On May 30, Budapest-based Graphisoft will release ArchiCAD 16. A few key advances separate the version from other BIM software.One feature, the trademarked MORPH tool, allows users to transform simple forms into complex, customized objects. The tool is 100% integrated in the BIM environment."There is nothing else out there in the market that does what the MORPH tool does," says Richard Crowe, a beta tester of the software and founding partner of GRC Architects, Tallahassee, Fla. "You can grab any object, saving the original, and pull or stretch it in any way."Any element in the software, such as a slab,
Photo courtesy Mike Shahan and North Texas Regional Airport Replaceable? Some small airports can afford manned control towers, such as North Texas Regional Airport, shown here. Related Links: More ENR Information Technology News NextGen Ramps Up Amid Flat Airport Improvement Funding Air Traffic Is Reviving and Construction Is Back To Basics Deterred by the $2-million cost of constructing an air traffic control tower and the $400,000 annual cost to operate and maintain it, managers of the Raleigh County Memorial Airport in Beckley, W.Va., are considering the installation of the first unmanned, virtual control tower as an alternative."This would answer all
Photo courtesy of Lloyd's Register Deeper Insight New software mines historical equipment-failure data down to the component level to improve management strategies for rotating equipment. Related Links: Engineering News-Record Lloyd's Register Energy Americas Facilities engineers often manage rotating equipment on a time-based schedule. Absent that, they may have to run systems to failure or until something breaks as part of their maintenance plan.A new software tool is helping them get a better handle on life-cycle performance by diving into historical data about the machines.The software, called Capstone RBMI Rotating Equipment, is from Lloyd's Register Energy Americas, part of the 252-year-old
Courtesy of Boeing 'Spoofing,' or intentionally generating fake GPS signals, is a threat that governments have yet to be addressed. An American bat-wing RQ-170 Sentinel—a U.S. military drone—was flying over Iran en route to its Afghanistan base in December when, Iranian military engineers claim, they reconfigured the drone's global-positioning-system coordinates to fool it into landing, intact, on Iranian soil. The U.S. military claims the drone simply malfunctioned.On Feb. 22, GPS industry experts from around the world gathered in Teddington, U.K., to discuss the system's vulnerabilities. Bob Cockshott, a director at Britain's Intelligent Communications Technology Knowledge Transfer Network and a conference
Courtesy of ABEM A retired engineer uses an out-of-production device to read very-low-frequency radio waves to find water trapped in underground rock. In California, a retired electrical engineer has revived an out-of-production sonar device that uses very low frequency, or VLF, radio waves to locate underground water, and, as recently as Feb. 15, he has been successful. Using improved software, he found water where others had failed.Richard Varian, owner of Survey4Water, Willits, Calif., uses the WADI VLF-sonar device—developed over 25 years ago by ABEM, Sundbyberg, Sweden—to find water trapped in rock fractures and cavities."The fractures in the rock are where
COURTESY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Color-Coded Computed using city data, the map breaks down energy use into four categories: space heating, space cooling, electricity and hot water. Researchers at Columbia University's school of engineering have laun-ched a public, online catalog of all New York City buildings, each characterized by estimated energy consumption based on size and use.When users mouse over the interactive map, pop-ups present energy consumption estimates for individual buildings. The estimates are derived from a formula that multiplies square footage by the building type, such as single- or multifamily residential, business, school or industrial. Energy consumption is broken down
A team of researchers recently shifted its operations to Edmonton, Alberta, from Hong Kong to continue development of a new alignment-control and surveying system for tunnel-boring operations. The city is helping with on-the job testing of the system, which is based on a successfully tested, smaller version for utility tunnels. Researchers aim to have a fully operational system for use in the construction of a large-diameter drainage tunnel this April.“The tunneling industry is losing productivity and having problems with quality control” because it lacks real-time survey data, says Ming Lu, associate professor at the University of Alberta. He says the
When Bruce Bennett became executive project director for the joint venture of URS Corp., San Francisco, and Alberici Constructors, St. Louis, his task was to build the dam section of Olmsted Locks and Dam.
Photo Courtesy of HzO Many new products strive to protect mobile devices from water. HzO Inc. uses a chemical process to protect electronics inside and out. HzO's latest "waterblock" technology for protecting mobile devices may have been one of the hottest displays at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It certainly was the wettest.The Salt Lake City company helps make sensitive electronic devices impervious to water and will be incorporating the feature in many big electronic manufacturers' product lines this summer, according to Paul Clayson, HzO president. He says the product coats critical components inside the devices to