as lampposts or drainage ducts.
More are being added.
Single users of the software can work on a
local model but Vianova says there are major
advantages to using a central design model, held as
a “QuadriDCM” or design and construction model,
either on a dedicated server, or more usually in the
cloud and accessible over the internet. Greatest of
these is for collaboration, with multiple engineers
working on the model simultaneously, by checking
in and out sections of the model to work on. The
worked on section is streamed to their local station,
and locked for use by others
although they can still
access it. A flag
notifies them

14 Software for Road Infrastructure

 MODELLING

possible to delve into the model of the project with

various views such as a timeline of the activity on the
model, or 3D views of the design. A collaboration
tool based on the Toppix standard allows issues and
queries to be made and answered.
Selected access is available to parts of the model
and other information associated with particular
tasks or aspects of the job. “The designer selects
what he wants to show and hits the button, and
then the recipient can see a dashboard with parts of
the model; perhaps a timeline of tasks down, and so
forth,” said Berg. It was made available in a “feature
Norwegian software maker
Vianova has added significant
new features to its Novapoint
V19 software
pack” released in October.
The FP5 package includes a more conventional
kind of viewer, “like a mini version of the design
software but with restricted functions,” said Berg.
Called Freeview, it is downloaded and installed on
the user’s computer and allows them to see the
3D model.
Other recent enhancements to the software
include greater model sizes, now up to 8GB, the
capacity to import and export IFC components
from Tekla or Revit and other structural programs.
A connector for Autodesk Civil 3D has been added
allowing it to make dynamic updates to the Quadri
model – the software also offers an API to allow other
vendors’ tools to work on designs and then change
the model.
Bigger changes are planned for V20 which will
allow the designers to work directly into the model,
perhaps using grip points, rather than having to
make changes within a design module and then
upload them.

Contact
Autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Tekla
www.tekla.com
Vianova Systems
www.vianovasystems.com

ABOVE: The latest version of

Novapoint offers additional
functionality LEFT: The
Novapoint package offers
considerable benefits for
project modelling

Software for Road Infrastructure 15

MODELLING

Autodesk’s
improved package
Autodesk has added major enhancements to the advanced
cloud version of its InfraWorks 360 software

A
s always, Autodesk announced a range of new
features and improvements across the board
in April this year for the 2015 versions of the
software, though the annual update term has less
meaning now that a subscription model has been
introduced for licensing the software, and mostly
enhancements come along as they are developed.
For roads, there are new features for the programs
making up its Infrastructure design suite, among
them AutoCAD Civil 3D, Navisworks, and for the
“BIM capable” premium and ultimate editions, Revit
Structure or full Revit.
But the main focus in the infrastructure area has
been on the InfraWorks program. A standard version
of this is included in the design suites but advanced
capacities are available in the stand-alone version
InfraWorks 360.
The 360 designation indicates its connection to
the increasing range of cloud services offered by
Autodesk, from on tap processing power and extra
storage to links and connections and to assorted
data sources.
These provide part of the base capacities of the
program. Like its more limited version, the program
can build up a rich 3D model from a variety of out the less accurate to use the better material,” he
data sources. Within this various tools allow roads, added.
buildings and other structures to be added in, Meanwhile a variety of modules for the 360 base
fitting themselves into the landscape with cuttings program have been developed, including last year’s
and embankments to give a realistic impression of road module and two new ones released this year,
projects and their impact. Although without the one for bridges and one for drainage.
engineering precision of a program such as Civil Roads are inserted into the landscape using basic
3D, the models have a good visualisation and are geometry and speed rules, junctions can be inserted
sufficient to assess projects for feasibility, planning, and lay-bys added.
and client or public approval. The module also takes account of national
While the basic version allows the engineers to standards and vehicle types.
bring in a variety of data sources to build up the “It’s a real road but in a simplified form,” said
terrain, the 360 version is able to access a wide range Strongitharm. To develop the geometry fully, the
of internet-available data such as Open Street Map, model can be exported directly to Civil 3D and 3DS
TOP LEFT: More complex
Bing maps, and other free GIS sources via its ‘Model Max Design and Navisworks. It can also go outside modelling capabilities are
Builder’. Together with scan data and aerial photos Autodesk products “but only via something like Civil also offered with InfraWorks
TOP RIGHT: The new
this can create a realistic landscape for the project 3D which can turn it into a LandXML and other civil InfraWorks modules for
“sketching” to sit on. engineering software file formats,” he said. Autodesk’s InfraWorks
“You can select an area in the world and the Like the roads module, the new ones come with package offer additional
help with bridge projects
cloud will make the model for you,” explained Jack built-in constraints and rules so that bridges can be ABOVE: Junctions can be
Strongitharm, technical account manager and civils fitted realistically, making abutments as appropriate added using basic geometry
specialist at Autodesk. “It takes about 15 minutes and and with various types of components selected such on the InfraWorks package
sends you an email when it is ready to download to as steel and concrete. Only simple overbridges are
use on your desktop.” done so far, though they can be skewed; possibly
“If you later source better data you can swap more complexity will come.

16 Software for Road Infrastructure


For drainage, there are some basic calculations of
water catchments and sizing of culverts and, recently
added, the ability to layout the road drainage system.
”The idea of the modules is to allow users to
build up their own version of the program” said
Strongitharm for their own requirements. It gives
a tailored user experience, with a particular set
of tools, and other modules may later add to this
concept.
Improvements in other software include a
modernised interface and improved graphics
performance for AutoCAD. Geographical location
has been improved for streamed Bing imagery to
The idea of the modules is to
allow users to build up their
own version of the program
Jack Strongitharm
MODELLING
print to drawings.
Point cloud handling has been improved with
AutoCAD and, specifically with Civil 3D, an extension
for extracting a clean 3D surface from a cloud and
removing noise from passing traffic, pedestrians and
vegetation.
Additionally there are new alignment and profile
tools, changing the relationship between alignments
and profiles by element locking. Dynamic curve to
curve control in the vertical profiles has also been
added following requests by European users.
Also, the civil model is using more and more solid
objects which will give users the ability to use as IFC
definitions as they are developed for infrastructure.
These will, potentially, affect future software internal
program development which could be defining
roads as “intelligent objects” rather than traditional
string-based technology, which is a major step
towards future BIM levels.
Contact
Autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Software for Road Infrastructure 17
MODELLING

Versatility in design
Trimble has now released its SketchUp 2015 package, a versatile 3D modelling
software for architects, engineers, design and construction professionals

T
his new release is said to be faster and more user-friendly, while retaining key
features that have helped make it so widely accepted. The latest version of
SketchUp has upgrades and new features that make it easier and faster to
create, access, share and collaborate on 2D drawings and 3D models. SketchUp 2015
now offers 64-bit support for either Windows or Mac, while IFC file import capabilities
allow sharing of IFC files between SketchUp Pro and other applications, in addition to
continued support for 32-bit systems.
John Bacus, director of SketchUp product management at Trimble said that
interoperability is vital for collaboration among architecture, engineering and
construction professionals. The new IFC file import tool is an important addition as
it opens up the options for professionals to participate in the information modeling
process, sharing files regardless of the other software being used.
Trimble also now offers cross-platform support for all licenses, along with cloud-
based license management and checkout capabilities for network licenses. In addition
to export, SketchUp Pro users can share models between Building Information
Modeling (BIM) tools and apply industry standard types that stay with the model as it
travels with SketchUp 2015’s new IFC file import.
A variety of improvements to SketchUp’s Ruby API (application programming
interface) and to the Extension Warehouse of SketchUp plug-ins and add-ons makes it
easier for developers to build and share great new tools.
Developers are able to access and modify information
modeling classifications via the Ruby API. Models render
faster with core modeling performance improvements
including faster explode, intersect and Fast Styles. Using
SketchUp’s LayOut 2D drawing and documentation tool,
users can manage drawings more easily and display
more data from their information models. New models of
popular brand-name building products are added to 3D
Warehouse every day, expanding SketchUp’s free content
offering. SketchUp 2015 also facilitates collaboration
with data and files from other Trimble products, while
it supports 3D CAD and BIM services for mechanical,
electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractors through the
new Trimble MEPdesigner for SketchUp platform.
Contact
Trimble
www.trimble.com

The Evolution Continues

We’ve combined the results of our industry field-tests
Download a demo of AutoTURN 9.0 on with requests from our customers to make AutoTURN 9.0
www.transoftsolutions.com/demo the most reliable and advanced vehicle turn simulation
and swept path analysis software to date.

Version 9.0 of AutoTURN comes with new and unique features:

Vertical profile analysis Speed profile report Multiple CAD platform compatibility
2D and 3D sightline analysis Grip editing and many more

TRANSOFT SOLUTIONS (EUROPE) B.V.

Wijnstraat 96c | 3011 TR Rotterdam D e sig n w it h c o n f id e n c e
Infoeu@transoftsolutions.com | +31(0)10 258 78 78 www.transoftsolutions.com

18 Software for Road Infrastructure

 DESIGN

InfraWorks and Novapoint

for Norwegian highway
Novapoint’s QuadriDCM and AutoDesk’s InfraWorks 360 are the ideal pairing for
feasibility design work on a stretch of the E16 in Norway

O
ne of the last upgrades for the main road by cement mixing. BELOW: Elements of the
model as displayed in the
linking Norway’s capital with Sweden’s The Autodesk InfraWorks software, particularly with InfraWorks 360 view and the
Stockholm is being studied by international its roads module and bridge design module is a very Novapoint model
consultant Cowi’s Norwegian office. The project is useful tool for initial road exploration and for quickly
part of updating the E16 Euro route which begins in working up alternatives for the alignment, especially
the UK and runs through Bergen into Sweden. as it can draw in scanned survey data and also makes
The team find both Novapoint’s new 3D modelling terrain data and maps easily findable from a range of
software, and Autodesk’s cloud-based InfraWorks 360 free sources. House images can be placed and aerial
to be valuable tools, particularly used together. photos can also be brought in to make a realistic
The job is a fairly large one involving the scene in which it is quite easy to draw in roads and
realignment of an existing stretch of narrower road bridge design possibilities.
to create a new dual two lane motorway, over 32km Drainage details and flood implications can be
long and with six interchanges. There are several examined in a simple form. “It’s very easy and very
crossings over a river. fast,” said Bjørvik.
Unusually for Norway the route is over fairly flat The visualisation capability of the program is
lowland terrain explained project manager for very good for working with the client and its cloud
the consultant, Frode Bjørvik. The ground, mostly location helps with collaboration.
alongside one of Norway’s larger rivers, the Glomma, For detailed work the firm has used Novapoint
is sedimentary clay of up to 30m thickness over for many years as have many firms in Norway and
the rock below. “It is post-glacial deposit and rather Sweden, and in this case uses most of the modules
sensitive,” he said, “…and when you disturb it can turn for the various elements of road design from drainage
like jelly.” to lighting.
A variety of factors have to be taken into But it particularly likes
account including environmental and agricultural the new V19 QuadriDCM
development and protection, local municipalities and server version because
also a significant danger of flooding from the river. of its excellent capability
Structures will require deep piling to the rock and for collaboration on
there is likely to be significant ground improvement the cloud, with a
straightforward check-in
and check-out system. It is post-glacial deposit and
All the design team
can be working on the rather sensitive
project at the same time �� Frode Bjørvik

Software for Road Infrastructure 19

DESIGN

�� without It’s not so complicated but we have all these

any danger
of overlap or
mistaken versions
being used.
“We also overlap with an
office in India which works on the
model through the internet.”
“It is very good for our quality control
system because everyone is aware of the
changes being made elsewhere and the effects
they are having. We get our clash detection done at a
very basic level before the effects get magnified.”
Novapoint is used for the detailed alignment,
then calculations and the alignment go back
into InfraWorks 360 for sharing as a visualisation.
Eventually the final design will be used from
Novapoint and submitted to the client the Norwegian
Public Roads Administration. The government has
long required native file format, and Land XML as the
deliverable.
For virtually all projects in Norway these files are
then used directly by contractors for, among other
tasks, carrying out their earthworks with satellite
elements to consider, along with drainage
and flooding, and also some reasonably
complex traffic diversion temporary works
Jon Olav Upsal
machine control.
A second highway upgrade in Norway is testing
out the new Novapoint Quadri system for a road
improvement scheme, using it along with Autodesk
Revit for the structures and Autodesk Navisworks.
The project to dual a narrow section of the E18
highway between Oslo and the coastal oil city
of Stavanger is currently being designed with
the new Novapoint v19 software by design firm
Multiconsult. The client is the Norwegian Public Roads
Administration.
The scheme involves widening and dualling a 7km
long section of the road, to improve safety. New barrier
will go in the middle and there will be new overtaking
lanes. Like many of the roads in far northern Norway,
there will be lighting along the whole length.

Facts
The E16 Euro route runs
through Bergen into Sweden
The job involves realigning
an existing road
The new 32km dual lane link
will feature six interchanges
Running alongside a river,
much of the road lies on
sedimentary clay

LEFT & ABOVE LEFT: The

InfraWorks roads and bridge
modules are useful for initial
exploration

OPPOSITE PAGE:
TOP & MIDDLE: All the design
team can be working on the
project at the same time
BOTTOM: Drainage details can
be examined

20 Software for Road Infrastructure

 DESIGN

“It’s not so complicated but we have all these

elements to consider, along with drainage and
flooding, and also some reasonably complex traffic
diversion temporary works,” said Jon Olav Upsal,
the consultant’s project manager.
The firm decided to see how things would go
with the Quadri collaboration model and so far
is very pleased. “I think they have reached a true
BIM system with this server 3D model,” said Upsal
“…though they still need to improve the design
modules. Those were designed for the older
version and adapted to feed into the 3D model and
they need to have a more direct connection.”
He said the check-in and check-out system
for the model, allowing different engineers to all
work on it simultaneously, is a “brilliant” solution to
collaboration. “Especially now it is possible to see and
use the details even when part of the model is locked
by someone else.
“I would say it is a jump potentially as great as that
from paper to computer CAD.”
For the moment the firm is using Autodesk Revit
for the bridges and culverts on the road and the
model is exported into Navisworks to hand to the
client, primarily because of Navisworks viewing
capacities, though this might change with the release
of Novapoint’s viewer shortly.
“The problem with using Navisworks is that some
of the intelligence of the model is lost. However it
might still be needed to allow many other kinds of
model to be integrated.”

Contact
Autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Vianova Systems
www.vianovasystems.com

Software for Road Infrastructure 21

DESIGN
US move for Keysoft
marking software
Keysoft road marking and sign software is expanding in the US and Australia
A
decision by New York City Department of Transport to use the Keysoft
AutoSTRIPE program for designing road markings on some of its extensive
roads is good news for the British specialist software which is now pushing
into the American market, and also into Australia.
The firm has recently adapted the road marking program to American and
Australian road standards, with some renaming to suit the market. The US version of
KeyLINES is renamed AutoSTRIPE for example.
The company has shown the software to engineers at the recent Institute of
Transportation Engineers annual meeting in Washington and also at the Australian
Institute of Planning and Management in Adelaide, both attracting significant
interest.
In both countries road marking is still done largely by manual layout drawing
work. AutoSTRIPE, which is used with AutoCAD can automate and speed up the
work, particularly for complex linework such as hatching, so the firm has high hopes
that its specialist design tools will be well-received.
Keysoft says its program includes a comprehensive library of line types and
standard road text markings and symbols, pre-drawn to the correct size and shape
and all complying with local road rules. These can be edited within the parameters of
permitted minimum and maximum dimensions. Grip points enable quick editing of
design features. A symbol library includes arrows, special lane symbols such as bus or
cycle lanes, and bus stops.
“Essentially we are able to take account of local state and country variations in the
road marking specifications” said managing director Jeremy Ellis, “by including user
defined parameters which are filled in on a one-off basis when the software is set up.”
The US has common federally-specified marking standards but these can be
modified by both state and county authorities he explained, “The complexity and
variation is probably one reason why the work has remained a manual task until
now.”
The software uses a 2D plan view for the marking work but enables users to
generate a 3D driver view to help with safety audits and public consultation. It can
be enhanced with 3D features, allowing users to account for buildings, walls, trees,
and signs when checking sightlines.
The program is used not simply to make the drawings but also then to calculate
surface areas, allowing quantity estimation for the paint and other materials needed.
22 Software for Road Infrastructure
Currently, calculations are based on the simple 2D
plan view. In future versions this may be refined by
a full 3D “drape” of the markings onto the 3D terrain
model, allowing the stretching from gradients and dips
to be taken into account and any alterations in paint
quantities that produces. It requires a complicated
algorithm.
In the UK Keysoft produces a complete suite of road
marking and road furniture tools, including programs
for road signs, for accident registration and analysis,
and for lighting. Some of these may also be tailored
for the US market, particularly its KeyLIGHTS program
which allows users to work out the position of lights
and spread of illumination produced.
The landscaping programs are also being considered
for the overseas market.
Road sign software is already available in the US
market according to Ellis and so this is less likely to be
adapted there. But the firm may partner with Canadian
company Transoft - for which it is already a UK agent -
for its swept path and roundabout design software.
The KeySIGN package is now being marketed in the
Middle East where an Arabic version is available.
Contact
Keysoft Solutions
www.keysoftsolutions.com
Transoft Solutions
www.transoftsolutions.com

Bricsys launches new
version of CAD platform
Belgian engineering designer introduces updated software
B
ricsys in Belgium has luanched a new version
of its BricsCAD software, a dwg compatible
platform that is said to have “features familiar
from native .dwg applications”. It runs on a wide range
of platforms including Windows and Linux, with a Mac
version due shortly.
The V15 unifies advanced 2D design with the
intelligence of 3D direct modelling according to
Bricsys. There are solutions for sheet metal design,
Budget CAD system
A new version of the budget CAD uses the same industry standard
software nanoCAD has been released technology for reading and writing
by the Nanosoft group. DWG format files that is used by most
NanoCAD 6.0 Plus is intended to of the world’s top CAD, CAM, and CAE
help smaller businesses extend their developers, and is compatible with
range of CAD user seats but at a far DWG format files. He emphasised that
lower cost than for the mainstream there is no connection with Autodesk.
products says the company. One He told World Highways that a
place costs US$180 compared to 10 number of third party applications
times that price for mainstream CAD have been built on the program which
programs. has an API compatible with DWG.
The software is claimed to be a “It is a serious commercial
full-featured professional-grade CAD application which we are selling not
software compatible with DWG file in competition with any of the major
formats created as far back as 1990. softwares of course but definitely
It was developed in Russia initially against versions from 2004. For many
by a team of veteran CAD developers, users this is sufficient and they do not
and is claimed to be optimised for use the more complex functionality
production design and drafting as well added since.”
as high-performance platform CAD
application development. Contact
According to Nanosoft America Nanosoft
marketing manager Evan Yares it Nanosoft.com
DESIGN
LEFT: A second road upgrade
is using the Quadri package
BELOW: This project will feature a
centreline barrier
Building Information Modeling, and 3D data exchange
all stored in standard .dwg files.
BricsCAD produces 2D technical drawings, floor
plans, and other layouts quickly and accurately says the
company.
The new version has a ribbon-style interface and
uses a new “Look From” widget which uses a chair
shape to indicate the current view direction. To
manipulate the viewpoint, the user clicks the arrows
that surround the chair icon.
A new feature is grip editing for dynamic blocks,
with multi-function grips to manipulate dynamic
blocks directly on-screen. The grips can rotate, flip,
scale, align, and change visibility states. Layers are not
needed to change the visibility of objects as they are
directly hidden or shown.
The program performs 3D direct modeling in the
standard .dwg format and also comes with 600 new
high-definition render materials. A new automatic
boundary detector improves 3D working significantly.
Also added for the first time is a Building Information
Modeling (BIM) feature set combining solid modelling
with the simplicity of sketching programs. BricsCAD
BIM synchronizes 2D sections, plans and details with
3D models. Wall designs can be done by drawing the
footprint in 2D, and then pulled up to the specified
level, or by entering dimensions.
The BricsCAd platform has become quite widely
used by software makers across the spectrum of
engineering with a significant number in the civil
engineering sector, including both Transoft swept path
software and CGS Plateia road design software.
Bricsys maintains a web-based community of more
than 1000 third party suppliers which is growing year
by year.
Contact
Bricys
www.bricsys.com
Software for Road Infrastructure 23
 FREE
SUBSCRIPTION
Guarantee your copy
of World Highways by
Traffic management
managment registering today…
at the speed of life
A subscription to
World Highways gives you:
● 12 months supply of World Highways
magazine (9 issues per year) in print
C

M
● The World Highways eNewsletter –
Y emailed twice a month
CM

● Unlimited access to
MY

CY
Real-time decision support software for www.worldhighways.com
CMY
traffic forecasting and management. ● Specialist supplements that focus
K

on specific areas

www.worldhighways
.com
October 2014

m
highways.co
www.world
ecember 2014
November/D

Waterview
breakthrough:
First drive complet
e for Auckland’s

cus: es;
new tunnel con
nection p6

Bridgnteenfo
ance chal
ai
leng
r
Bridge m ork solutions fo
w
new form truction p62
idge cons
br

Bitumen

Visit www.aimsun.com Asphalt

Materials
testing:
New materials es
technology:
Warm asphalt additive
advances boosted by new
bitumen
INTERN ATIONALtechnolog
FEDERATION y
p31
Earthmoving &
hauling:
Improved ADTs now
coming to market p43
Safety &
demarcation:
Improvements in barriers
ologi

or contact info@aimsun.com
paving: testing techn ate
ROAD
AL and new markings
ents O F F I CNI A L
Key Project New developm for offer more accur JOUR systems p53 INTERNATIO NAL
ns analysis p41
ROAD FEDERATION

Report: ay net- and applicatio g OFFICIAL

pavin
the asphalt
JOURNAL
Morocco’s highw
nding and sector p35

for features and pricing.

work is expa chain is
the
a key link in
bypass p24
the Tangiers

Register for FREE online @

www.roplreg.com
 ASSET MANAGEMENT

Sitalia version 3
in progress
Italian company Sitalia is working on version three The new GIS Sitalia asset
of its portable asset management system management package
offers additional tools and
functionality

A
new interface and additional functions
are being developed for the GIS asset
management system for roads developed by
Italian firm Sitalia. It will also incorporate a number
of stand-alone apps and services offered by Sitalia at
present.
The PKmaps system is a modular system
designed for use with tablet computers containing
an integrated GPS system and 3G data link’ as ‘an
integrated global positioning system (GPS) and
third-generation (3G) data link’. It works around a
DTM which is then used as the reference for storage
of information about road networks and the assets
along them. The DTM is built up from a variety
of inputs, including DWG files, orthophotos, shp, well, one being the “box-video”, which is a six-camera
kml, laser scanner point cloud data or traditional system with a GPS unit, and one being a simplified
topography. unit, the mini-box, with just one high-definition (HD)
It can take in xml formats from mobile mapping camera and a GPS unit, the latter system being aimed
system vehicles and will also overlay online mapping, particularly at the rural African market.
such as Google, Bing or OpenStreetMap. It can also An associated app, the GeoApp, is a java
establish linear referencing for asset items against application for fixing the geolocation of objects,
kilometre marking stones or specific house numbers. particularly using data from either of the two
The existing version has a range of modules systems. “It will place objects directly from the picture
using the road cadastre objects. These include a taken in the survey work and this data can be used to
geo-referenced document management system, build up a PKmaps project.”
one for road sign management, and for road surface The GeoApp will be integrated into version
condition tracking, three. There is also a survey viewer, which is a Java
There are also modules for road furniture and application to see the survey from mini-box.
tracking civil engineering structures such as bridges Enhancements have been made to the accidents
and culverts with a visual system for evaluating module that is used to record and place accidents.
condition and a method to prioritise works according A new app, Info Accident for Android, presents a
to the strategic importance of the road and so check list for onsite compilation and upload to a
forth. The latter covers guard rails, the traffic control database. The Genie database uses MySQL and can
systems, street lighting and green spaces. For guard be interrogated from a web browser.
rails, a priority assessment system is included that has
a function to import related price lists, for repair cost Contact
calculations. Sitalia
There are several modules aimed at the African www.sitalia.it
market for which the system has been initially
developed. Both billboards and some private road
surfaces are taxable and there are modules to track The PKmaps system is a
these. modular system designed for
A new app for checking road axis against a variety
of European standards, including France and Italy, use with tablet computers
will be included in version three; for the moment
this function is offered as a service by Sitalia. The app
containing an integrated GPS
checks line of sight among other aspects. system and 3G data link
The company offers mobile mapping systems as

Software for Road Infrastructure 25

ASSET MANAGEMENT

Streetmapper unit
LEFT: Efficient asset
management can be achieved
over a large road network using
sophisticated laser scanning
tools RIGHT: The historic

sold to Australia
Clifton Suspension Bridge has
been accurately scanned

A first StreetMapper system has gone to Australia

S
urveying company Whelans has purchased Australia’s first StreetMapper
mobile laser scanning system from 3D Laser Mapping. The company will use
the vehicle-mounted laser system to complement existing laser scanning
services.
StreetMapper is designed for laser scanning along service corridors such as open
roads, city streets and rail networks, to name a few, enabling coverage of large areas
safely and quickly.
Whelan is a consultancy specialising in surveying, town planning and mapping
with offices located throughout Australia. The company will offer the StreetMapper
service to a nationwide customer portfolio, including government organisations,
mining companies, developers and resource companies.
“Having worked with 3D Laser Mapping as a subcontractor on mobile mapping
projects, prior to purchasing a system we were already familiar with the performance
of the StreetMapper solution,” commented Grant Potts, manager of laser scanning at
Whelans.
“However, the evaluation process we undertook was still rigorous and over a
six-month period we reviewed several systems. We chose StreetMapper based on its
strong track record, including speed and accuracy of data capture and the quality of
service and support we received from the local office.”
Whelans has a dedicated team of field data capture and 3D modelling experts
utilising the latest laser scanning technologies in the fields of mining, engineering,
chemical processing, land development and government infrastructure. The
acquisition of the StreetMapper system will help clients
with both geographical and operational diversity
benefit from large area coverage, improved safety
of data capture and survey grade accuracy results to
meet the most demanding of project requirements.
Mobile laser scanning is particularly useful in
Australia, which has a vast road network and large-
scale mining operations, said Potts. “Having now
purchased a StreetMapper solution it will initially be
deployed on highway projects, rail alignment surveys,
power line surveys and surveys for bulk handling
facilities.”
Using vehicle-mounted lasers offering a 360°
field of view, StreetMapper enables high-precision
mapping to a range of 800m and a capacity of 550,000
measurements per second per sensor.
Contact
StreetMapper
www.streetmapper.net

Tagging underground assets

InfraMarker is making a novel use of radio-freqency
identification (RFID) technologyto locate underground
assets, which can help reduce the cost of maintenance
operations. David Norby, in charge of product
development at InfraMarker, explained, “What we do
is provide mapping and location of subsurface assets
through the use of RFID tags and readers.”
He said, “We have our own software used on the
handheld devices. We send all the data into the cloud
and the data points are put on a Google map.”
Norby explained that the RFID tags are placed in
the ground either during construction or maintenance
operations, with magnets used for location. The firm
has different types of tags that can be placed under, for
instance, grass, concrete or asphalt surfaces.
Norby added, “We can also attach to that any number
of documents in pdf format or even videos to the tag.”
For maintenance or utilities works, this system is a
major benefit when tracking faults with a buried asset.
Norby said, “It provides quick access for the field user.
You can call up Google Maps on the handheld device
and it takes you right to where the tag is.”
Contact
InfraMarker
www.inframarker.com

26 Software for Road Infrastructure


Effective asset
management
Laser measurement with a difference is used by
Pavemetrics for road condition assessment
R
ather than use the “time of flight” of a laser beam
to measure imperfections and changes in road
surfaces the Canadian firm Pavemetrics uses the
beam only to create a straight bright line on the road.
Measurement is then made with a visual triangulation
system using two high speed high definition cameras’
as ‘two high-speed high-definition (HD) cameras.
In a system developed from work by Canada’s
National Optics Institute (INO), the firm offers analysis
and monitoring of road surface and marking wear. It is
also used to inspect tunnel linings.
“We are only ever working at a short distance, usually
just a couple of metres above the surface of the road,”
said John Laurent, the Quebec firm’s director. “But we
can achieve much greater accuracy than a scanning
method. Typically, the system can measure depressions
and cracks to 0.5mm depth accuracy.
“The cameras each have 2000 pixels to cover half
of a 4m long line, which gives a lateral resolution of 1
pixel per mm” he said. They gather the data at up to
11000 images/second, “…which is 45 million points/
second, compared to 1 million for Lidar.” The speed
allows a truck-mounted scanning unit to travel at
about 100kmh for a normal scan.
“As you travel, if the road is totally flat the cameras
will see a straight line but if there is rutting then the
ASSET MANAGEMENT
line, but if there is rutting then the line will curve,
allowing depth measurement.” Sudden “notches” reveal
cracks.
“You also take an intensity measure of the image and
this will reveal highly reflective material like white lines,
and any wear in them.”
Like laser scanning the system requires some very
precise positioning. GPS, and inertial measurement
unit are used for detecting both curves followed by
the vehicle, pitch and roll differences in orientation of
the vehicles itself and in the relative positions of the
sensors.
Along with the calibration this runs over shaped
markers in the road this allows for precise correction
of vehicle direction in the processing software in order
to obtain the road geometry and for detecting and
correcting oscillations in the vehicle; these produce
false curves on the measured road surface in the raw
data, which is almost completely removed. Laurent
says the units are sold worldwide, purely as detectors
and with the processing software. Users choose their
own mounting vehicles. They are used for road and rail
work and, in a different configuration, for tunnel lining
scans.
He said they are used in some 35 countries and
currently about 300 systems are in use by Departments
of Transportation (DoTs) and highway agencies as well
as railway companies.
Contact
Pavemetrics
www.pavemetrics.com
You also take an intensity
measure of the image and this
will reveal highly reflective
material like white lines, and
any wear in them
John Laurent
The Pavemetrics system
from Canada offers
effective road scanning
Software for Road Infrastructure 27
POINT CLOUDS

Point clouds
take-off
Point cloud data is starting to take off, literally as well as metaphorically

O
ne of the new technologies driving change in work practice and feeding boats and soon enough to small “drones” or UAVs
into BIM methods is the use of laser scan point clouds, and increasingly (unmanned aerial vehicle).
alongside it, photography and photogrammetric measurement which UAV technology has been developing fast
also produces cloud point data. Both have been useful for specialist surveying but meanwhile, with new accurately positioned systems
have suddenly accelerated in use. available such as the German MAVinci winged unit
They ought to, and will, become commonplace believes Joe Rice-Jones, until being marketed by Topcon worldwide and the
October an engineer and software specialist with British contractor Costain and Aibotix, also German, which Leica has acquired. This
now with Bentley Systems. used a total station to control it.
“The possibilities for scan data use are endless and the technology now exists Both these carry a small camera to take hundreds
for using it on a daily basis.” In particular he is referring to the advent of mobile of photographs and then process them to match the
mapping systems, using combined 360° high definition photography with laser images before extracting point clouds or meshes.
scanning, all mounted on a vehicle. In many cases it is good enough to replaces Software for this has been developing apace, such as
more ponderous fixed scanning. the Russian Agisoft Photoscan.
Scans can now be taken quickly and easily over long stretches of ground and, “It’s good, though we also use the Pix4d from
particularly for roads, gathering continuously vast point clouds in half an hour Switzerland and there are some others,” said Kevin
with as much data as a survey would have taken in several days, or a collection of Grover, a scan specialist from Canadian survey and
dozens of fixed scans. engineering firm Stantec Consulting in Edmonton.
“And it can be done safely without needing to section off and disrupt a highway All of them need substantial RAM memory in the
or expose anyone to dangerous traffic.” Once in, the data provides so much computer, 64GB or more is common, “but hardware
contextual information that risk is reduced on projects. “Before you would have is developing too and high-end workstations and
to extrapolate between points and make assumptions – and assumptions always operating systems can cope these days,” he said.
lead to error.” Several hundred pictures produced from a 20-minute
For many engineers the wish is still to extract data from the cloud and turn it flight need a couple of hours to turn into a point
into a 3D model for design work he says, and that is part of the possibilities. But cloud, either of terrain or a structure.
equally a lot of work can increasingly be done directly using the point cloud, and Point cloud software has also been rapidly
perhaps synchronised photography. improving. Grover said one reason for accelerating
“You can see what is there and also measure it accurately.” use of photo and laser technology is the advances in
Tasks that once required an engineer to visit a
site taking maybe half a day, can now be done in
five minutes in the office he says. “The possibilities
are endless, from checking road and railside signs
and signals, inspecting work projects to monitoring
overgrowing vegetation and checking out graffiti on
bridge parapets.”
Clients like Britain’s Highways Agency now do
regular network scans he said, adding that for
construction work too such scans are also invaluable.
The possibilities are endless, from checking
Mobile mapping has been around for some years road and railside signs and signals,
from companies like the pioneering 3D Laserscan
in the UK but what is making it commonplace is inspecting work projects to monitoring
the advent of newer, cheaper and more compact overgrowing vegetation and checking out
scanning hardware. Some is now small enough for
one man to lift and fit onto a vehicle. The units can graffiti on bridge parapets
be moved quickly from cars, to 4-wheel drives to Joe Rice-Jones

28 Software for Road Infrastructure


BELOW: An aerial scan with
the UAV provides accurate data
on structures BOTTOM: The
prototype of Sabre’s UAV – it
will be one of the first to carry
a laser scanner rather than
camera
handling the big data sets.
“Both the main vendors for infrastructure
software have incorporated good tools and they
are improving yearly,” he said. “Bentley got the jump
on Autodesk when it acquired the British Pointools
which is a very good program, now incorporated into
their stuff, but Autodesk has caught up in the last
couple of years, particularly after buying Alice Labs.”
Autodesk now has an entire “Reality Capture”
division and Recap tools go into many of its design
suites.
Colourised point clouds are common and the
draping of photography too helps understand the
context, while editing tools can remove “holes” in
the cloud caused by obstacles like passing cars.
Simultaneously scanned photos can also generate
point cloud data to fill in shadows where the scanner
did not go.
Other software such as Leica’s Cyclone application
have also made important advances, such as the
capacity to quickly match and register dozens
of separate scans which it latest version 9 has
introduced ahead
of anyone else.
The software does
this by identifying
overlapping points
without needing
survey markers
or pre-placed
reference targets,
said one user. The
Severn Partnership
survey company in
Shropdhire, UK says
POINT CLOUDS
tha it hugely reduces the time spent matching and
joining clouds, from hours to minutes.
Rice-Jones said that growing software capacities
are one part of a new willingness to use the tools,
when initially they were not taken up. “There was
early enthusiasm and then everyone found these
giant datasets would virtually grind the computer to
a halt and gave up on them.”
Now the tools can handle sometimes billions
of points more smoothly inside design programs
and also by use of various streaming algorithms.
Firms using Bentley’s ProjectWise server system for
example, can have just part of a cloud delivered to
the desktop with more streamed smoothly in only
as the viewpoint is changed. Norway’s Novapoint
Quadri server also streams point clouds as needed.
“There was also a sense that you needed tools
to extract the details as a way of using them,” said
Rice-Jones. Certainly these are developing and both
Bentley and Autodesk include tools that can pick up
edges; Leica’s Cyclone will identify pipes; Pointfuse
software from Arithmetica is getting a lot of attention
for its capacities.
But most of these are semi-automated he said,
helping speed manual selection and drawing
of features but veering off at points. Rice-Jones
believes full feature recognition will be a long time
coming and that anyway the human being is the
best “feature recognition” system there is when
building 3D models from clouds.
The other side of it is the cost-effectiveness of
scanning particularly with lower end systems like
the latest Topcon mobile mapping unit the IP-SC3
dropping both in price and size. These units are
rejected by the “pure survey” companies because
of accuracy limitations; even the latest model is
good only for 10mm whereas expensive rivals take
readings claimed to be around 2mm.
But at one-tenth the price of such high accuracy
systems as Leica’s new Pegasus Two or the Riegl units
from Austria favoured by Grover at Stantec, they are
potentially still very useful said Rice-Jones. “They
are like the compact camera which made digital
photography universally available, versus the high
end SLR for professionals.”
He said that the Topcon units were used for
motorway widening work by Costain with the results
corrected, and the point clouds aligned and adjusted,
by using survey markers every 200m, set in place
with total stations for accuracy. “That took two weeks
but the results were very good for what we needed.”
He noted that some other equipment companies ��
Software for Road Infrastructure 29
 POINT CLOUDS
�� are following suit – Trimble now offers a more limited
spec mobile scanner system, the MX2, compared to
its high-end MX8 model.
Other users like Severn say that they need high
accuracy, and the company has just bought a
US$500,000 Leica Pegasus Two, only the second in
the world. “We tested various models and concluded
it was the best.”
It gives results close to the accuracy obtainable
with fixed tripod scanners and not far away from total
station, but much faster says marketing manager
Steven Jones.
But it is horses for courses, said Stephen Ball at
the Scottish Sabre Land and Sea survey company
which is now developing its own mobile mapping
units. “For the road guys very often around 100mm
is enough, except perhaps at transition points to a
structure for example.”
“And what would they be using otherwise? - a guy
with a GPS pole, which is not very much different.”
His company has been developing mobile units
based around a Faro scanner which has about 2mm
accuracy at 100m he said. “But that is just for the scan
signal. You also need to know where the scanner is,
usually done by satellite signals.”
Accuracy on a mobile mapping system depends
also on the number of satellite signals you pick up
and also on how the position is held when the signal
cuts out for various reasons.”
That can be caused by losing satellite fixes from
obstacles and buildings, because the satellites are
in the wrong place in the sky, or from bad weather.”
Systems these days are able to pick up more
satellites: in the US, GPS; the Russian Glonass; and
30 Software for Road Infrastructure
TOP: The unit has been
developed and tested as a
ground based mobile mapping
system ABOVE: Mobile mapper
scans allow important data on
infrastructure to be recorded
accurately
Of course there is Lidar but
that is on a different scale
and usually too expensive for
say a kilometre square area of
forest or hillside. And UAVs
get closer to the ground
Stephen Ball
recently Chinese satellites; as well as the soon-to-
come european Galileo.
Most mobile systems also have inertia measuring
units (IMUs), which “fill in” the position until the
satellite is picked up again, or when under bridges
and inside tunnels. They can be quite simple or
extremely complex and range in cost from $3,130 –
$106,000.
Sabre offers three levels of its system with
increasingly accurate IMUs depending on need says
Ball. Currently these are for mounting on land vehicles
but the real aim of the company is to develop an
airborne version using a UAV, which means that scans
can be done above inaccessible areas.
“Of course there is Lidar but that is on a different
scale and usually too expensive for say a kilometre
square area of forest or hillside. And UAVs get closer
to the ground.”
There is a problem with UAVs however, which
is the tight regulation of their use by the aviation
authorities. They have to be flown within eyeline and
many areas are out of bounds like city streets.
But the licence requirements for flight are more
relaxed for small units – a 20kg cut-off point applies in
the UK and in Europe very often it’s just 5kg.
Sabre’s aim is to have a payload liftable by a small
rotary drone keeping within the limit. “That was a
reason to choose the Faro scanner which is just 4.5kg,”
said Ball. “Batteries are getting better too and we are
just about there now.”
The unit will be interchangeable with the mounts
on a car allowing it to be used in land and air
configurations as needed.
Meanwhile accurate fixing of the position of the

drone is being solved for photogrammetric systems
too. A system which Topcon is marketing worldwide,
made by Germany’s MAVinci, uses a fixed-wing type
of UAV carrying a GPS system that allows RTK or real-
time kinematic correction for high accuracy.
Topcon’s new IP-S3 makes a step change in the
specifications of the company’s mobile mapping unit
in speed and accuracy. It uses a Velodyne scanning
unit gathering 700,000 points/second accurate
to 10mm (half the previous model), married with
Topcon’s latest GPS technology. Equally significant is
the size and weight, reduced to just 18kg and quickly
remountable on various vehicles. The laser works
together with a 30 MP panoramic imaging system.
Topcon Mobile Master Office software performs all
post-processing functions.
Trimble has two mobile scanning systems, the
high end MX8, with seven highspeed cameras and
two laser scanners, and the smaller MX2. Both use an
integrated navigation unit to record the position and
orientation of the equipment. The MX8 captures and
geocodes one million points/second. In Germany,
Regensburg is building a high-resolution 3D model
of the historic Bavarian city. Survey consultant
Cloud-Vermessung is using the Trimble MX8 unit
to completely digitise the city’s public roads and
building facades. Software combines the 3D point
cloud with the images to produce dense, photo-
realistic models of the city.
Meanwhile Leica has also acquired the Aibotix
system which has a direct link with a total station
to track its position to a high accuracy. These kind
of advances are likely to continue as they bring the
point cloud technology to Rice-Jones’ everyday use
and make it much more a tool for constant checking
and rechecking of construction, monitoring the “as
built” as required for full BIM methodology.
Ironically it is Leica, with one of the most high-end
systems which is consciously pushing this strategy
forwards with its new BIM Field Trip package, where
scan data is validated for accuracy and attributes
are added for storage in a GIS database system.
Working with GIS provider Intergraph, which is part
of the Hexagon group, it aims to create a method of
construction layout and quality controlled “as-built”
data rich models to help the process of passing
information along the chain to the client end user.
“The tools have matured and are almost there” says
Grover. “And while there are still older engineers who
prefer the traditional ways, the younger generation
are really going to make use of them.”
Contact
Autodesk
www.autodesk.com
Bentley Systems
www.bentley.com
Topcon Positioning
www.topconpositioning.com
Trimble
www.trimble.com
Pointfuse tackles feature extraction
from point clouds
Trial use of feature extraction software
from British company Arithmetica
has been carried out by international
contractor Skanska for motorway work
in the UK.
Using a vehicle mounted mobile
mapping system Skanska surveyed a
stretch of motorway to collect laser
scan data detailing bridges, gantries
and crash barriers. Arithmetica’s
Pointfuse software was then used
to process the large point cloud,
recognising and extracting features
automatically and in a matter of
minutes.
The modelling engine developed
by Arithmetica is a fast, precise and
flexible way of converting the vast
point cloud datasets generated by
laser scanners such as LiDAR into high
fidelity vector models.
The software uses advanced
statistical techniques to create
vector models which can then be
manipulated using any industry-
standard CAD system.
It is claimed to be the first software
to offer truly automatic feature
extraction. It automatically identifies
features such as power-lines, bridges,
gantries and crash barriers within the
point cloud and extracts them within a
matter of minutes.
Mark Lawton, chief engineering
surveyor at Skanska said, “We were
looking for automated line work
generation and surface drawing
POINT CLOUDS
to reduce CAD time and ensure
an understanding of the point
cloud in other packages and digital
environments. Through the use of
standard file formats, such as DXF,
Pointfuse enables interoperability.”
That meant that both laser scanning
specialists and non-technical staff
could quickly visualise the point cloud
data, he said.
A new version of the software
offering batch and simultaneous
processing options was launched in
December. An evaluation version can
be downloaded from the Arithmetica
website.
Arithmetica is based near
Shepperton Studios in West London.
The company also developed the
360-degree SphereVision camera
system, used to survey and video map
highways.
Contact
Pointfuse
www.pointfuse.com
BELOW: Skanska has used point cloud
technology for work on the UK’s M1
motorway BOTTOM: Point cloud studies of
major junctions are of enormous benefit to
traffic engineers
Software for Road Infrastructure 31
TRAFFIC

Distributed computing
in new Visum from PTV
A new release is out of PTV’s Visum traffic analysis program, v14

S
pontaneous detours along travel routes can marketplace for third-party additions and extensions.
now be factored into traffic analysis in the new “New features and functionalities are created
version of PTV’s Visum traffic analysis program. sometimes by users and partners who make their
Known as “rubberbanding” this new capacity is added own add-ins for specific requirements,” said PTV “and
to the program’s tour-based demand modelling. a secondary market has built up.”
Unplanned stops are frequent in the real world. It has launched the somewhat cumbersomely
These can now be calculated into a traffic model and named PTV Vision Traffic Add-in Marketplace as an
determined more realistically into journey times. area for learning about and publishing useful extra
“With rubberbanding, starting point and main modules. It can be found at vision-traffic.ptvgroup.
activity as well as intermediate stops are connected com/en/add-in.
with – metaphorically speaking – a rubberband,” First publications include MapFormer, a tool for
explained Johannes Schlaich, director of PTV Visum network geolocation, and Optimal Count Locator,
product management and services. The “rubberband” which helps the user to determine the optimal
can be set more or less tightly to reflect the number position of counting locations in transport models.
of shops on the route between home and work.
Distributed computing has been upgraded. It Contact
was introduced last year to allow users to distribute PTV
scenarios across multiple computers, calculating www.ptv.de
them in parallel. Now it is also possible to go outside BELOW: Users can analyse
traffic issues using the PTV
scenario management and run selected procedures software BOTTOM: The new
such as private and public transport assignments, PTV package offers effective
traffic analysis
or Visem calculations of different demand strata,
on different computers in parallel. Results are
automatically merged.
The new version also features a re-written
timetable editor for public transport to include
several requested functions, among them being
the ability to freely edit the stop sequence using
a graphical editor. The new incremental importer
speeds up import and updating of timetable data
from one file version to
another
“The new new
PuT-importer [public
transport importer]
does not only allow the
transfer of PuT supply
completely into a
street and rail network,
but also replaces or
supplements existing
elements of an existing
PuT network,” explained
Schlaich, who said it is
“a huge reduction in the
modeller’s workload.”
PTV has also launched
a new service for users
of both Visum and its
microsimulation sister
Vissim. This is an online

32 Software for Road Infrastructure

 TRAFFIC

Aimsun highway prediction

project offers new app
An app to give hands-free driver information views from current roadside camera images; bus
routes, fares, and arrival times; and links to other
has been launched for the San Diego traffic commuter resources.
management system The mapping functions are linked to geospatial
information so that it shows the user’s location. It

T
raffic information is now available on mobiles also provides optional text-to-speech and look-ahead
and tablets for drivers and other users in the speech commands for hands-free use while driving.
southern California area around San Diego. The
information originates in the complex I-15 Integrated Contact
Corridor Management (ICM) project, which uses Aimsun
traffic simulation predictions as part of a multi-agency www.aimsun.com
management of traffic for the city and other towns The project is
along the I-15 interstate corridor. one of two ABOVE: Developed by Aimsun
Predictions from the simulations, run in near real- for Caltrans, the new app
time using Aimsun microsimulation software, is part pilots in the provides drivers with traffic
information BELOW: Users of
of an overall information integrating system that is
being built and is used by city authorities, police, and
US to develop the San Diego Expressway will
be able to download the free
state transport body Caltrans. The cities of San Diego, such a system traffic app

Escondido, and Poway are in partnership with the San

Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).
to improve
The project is one of two pilots in the US to develop corridor travel
such a system to improve corridor travel times and
reliability (see Software supplement 2012). times and
The new app is designed for iOS and Android reliability
devices giving real-time access to traveller information.
Features include maps with current traffic conditions
and latest incident and construction information on all
regional interstates and state routes; current rates for
the dynamically changing tolls on the express lanes;
predictive travel times and congestion information;

Software for Road Infrastructure 33

SURVEY

Leica tracks photo-drone

Aibotix uses a Leica total station to track a photogrammetric UAV

The Aibotix UAV is highly

versatile, which is why
Leica Geosystems opted to
buy the firm

But the biggest advantage is

that tracking can be done in
awkward places where a GPS
signal is hard to lock on to
Friederike Nielsen

A
s the famous shaving advertisement
used to say, “I liked the company so much I
bought it.” Leica Geosystems liked the
way that Germany’s Aibotix linked its total station
to a UAV unit so much that it has bought the
company.
The technology allows high-precision tracking
of a small multi-propeller drone carrying a camera,
without having any need of a global positioning
system (GPS) or other satellite tracking unit. It brings
several advantages, being lighter than GPS, and
requiring no base station or other correction
signal to achieve very high levels of
accuracy.
That means point cloud data produced
from processing photographs can achieve high
levels of accuracy, too. The pictures are processed
using third-party software, such as the Russian
Agisoft Photoscan or Swiss Pix4D.
“But the biggest advantage is that tracking can
be done in awkward places where a GPS signal is
hard to lock on to,” said Aibotix director of marketing
Friederike Nielsen. “That is near buildings and
particularly under bridges,” she added.
The UAV has twin functions for road engineering,
being used to create point clouds of structures
and the terrain and also to photograph to check
deterioration and repair needs. “We have a sister
company in Italy, which has used the system to
inspect over 1,000 bridges so far. It means no
one has to climb the structure or use a platform.”
She said the unit is small and with a standard
type of digital camera still weighs less than 5kg.
In Europe this means a separate licence
need not be obtained for each
flight, as required for larger drones.
As well as tracking the unit, Aibotix is working on
controlling it precisely from the total station.
Contact
Leica Geosystems
www.leica-geosystems.com
Aerial surveying
One of the innovative, cutting-edge
systems Trimble has developed is
its UX5 Aerial Imaging Rover for
photogrammetry purposes. The user
instructs the UAV on the flight path
it will follow using a ruggedised
tablet computer designed for use in
the field. Controlled in the air by its
pre-programmed autopilot, the user
launches the UAV and it is then able
to map out an area using its on-board
camera. As the UAV contains a highly
calibrated camera, this takes a series of
photos on a grid pattern.
Mostafa Motaz, regional sales
manager for Trimble Geospatial
in the Middle East, said, “We take
a smart programme to do the
photogrammetry.”
The UAV follows GPS way points,
with the camera also being triggered
by GPS as it flies. The UAS Master
software stitches together the images
digitally. Motaz said, “You tell it where
to take off and land and the rest it
does itself. It has a battery endurance
of 50 minutes and that battery life can
cover around 1.5km2.”
Contact
Trimble
www.trimble.com

34 Software for Road Infrastructure

 SURVEY

MAVinci drone goes

worldwide through Topcon
MAVinci’s UAV has onboard system for high accuracy real time GPS

M
AVinci in Germany has developed a UAV
photogrammetric system that can use
a continuous real-time kinematic (RTK) Measuring at sea
correction to achieve very high levels of accuracy. It
works either with a base station or a correction signal US firm Seafloor Systems and UK
supplied by NTRIP (networked transport of Radio company Ohmex have teamed up to
Technical Commission for Maritime Services data over develop a simple, low-cost system for
Internet Protocol). use in surveying purposes at sea. Ted
Called the Sirius Pro, the unit is an aircraft-shaped Read, managing director of Ohmex,
lightweight UAV with a 1.6m wingspan launched explained, “It’s a radio-controlled vessel
by hand and carrying a 0.5kg camera. According to that’s manufactured in the US.” data is logged on-board and added, “It
MAVinci CEO Johanna Claussen the shape is stable in The catamaran design is powered uses the Trimble Access software.”
winds up to 55km/h. It can also fly a longer range than by twin electric motors and can be Effective underwater surveying is
the multicopter type of device. equipped with an array of Trimble tools possible, quickly and effectively, and
“By connecting an external base station, Sirius Pro for use in underwater surveying. Read Read said, “It effectively goes up to 50m
will receive the RTCM correction signals and deliver said, “The whole object is to keep it deep.” And with this capability, Read
2-5cm accuracy without using ground control points. simple.” explained that the unit will be able to
When you have mobile Internet on your site, you can The vessel is equipped with an cope with most underwater surveying
achieve the same accuracy even without a local base echo sounder and the customer has applications. He said, “I’d say 90% of
station using NTRIP,” said Eduardo Falcon, executive a choice of different Trimble GPS surveys are for depths down to 20m.”
vice president and general manager for the Topcon units, depending on the application.
GeoPositioning Solutions Group. The concept uses the same type of Contact
The unit combines a precision-timing technology surveying tools as used for conventional Seafloor Systems
with Topcon sub-centimeter grade L1/L2 GPS/Global construction applications, so that www.seafloorsystems.com
Navigation Satellite System personnel can benefit from using Ohmex
(GLONASS) RTK receivers. familiar technologies. Read said that www.ohmex.com
“That means we can achieve
elevation models with a high
absolute accuracy of 20-
50mm without using ground
control points,” said Claussen.
If no base station is at
hand, an internal base
station add-on for the Sirius
Pro is available she added. It
is available anytime via the
Internet without changing
the hardware.
Claussen said that the
technology had been used
in the extraction sector
previously but with the
Topcon world marketing
resource will find much
wider use in the highways
sector.

Contact
Topcon Positioning ABOVE: Point cloud images can be captured using the Sirius UAV BOX STORY: Underwater surveys can be carried out using the
www.topconpositioning.com radio-controlled catamaran developed jointly by Ohmex and Seafloor Systems

Software for Road Infrastructure 35

PROJECT
BAM’s BIM
bridge rebuild
A 3D model is helping track multipole repetitions
on a historic bridge renovation
W
hen a vehicle skidded off the road on West
London’s Chiswick Bridge a few years ago,
the owner, Transport for London (TfL), had to
think about protective measures. Fortunately, no-one
was hurt badly, but the accident highlighted safety
issues on the bridge that date from the 1930s.
Both for the significant traffic on the bridge and for
the river users below, the old stone parapet was not
up to modern standards; it could not handle traffic
impacts with obvious dangers of a vehicle smashing
through and plummeting into the river. There was
a danger too for river users of falling stones. Several
boating clubs are located along this stretch of the
upper Thames so it is quite busy.
A mesh protection has been put in place since,
but the client wanted to renovate the bridge, which
also has some problems from stone decay and in the
concrete of its underlying arch structure.
But that was easier said than done. The bridge is
an architecturally listed historic structure and has to
keep its appearance intact. That is complex, with a
repeating stonework along the sides made up from
“bottle”-shaped Portland limestone supports in bays
36 Software for Road Infrastructure
There are hundreds
of ‘bottles’ and
altogether about
separated by solid die
stone dividers, and with
3,000 elements to
a shelf-like stone top. It is the bridge
similar to many colonial
British balconies and
verandas of the time.
To strengthen this
edge structure, joint
venture consultant
Parsons Brinckerhoff and
Ramboll came up with a
steel framework of two
trough-shaped channels installed, one in the top linear
“rail” and one at the base of the bottle bays for each
bay. The bottles would be held between them with
a steel rod running through each, and bolted at each
end to the channels. These in turn would end at the
stone dies, which are now anchored down into the
concrete deck with drilled and grouted bars.
Installing this steel frame means taking out each
of the bottles and stone blocks that also have to
be cleaned or, if too weathered, to be completely
replaced. It is a potential nightmare for a contractor to
track and monitor. “There are hundreds of ‘bottles’ and
altogether about 3,000 elements to the bridge,” said
Ivor Barbrook, head of design implementation and
BIM at BAM Nuttall, the contractor carrying out the
13-month project.
There was also a fairly complex programme of
structural repair needed inside the hollow concrete
arches where some steel was exposed and concrete
had deteriorated. Rebar has been exposed and
reconcreted or cathodic protection added. Underneath
the bridge there has also been sealing work to protect
the concrete from corrosion. This was done over the

summer with access platforms mounted on barges,
using a special water-based sealant to prevent river
pollution.
In discussions in the early contractor involvement
that TfL uses for most of its term contractors, Nuttall
suggested using an intelligent 3D model for the design
that could be used to both supply engineering detail
at site level and accept added data as work progressed.
A model built in Autodesk’s Revit Structural software
was decided on, built up from a very detailed laser
scan supplied to the contractor.
“We were given a 160GB disc with a point cloud
produced from multiple scans on, outside and inside
the bridge,” said Barbrook. The model to be built from
the scan needed to be very carefully pre-planned
he said. Revit uses “intelligent” objects to create a
structure that can then hold attributes and associated
information and additionally be a place to attach
further information. Each bottle could be made from a
generic bottle object and other parapet components,
internal deck support columns and beams and so forth
as separate objects.
The point is that each object has its own designation
and reference. By carefully thinking out the design
and its purpose for site work the model can be used
to quickly access information about any particular
component, just by clicking on it. “That coding is
inbuilt in Revit and allows you to navigate easily to any
object,” said Barbrook.
On site, the objects in the model are made
accessible by using Autodesk’s Field 360 software
to link to the model information via the Navisworks
viewing tool. As Barbrook’s BIM colleague Colin Evison
explained, the company is rolling out the field software
across all of its projects currently to give site engineers
easy access to drawings, models, record photographs
and documents.
“It runs on Ipads, drawing down information from
the cloud as needed,” he said. The mobile devices are
rugged enough in their special field cases not to worry
about damage.
PROJECT
Just as importantly, the two linked programs allow
the engineers to upload information, perhaps taking
a photograph with the Ipad’s camera as well. On the
Chiswick site, site engineer Visam Gopaul carries and
fills in checklists for each of the elements that are then
attached to the correct model object.
“The Ipad takes a bit of getting used to when you are
trained to use an engineer’s notebook but it is highly
convenient – you don’t need a folder full of drawings
but can just call them up. Then you can fill in check
sheets, make notes and add other information on site,
and when you come back into the office you connect
up and synchronise with the model.”
Constantly updating the model is obviously useful
for site progress and inspection of subcontract works
for the contractor but it is also building up an ‘as-built’
record that can be passed on to the client at the end.
“We are currently in discussion with them about
what form they would like the data to be in – certainly
digital, but it is not decided if they want it as the 3D
model,” said Barbrook. “certainly digital but it is not
decided if they want it as the 3D model.”
The advantage of BIM is that however it is passed
on there is live information that can be accessed and
updated throughout the continuing life span of the
project.
LEFT: The bridge is upstream
on the Thames on London’s
Contact west side BELOW: The client
wanted to renovate the bridge,
Autodesk which has some problems from
www.autodesk.com stone decay BELOW LEFT:
As the bridge is listed for its
architecture, any upgrade work
carried out still had to retain
the design
Software for Road Infrastructure 37
MACHINE CONTROL & TELEMATICS
Connecting
Caterpillar
Caterpillar is introducing its latest Cat
Connect technology
S
cott W Schmidtgall is business development
manager for the connected worksite products
& services and he explained that Cat Connect is
a solution with four core values that are important for
the job site; productivity, machine management, safety,
sustainability.
Productivity is a key factor for the Cat Connect
system, and one that brings other benefits along
with it. For excavation applications for example, the
improved productivity can also boost safety as well, as
in a trenching job the package means that the system
will accurately determine dig depth, eliminating the
need for someone to be checking the grade in the
trench.
For dozers too the firm’s latest technology offers
major gains in productivity and safety. “We are
launching the Cat Grade Control 3D system, which
comes from the factory.” Caterpillar has been offering
the factory-installed 3D technology for its D8T and D9T
dozers since 2011 and Schmidtgall said, “This package
is now being offered on the D6T dozer as well. We’re
putting the antenna in the cab and it uses integrated
sensors in the cylinders.”
As this is a dual GPS system it offers high accuracy
and Schmidtgall said, “It should give you control in
multiple applications, such as slopes.”
Because the system can operate without the need
for masts, it is more rugged, as well as being more
38 Software for Road Infrastructure
secure as the costly receiver unit is tucked safely out of
sight within the cab,. However Schmidtgall added, “If
you want accuracy for finishing work, you’ll want the
antenna on the blade.”
The system also monitors traction, preventing track-
slip and this offers additional cost savings by reducing
wear and tear on undercarriages. This is a major saving
for contractors as dozer undercarriages can represent a
significant running cost.
Caterpillar’s sophisticated Cat Compaction Control
technology is offering efficiency gains. The firm’s soil
compactors can be equipped with systems that will
track the number of passes in each area and ensure
work is carried out to specification. The technology
records the number of passes, maps out the work area
and notes the soil stiffness, all of which is crucial for
ensuring specifications are met.
Meanwhile, the firm’s asphalt rollers also now come
with heat sensors that detect the surface temperature
of the mat, “On both sides of the drum, infrared sensors
tell the temperature of the mat. That’s important
as the system tells the operator where he is in the
temperature window for the mat.” He added, “It’s hard
to keep track of the rolling pattern and it really helps if
you’re working at night when you can’t see so well.”
He said a further tool is available, “There is an
additional attachment you can put on. It looks at the
vibration and the stiffness of the mat.”
He explained that overall, the technology provides
peace of mind for contractors and said, “This is all about
improving consistency and if you miss compaction at a
point you’re going to have potholes and have to come
back and repair them.” He added that the data can then
be downloaded and analysed, “That basically proves
what has been done on-site.”
Meanwhile another major development from
Caterpillar comes from its 80% stake in Underground
Imaging Technology (UIT). This firm has developed
sophisticated ground penetrating radar (GPR)
technologies that can be used to identify utilities
underground, allowing quicker and safer working
in urban areas, while reducing the risk of costly (and
potentially dangerous) damage to underground gas,
power or water utilities. Bob Ringwelski is business
development manager for Connected Worksite
Products & Services and said, “They can identify where
the utilities are.”
The data can be downloaded onto a 3D model and
then transferred using the Trimble Business Centre into
files for use in the machine’s cab. Ringwelski said, “If I
know what is underground, I can work more quickly
and more safely.”
Contact
Caterpillar
www.cat.com
The Cat Connect package offers
major gains in productivity
as well as safety, machine
management and sustainability
 MACHINE CONTROL & TELEMATICS

Smarter construction
Trimble is moving ahead with its technology and is cementing its leading position
in the construction sector. Roz Buick, vice president Heavy Civil Construction at
Trimble, provided an insight into the construction industry and said, “Heavy civil
construction is transforming the way the world constructs”

S
he continued, “The contractor has to get the
right materials, the right people and the right
equipment in the right place at the right time.”
“You’ve all seen it. The projects that go on forever!
In this county alone, after a 27-year study on project
overruns, Clark County has to plan for an average of $25
million and a worst case US$120 million of cost overruns You’ve all
against their 2015 Transportation projects alone!”
A major challenge comes from the fact that seen it. The
construction sites are by their very nature, chaotic. projects that
Trimble’s challenge is to take constructible reality earlier
into the project life cycle and link plans for engineers go on forever!
and contractors to the contractor’s site operations. Buick Roz Buick
said, “The contractors can’t readily turn 2D plans into 3D the constructible model plan. Not only are we sending
reality. The world is not flat.” work orders to the field but collecting as-built data from
The construction sector needs to improve its efficiency the field.”
and Buick commented, “Around 80% of civil projects are The benefits are substantial and Buick said, “It’s good
delivered late or over budget.” And she asked, “How do for the budget and we’re shortening construction times.
we reduce the chaos?” We call this the Trimble Connected Site.”
Trimble directly tackles these challenges using The The technology provides a detailed project
Trimble Connected Site platform of solutions. The site is constructible model and Buick said, “It’s a highly accurate
made more coherent by being visible for the contractor’s model of what we’re going to build.” She said that for a
staff due to constant sensing and recording around the bridge project for example, “You can identify everything
whole site and this is driving the worksite around a 3D to the last bolt.”
model that links plans to project operations. Buick explained that this delivers an accurate picture
Buick explained that there are huge gains or savings of the project, from design through construction and
to be achieved from solutions provided by Trimble detailing all of the work that has been carried out on-site
technology. These systems can deliver machine and said, “At the end of the construction project we pass
productivity gains of 30% along with reductions in on an actual accurate blueprint of what was built.”
survey and field engineering time of 55%. Most of all, this MAIN: Integrating the The result of this technology is to improve operations
technology can deliver overall project improvements of operation of equipment and Buick said, “Using Trimble has changed how
onsite brings enormous
more than 30%. savings INSET: Roz Buick,
construction is done. It’s easier all round.”
Buick said, “The first step is to create and validate the vice president Heavy Civil
3D model. Secondly we send sections of the 3D model Construction at Trimble Contact
said that the Connected
to the field. Thirdly we provide connectivity and software Site can boost machine Trimble
to the site empowering all staff to work from and track to productivity by 30% www.trimble.com

Software for Road Infrastructure 39

PRODUCTS

Weighing up
with accuracy
The recent acquisition of the Loadrite business has been a strategic
addition to Trimble’s array of technology solutions and is one that will
help boost revenue in the long term

J
ohan Smet is general manager of Loadrite and the wrong material is in the truck at the weighbridge, it’s a very big problem.”
explained the logic behind this acquisition. He This is a major issue for the cement/concrete sector, for example. Quarries will
said, “Loadrite is a successful company for onboard typically use quantities of different grades of material from a number of working faces
weighing. With that acquisition we bought a well- so as to get the correct mix of material to meet the specification. Having material from
known brand with great technology.” the wrong working area of the quarry could affect the grade of the mix, resulting in the
He explained that the Loadrite system can be cement/concrete production not meeting precise specifications needed for an order.
combined with Trimble’s own technologies to offer Smet said that a truck load of the wrong grade of material could also result in costly
greater overall functionality and working efficiency reworking in road construction applications. He cited one job where tests on a stretch
for the quarrying sector. Smet said, “Optimising truck of road after construction was completed showed the sub-base to not have been
payload is very important and this solution helps with to specification. This resulted in the road surface then having to be broken out and
that.” reconstructed, with the quarry firm eventually having to pay the bill.
The Loadrite system is well-accepted in the aggregate In site safety and environmental protection, the Loadrite technology brings working
industry, a factor that will help Trimble raise its profile advantages as well as it being that the system provides effective site communication.
in this business segment. Smet said, “It gives us a foot Smet commented, “It’s hard to put a number on it. Wherever you have big machines
in the door for the aggregate industry. Many of the working, you don’t want people getting out of the cab to walk across the site and talk
technologies Trimble has can be used in aggregates.” to each other.”
He continued that, by the same token, there is the And the use of this technology can also help optimise operations, reducing truck
chance to expand the penetration for the Loadrite brand waiting times and engine idling, cutting fuel consumption as well as engine emissions.
into construction and agriculture, where Trimble already Smet commented that this can help. “Companies care about their reputation. When
has a strong presence. This would make a significant they’re trying to get new quarry sites, they need to demonstrate they have a good
growth in business. Smet commented, “There’s also a operation.”
potential in the municipal sector.”
The Loadrite product is strong in some markets Contact
around the world and Smet believes its acquisition by Trimble
Trimble will further grow the brand. He said, “Loadrite is www.trimble.com
well-accepted, particularly in Australia and New Zealand
and the US.”
He said that the European market is different,
however, because there are more competitors. He
commented, “That’s where the technologies were
developed. But I’d like to think we can grow the brand in
Europe as well.”
Smet explained the value that Loadrite systems offer
to customers and said, “You’re putting rock in a truck and
that truck goes on the open road and you have to make
sure that truck is not overloaded. You need to weigh the
truck on the weighbridge before you go on the road
and you do not want to have to unload it or add more Optimising truck payload
load as that’s an additional cost.” is very important and this
Another gain from the system is the benefit to overall
efficiency. Smet said, “What we do is wirelessly connect solution helps with that
across a quarry. When the truck comes in, the excavator Johan Smet
or loader operator knows what load has to go in. It’s
communicated wirelessly.”
Making sure the truck receives the right grade of
material is also important, another factor where the
Loadrite system can assist the operator. Smet said, “If

40 Software for Road Infrastructure

 PRODUCTS

Bentley’s
moved seamlessly and quickly from one package to
another, without risking the loss of clarity. This avoids
the need for translating data from one package to
another, providing a significant boost to efficiency.

integrated
The Bentley and Trimble products effectively work
together and Kevin Jackson, director, sales technical
support at Transportation & Local Infrastructure
within Bentley, added, “We can provide the whole 3D

package
Now that software specialist Bentley Systems is
working more closely in partnership with Trimble,
the two firms are integrating their products so
they work together more effectively
model.”
The gains for data accuracy are enormous and
Mike Wilson, director, software development at
Bentley Civil, said, “We provide for better fidelity.”
The speed with which roads can be constructed
using this integrated software technology has also
increased. Jackson added that one US contractor
was able to build a short stretch of road in record
time. “In two days they designed and built a 1500ft
[450m] road. They also used intelligent compaction
to optimise the number of passes.”
And Clemons added, “It’s a great story from both
sides of the road, as they’re saving fuel and money.”

A
key example of this is with Trimble’s latest
Quantm route optimisation software, which Contact
is now fully integrated with the Bentley Bentley Systems
software.Tom Clemons, vice president Transportation www.bentley.com
Solutions at Bentley Systems, said, “You can take the Trimble
preliminary design data from the Quantm package www.trimble.com
and then do the final
design work with the
Bentley software. Then
you can export it into
the Trimble product for
the contractor to use.”
Clemons explained
that this improves
efficiency and accuracy, We can provide the
as well as reducing whole 3D model
the time required
Tom Clemons
for data handling.
With the improved
interoperability of the
software from Bentley
and Trimble, data can be

Advertisers INDEX
Company Page No Website Company Page No Website

Aimsun p24 www.aimsun.com Transoft p18 www.transoftsolutions.com

Bentley p2 www.bentley.com/onlybentley Trimble p4 http://heavycivil.trimble.com/getreal

SoundPLAN p6 www.soundplan.com ViaNova p6 www.vianovasystems.no

Software for Road Infrastructure 41

Targeting the
traffic industry?
Officially the first choice of traffic professionals and OEM’s worldwide
Largest Circulation | Most Requested | Best Read
May/June 2014 | www.itsinternational.com
TAILOR YOUR TRAFFIC SOLUTIONS 2014 SHOW EDITION March/April 2014 | www.itsinternational.com

International
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND URBAN MOBILITY Dailynews
Monday 8 September 2014 www.ITSWCLive.com
TRAFFIC
VISION @
International
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND URBAN MOBILITY

International WWW.VISION-FAIR.DE
International

Michigan leads the way

The world’s largest vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)
and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) system
will be put in place in Michigan by 2017.
The project will be a joint enterprise
between GM, Ford, Michigan DoT and the
University of Michigan.
Its main components will be the
introduction on a new 2017-model
CEO Mary Barra (pictured) in her keynote
address at the opening of the World
Congress yesterday. The 2017-model
Cadillac CTS will meanwhile be equipped
with V2V technology.
Super Cruise allows a car to keep to as-
signed lanes and warn a driver of impend-
ing collisions if, for example, another V2V
ed driving is to tackle the urban environ-
ment, where you have to dodge everything 04-06 NOVEMBER 2014 Cut price
capacity:
from jaywalkers and bike messengers to
double-parked delivery trucks.” That is
likely to take place in the next decade.
“The sooner the industry puts a critical
YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE
mass of V2V-equipped vehicles on the road,
TO MACHINE VISION IN THE
UK defaults to hard
the more accidents we’ll prevent…and the

TRANSPORTATION SECTOR
Cadillac of GM’s Super Cruise system – a vehicle ahead suddenly brakes. However, more society – and individual drivers – will

Machine Vision:
semi-automated driving technology that
allows drivers to take their hands off
the wheel for extended periods – and
the creation of more than 120 miles of
Sending all the V2I-enabled freeway corridor, said GM
the driver of the following car still has to benefit. The same holds true for V2I.”
make ‘control decisions’ such as braking,
himself. The enabled corridor will take in
stretches of I-96 and I-696. Beyond this,
As the Dailynews went to press US
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx was
also speaking at the launch of the World
shoulder running
“The next big challenge…to fully automat- Congress.
PAGE 04
Machine Vision
PAGE 12
Floorplan
PAGE 14
New transport-
Also…
● Road pricing risks social exclusion

right signals LEARN MORE

can transform
transportation
- pinpointing
exhibitors with
transport-related
related products
on display ● Cities failing urban mobility challenge

● Parking policy key to prosperity plans

Also… at the Technology Showcase
on Belle Isle, or Booth #1614!
solutions
l True cost of wrong way drivers

l Where now for enforcement technology ALSO INSIDE A ROUNDUP OF THE LATEST MACHINE VISION PUBLISHED BY
www.itsinternational.com
l 1,000 screens smooth Glasgow’s Games RELATED INTRODUCTIONS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION SECTOR OFFICIAL
econolitegroup.com
MEDIA PARTNER
2014-ITSABanner-Day1.indd 1 8/19/14 8:38 AM

Contact us below to
increase your position
in the traffic sector

Colin Sowman
Editor
itseditor@ropl.com
Tel: +44 1322 612063

Dan Emmerson
Sales Director
dan@ropl.com
Tel: +44 1322 612068

Andrew Barriball
Publisher
media@ropl.com
Tel: +44 1322 612057

Register for your FREE copy today @ www.roplreg.com www.itsinternational.com