CAD and GIS (Integration and Beyond)

BIM for Resource Extraction - An Information Modeling Approach to Shale Oil and Gas

2011-09-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

The economic climate and global political landscape have created a demand to identify and extract viable gas and domestic energy sources as well as mineral deposits in the U.S. One such phenomenon is shale gas like the Marcellus Shale reserve in the northeast, the second largest gas field like it in the world. For companies and firms engaged in identification, design, construction and maintenance of extraction processes the race is on. What is needed is a streamlined process of design and data management that reduces errors, is model based, supports 3D visualization and simulation, and capable of sustainable workflows. BIM (Building Information Models) is that process that engineers, designers, geotechnical scientists, and operators are using to gain the most efficient process for resource extraction. BIM for Resource Extraction is comprised of various workflows focused at site identification, design (piping, plant, transportation), asset tracking, hydrological analysis and asset management.

Key Benefits:

• Integrate different data to identify optimal site locations for gas, oil pads?
• Putting your design information into real world context by creating 3D representations to share with stakeholders, review boards and public hearings.
• Perform hydrologic analysis capable of mitigating environmental impact and reducing permitting time
• Reduce design errors and the impact of change requests
• Manage operational assets and facility information

This is a finished wellpad in Autodesk Infrastructure Modeler that shows various BIM models and integration of GIS information, a true CAD and GIS integration story.

Project Galileo - Digital Cities for Planning and Infrastructure Modeling

2011-02-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

This blog is dedicated to the topic of integrating CAD and GIS and the issues of being able to combine these two types of technologies. But rather than look at CAD and GIS as technologies consider the data that they represent. CAD information typically represents small scale precise engineering projects describing 'a conceptual design', or 'what is built or in operation' and GIS information typically represents larger scale representations of phenomenon including the natural environment. Perhaps the perfect union of these two types of information can best be seen in the context of a city, where ideally the balance of the human built environment and our necessary infrastructure meets the esthetics and preservation of 'green space'.

Recently, Autodesk has released a technology preview called Galileo which aims at being an easy-to-use planning tool for creating 3D city models from civil, geospatial and building data, and 3D models. In addition, recent developments in the geospatial community have started to look at the need for geodesign. This is simply CAD and GIS integration that allows for iterative design sketches to be vetted out based on geospatial information. Project Galileo can act as a hub for design and geospatial information to be integrated, as well as allowing for some light weight urban design sketches (roads, water, buildings) allowing for geodesign to occur. To see how the project is being developed you can view a recent presentation given at the geodesign summit by Chris Andrews (Project Manager - Autodesk).

GIS Day - November 17th

2010-11-13T12:45:00.000-08:00

“Building Information Modeling (BIM) is creating a cultural shift in the GIS industry. Check-out this on-demand webcast and learn how BIM is impacting the geospatial community.”

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is creating a cultural shift in the GIS industry. Geospatial professionals know the power of GIS but many have little knowledge or experience with BIM. Increasingly, geospatial professionals are being asked to integrate BIM models with their GIS data. The task is often a struggle as they attempt to combine the data without losing valuable information. As a result, workflow suffers which compromises efficiency, affects decision making, and impacts data accuracy and currency.

An improved understanding of BIM can help overcome these challenges and ensure that BIM models and geospatial data are integrated in a manner that respects both design and GIS requirements.

If CAD and GIS are the tools, BIM is the toolbox.

BIM is an integrated process that lets you explore a project’s physical and functional characteristics digitally, before it’s built. BIM is not just about buildings; it’s information modeling for the built environment. As such, BIM encompasses CAD and GIS disciplines by combining model-based design with information and analysis.
BIM is multidisciplinary. It combines the complexity of both built and natural environments. It applies to municipal, transportation, utilities, as well as, campus style environments such as education, health care and airport facilities.

Access this free on-demand webcast NOW!

• Learn what BIM is and why it’s of importance to the geospatial professional.

• Discover how BIM helps improve CAD/GIS data integration workflows.

• See how intelligent model-based design helps promote “GIS Ready” data

• Learn how BIM streamlines analysis, visualization and the ability to accurately predict performance, appearance and cost.

• Discover how BIM improves sharing of digital design information, geospatial data, infrastructure models and other documentation among staff and project stakeholders

• Learn how BIM helps extend your GIS asset information into the design/build process to better coordinate with architects, engineers, contractors and others.

• Learn how to leverage BIM throughout construction, operation and maintenance.

• Discover how BIM helps you deliver projects faster, more economically and with reduced environmental impact.

• Learn how BIM reduces risk through a better understanding of a project’s physical, social and economic impact before breaking ground.

Follow this link to access the on-demand webcast and learn more about BIM for the geospatial professional: http://www.autodesk.com/bimforgis

Geofest Minnesota 2010

2010-10-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday Oct 15, I will be attending Geofest. This is an event sponsored by The Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education (MAGE) which is guided by a Steering Committee comprised of teachers, college professors, and administrators dedicated to being the best geography educators possible.

MAGE believes that the study of geography is an important part of the intellectual maturation of students and that the materials available to all students must be of the highest possible quality. So Geofest is an event where all members come together to share, learn, and promote geographical education.

My envolvement will be to educate attendees on the feature functionality and value of Mapguide Open Source as a GIS tool for the classroom. Students and teachers will find its ease of use valuable, and because its open source, no restrictions on how it is implemented and distributed to students and faculty alike. To download Mapguide Open Source 2.0, Mapguide Maestro and a 'quick start' guide use the link below.

DOWNLOAD GEOFEST MATERIALS

Good Mapping!

Geodatabases and AutoCAD Map 3D

2010-10-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

In the continued search for integration an exciting anouncement from Autodesk was just released. Imagine using the power of AutoCAD for your engineering and project designs coupled with the information stored in an ESRI geodatabase. I know, your thinking when is the alarm going to go off and wake you up ... right. Well recently Autodesk has released FDO providers that support the read and write capabilities for personal, folder and Enterprise/ArcSDE server-based geodatabases.

The FDO Providers are built on AutoCAD Map 3D, a product from Autodesk built on AutoCAD with additional capabilities to manage, perform spatial analysis and put engineering designs into geospatial context as well as increase the accuracy of your designs. If you're currently using AutoCAD Map 3D these are available to you through the Autodesk Subscription Center, check it out. Check out my colleague - Lynda Sharkey with this quick preview.

Getting Started with Mapguide Open Source v2.2

2010-07-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

Recently, Mapguide Open Source ver 2.2 beta was released. This is yet another version of the Open Source Web-Mapping software orignially from Autodesk. One of the key features of this software is its use of FDO technology that allows you to integrate both CAD and GIS data ... and as it is open source technology is FREE to use and distribute. Some of the major updates in this version of Mapguide include: support for 64 bit, improved color palette, API improvements, added FDO installs for (PostGIS, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Microsoft SQL server 2008). The following is a diagram of the architecture for Mapguide, while this might seem a bit daunting at first, the installers will take of most of this making it a simple task to install and implement.

So how does one get started if they are new to the Mapguide platform, or new to web-based mapping? I have created a quick start guide for this version of Mapguide, that will include the installation software and step-by-step instructions on using the technology. Below you will find a link that contains everything you will need to get started and start publishing your CAD and GIS data to the web.

DOWNLOAD MAPGUIDE OPEN SOURCE 2.2 QUICK START

Good Mapping, Neal

Making 3D Models from 2D Photos

2010-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Being a geospatial professional I am more than comfortable looking at 2D maps, 2D images and 2D designs. But we live in a 3D world and modeling the built environment is becoming more readily available and also expected by organizations today. 3D models have many benefits over traditional 2D models, such as: the flexibility that is offered with the use 3D models allowing angles to be changed and creating animated images quicker. 3D models enable us to make instant calculations when used in software like Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Revit and Autodesk LandXplorer. This is one reason why 3D models are increasing in popularity with earth scientists and engineers.

Typically to create 3D models today the use of laser scanning is done. Capturing points and creating surfaces then rendering a 3D model that can be used in various softwares. But what if there was an alternative, a less expensive and complex way to capture and create these models using technology we all have and using a FREE application from Autodesk. Introducing Project Photo Fly from Autodesk Labs.

Project Photofly is a technology preview to automatically convert photographs shot around an object or a scene into "Photo Scenes" using the power of cloud computing making the creation of 3D models quick and cost effective.

Making Design Data GIS Ready

2010-07-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Good Data

Until recently, the practice of GIS (Geographical Information Systems) gave little attention to issues that occurred by error, inaccuracy and the imprecision in geospatial datasets. However, today we are finding that as more professionals and organizations are relying on GIS for analysis related to infrastructure and engineering projects that the integrity of the data is paramount and many times can be the sole reason for the success or failure of a GIS project.

GIS has largely been used as an asset management solution by many organizations and relies heavily on being able to integrate data from several sources, one of which is engineering design information or CAD. This has been traditionally accomplished through the use of translation tools, or data exchange formats like the .DXF file, which has the potential to alter the underlying engineering precision while largely void of any descriptive detail needed by a GIS.

Consider the following example of a utility company tasked with creating reports as part of an audit in which the utility company is taxed based on the number of water pipes it has in operation. The engineering design is done in AutoCAD, needed for its precision and engineering based tools to create the data. The water pipe data is then exported to a .DXF file and then imported into a utility management application (GIS) where a report is done to determine how many feet of pipe exist in its network. If duplicates were in the original AutoCAD drawing and the GIS did not recognize these as errors, the utility company could in fact be charged twice for that pipe.

Cleaning Up Data

To overcome this obstacle AutoCAD Map 3D has the ability to identify errors at the data creation, or design phase of a project using what are called ‘drawing clean up’ tools. These can be run on any number of layers, isolated to certain areas in a drawing, or used to convert object types from one type of AutoCAD feature to another (i.e. lines to polylines, arcs to circles). However, the most important part of drawing cleanup is its ability to find and fix the eleven top errors found in design information.

Drawing cleanup helps organizations that are either designing information internally, or are also getting information from third-parties like contractors and consultants ‘clean’ the geographic data before it is migrated into a GIS. It should be acknowledged that most GIS software has tools that will clean data as well, but by putting these tools in the hands of the designer it is allowing the industry expert (i.e. electrical engineer) the ability to choose and define what is a true error and not someone unfamiliar with the data (i.e. GIS specialist) that may not.

One of the other benefits in using AutoCAD Map 3D and its drawing cleanup tools is it allows an interactive approach to error correction. That means that instead of blindly relying on the software to determine an error and a fix, the user has the last validation in determining the course of action to be taken. It can be fixed, marked for further review and manual correction, or fixed using the user-defined error tolerance.

Adding Descriptive Information for Design Data

One of the largest misconceptions around CAD data from GIS professionals is that it doesn’t have the descriptive properties used in a GIS. AutoCAD Map 3D has the ability to append descriptive information called ‘object data’ to any AutoCAD object. This information can be used to generate dynamic labels reducing manual updates later for the CAD designer; however, more importantly these attributes can also be transferred with the data during export. That means that after the design phase, the AutoCAD Map 3D user can choose to include these descriptive properties when exporting to a GIS format like a .SHP or .TAB reducing manual and often tedious updates in the GIS.

Adding Context with Coordinate Systems

As a GIS is geographic in nature needs information that has a coordinate system to establish position relative to its location on the earth. AutoCAD Map 3D currently supports over 4000 different projections and coordinate systems allowing design information to meet the needs of a GIS. This means that a designer can start their project in the appropriate coordinate system that will be recognized by a GIS mitigating the issue of manually changing this and potentially changing the accuracy of the CAD design.

In addition to being able to support coordinate systems, AutoCAD Map 3D has the ability to take existing non-georeferenced data (information without a coordinate system) and apply the appropriate coordinate system to it. This means that an AutoCAD Map 3D user can take design information from a .DGN or .DWG that is currently in an arbitrary coordinate system that would not map to a location on the earth and using the ‘transform’ command, place that information correctly into real-world coordinate space while preserving the integrity of the original engineering.

Reaching Optimum Productivity

By using AutoCAD Map 3D as the design platform the CAD drafter or engineering designer can prepare the design data for its use with GIS, ultimately increasing the value of a GIS to an organization through its use of precise and accurate data and minimizing costly, error prone processes. Organizations that have made the investment in both AutoCAD and a GIS will have a short learning curve in achieving a more productive data workflow because at the core, AutoCAD Map 3D has all the feature and functionality of AutoCAD, but with the extended tools and capabilities to make design data GIS ready.

Project Butterfly From Autodesk Labs Gets a Geospatial Twist

2010-04-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

Shortly after its debut from Autodesk Labs, the project known as Butterfly that allows users to share their Design information over the web and even edit this information has evolved. For the architect, the land planner, the utility designer and others that seek to put their engineering projects into real world context; project Butterfly allows you to integrate imagery from files and Google Earth. This is another great example of how Autodesk technology overcomes the CAD and GIS hurdle allowing you to integrate engineering designs with mapping information. Check out the video and be sure to visit Autodesk Labs for more http://labs.autodesk.com/

Mapguide (Web Based Mapping) and Document Management

2010-03-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

When I have blogged on Mapguide in the past I have always explained the technology as a web-based mapping application. That is, taking raster and vector geospatial data and publishing it to the web for a larger group of users to access. However, the flexibility of having a web based technology allows a developer to take advantage of simple capabilities like hyperlinks.

What this means is that through a simple link you can connect your geospatial data to other applications and documents. For example, utility companies often have many different sets of data that describe an asset. That means while an autocad line might represent an overhead conductor, the utility holds work order documents, images, assembly diagrams which are all important documents that describe that line. Becuase Mapguide is a web-based technology we can simply link to a document management solution through a simple url link.

The result is a Mapguide can act as a portal into an organizations data and reports. The following is an example of using Mapguide as a portal and connecting to a document management solution.

Mapguide and Document Management from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

Mapguide Maestro 2.0

2010-03-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

I blogged about Mapguide Maestro before highlighting its benefits to current Mapguide users. For those new to Mapguide technology it is simply web-based mapping using an open source platform. The benefit of using Maestro as your authoring tool is it allows you to quickly create mapguide sites using a intuitive user interface rather than having to code. The main enhancement is including the ability to create thematic layers, this was one of the biggest differentiators between Maestro and Mapguide Studio as authoring tools. If you would like to start using Mapguide Maestro 2.0 check out the downloads page here.

Good Mapping, Neal

Autodesk Utilities and Facebook

2010-03-09T22:19:00.000-08:00

I have blogged many times on the value of Autodesk solutions to the utility industry and now for those users who work in utilities there is a great facebook site to get the latest news, network and learn. The facebook page is available here and will act as a portal to pertinent webcasts and conferences where you can see the latest in utility solutions from Autodesk. The next webcast will be on April 20th, 2010 and looks to be a comprehensive look into real solutions for the industry.

Check it out!

Good Mapping, Neal

Project Butterfly Takes Off!

2010-01-20T16:33:00.000-08:00

One of the great resources Autodesk users have, but I am always surprised to hear how many don't know is the Autodesk Lab. This is a circulating development group internal to Autodesk where our developers that might routinely work on one of the core Autodesk products gets the opportunity to develop new technologies and add-ons to the Autodesk product line. An Autodesk Lab project is posted to the website and available to users for FREE, for example one project that I have used a lot is the Google Earth plug-in for AutoCAD Map 3D.

Recently, a new project 'Butterfly' was just released which has huge implications in benefiting many users. The project allows you to share and edit drawing files through a web-browser. Without the need to install any software a group of designers could view a design at various stages and even edit and make changes. One immediate benefit I see is to the utility community of users. Part of day-to-day operations involves the ability to take field notes and update them, this is often a tedious and error prone process. However, using Butterfly in the field could allow easy sharing and markups of DWG information without redigitizing information. Check it out!

Get CAD certified at Autodesk University 2009

2009-09-29T17:01:00.000-07:00

This year Autodeskers will have more options to further their careers than in the past. Of course you will be in the best environment to network and learn what is new with the technology, but also get certification.

As an AU attendee, you will have an opportunity to do just that— for FREE! Stand out among your peers with Autodesk Certification, a credential that validates your skills and wins you recognition. Accelerate your professional development, improve productivity, and enhance your professional credibility for free. At a time when the economy and job market is struggling its a great way to differentiate yourself and show more credability to your customers.

Certification Highlights at AU 2009

Free Certification Exams for attendees
Certification Exam Lab on-site
Prep Lab with exam guides, assessment, and practice tests
Prep sessions offered (register in advance)

So if you are planning on attending AU - plan on getting certified, and if you weren't planning on attending what a great reason to re-consider.

See you at AU!

Neal

Geospatial Sciences LEED The Way

2009-09-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

GIS and the geospatial sciences have always been associated with the natural environment. Today, however, we are seeing a need to bring sustainable practices to the human environment, specifically cities. Cities are becoming a pinnacle focus for sustainable design for many reasons.

The first is populations are starting relocate to urban areas. In fact the U.N. expects the world's population to expand from its current level of 6.6 billion to 8.3 billion by 2030. By 2030, fully 60% of that 8.3 billion will, by the U.N.'s forecasts, be living in urban areas, compared with only 13% in 1900.

The Second, in a study by McKinsey and Company which determined that investing in the energy efficiency of buildings represents a powerful and strategic energy and climate solution that combined with other non-transportation initiatives could reduce the nation’s energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, save the U.S. economy $1.2 trillion, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons annually.

One of the organizations spearheading sustainable practices is the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) which has developed standards to locate and design buildings within the urban environment. The standard is called LEED which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and has specific criteria for identifying acceptable sites to be redeveloped. These criteria range from site selection to floodplain avoidance and are outlined in the following PDF document.

A great example of the analysis that can be done using CAD and GIS information is shown in a recent post by GeoExpressions, a great blog with an engineering GIS theme.

LEED Analysis for site selection

Good Mapping, Neal

An off the Shelf CAD and GIS solution - Topobase

2009-09-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Its called Topobase and its a true 'plug and play' CAD and GIS tool for managing your asset information. The name is a little odd, but when you take it apart (TOPO) and (BASE) it starts to make more sense. Topo - refers to topology and how that enables a user to analyze and perform complex queries. Base - refers to a basemap and how that is often the common data that is used throughout an organization. Topobase is built on AutoCAD Map 3D which I have talked about and shown many examples of how it can be used as a platform to facilitate CAD and GIS integration.

Topobase goes the next step and its primary purpose is to centralize data in a spatial database complete with business rules and tools to perform operations specific to utilities and cities. By centralizing the data Topobase is able to make the data accessabile both in a desktop client but also through a web-based application giving access to the same data from within an office to even the field.

At the core of Topobase is your organizations data which is stored in a specific schema. The schema (which descripes how the data is arranged) has been developed by Autodesk through its over 500 topobase customers worldwide. However, the Topobase schema is very easily modified and its business rules changed to meet the needs of an organization. Topobase can also be integrated with other enterprise systems like a CRM, SAP or ERP technologies.

From a CAD and GIS perspective Topobase fits the definition of a GIS, it is purposed to be an asset management solution for utilities and cities to manage and distribute data while at the same time having a CAD front end. The benefit and differentiator between Topobase and other enterprise asset management solutions is by having a CAD interface you are able to create and design asset data with the precision of CAD tools while also having the analysis and management capabilties of a GIS.

The video below shows using the Topobase solution on the desktop and also in the field.

CAD and GIS using Autodesk Topobase from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

FDO User Highlight - Andrew Whaley (FWA)

2009-09-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

The American economist and Harvard professor Theodore Levitt once said, "creativity is thinking up new things, innovation is doing new things." Well (FWA) Frederick Ward Associates is currently DOING some new things with the help of Andrew Whaley a civil engineer currently employed there. I had the pleasure of talking to Andrew about his experience using Autodesk Civil 3D in his daily work and how the FDO tools have helped him to save time and money! I had a great time talking to Andrew, here is what he said:

Neal: What does Frederick Ward Associates, INC do?

Andrew: FWA is a Civil Firm that handles the entire spectrum of land development services. We have on staff architects, surveyors, planners and engineers allowing us to be a part of the design process from cradle-to-grave.

Neal: What makes FWA unique?

Andrew: We are helping our customers to build sustainable developments. We currently have 6-7 LEED projects registered and going through the process of being certified.

Neal: Why do think FWA is thriving in this current economy?

Andrew: Our reputation as a firm that produces quality has helped. We continually strive to innovate while exceeding our customers expectations.

Neal: What Autodesk products do you currently use?

Andrew: Currently we use Autodesk Civil 3D 2009 and are evaluating Autodesk Civil 3D 2010.

Neal: What is your background?

Andrew: I have a degree in Civil Engineering from MichiganTech, I was then on active duty with the army after which I started working at FWA three years ago.

Neal: Why do you need to integrate GIS information into your design work?

Andrew: I save time and money integrating GIS information using data that already exists. For example, I might need to use watershed information in my CAD design environment. Using FDO I can bring in GIS data (shapefiles) that available for FREE.

Neal: Where does your data come from?

Andrew: Because we primarily work in Maryland and Delaware the 2 sites I use often are the The Delaware DataMIL and Geospatial data site from the Maryland DNR. I routinely find ESRI shapefiles that I can use for my engineering work.

http://dnrweb.dnr.state.md.us/gis/data/
http://datamil.delaware.gov/geonetwork/srv/en/main.home

Neal: How have you integrated your GIS data in the past?

Andrew: Most of the information was being brought into the drawing environment from paper maps and then digitized to create the appropriate dataset. This process could take over 30 minutes to do, using FDO I can go to a website, download a dataset and be using it within AutoCAD Civil 3D in few minutes.

Neal: How long have you been using FDO?

Andrew: I have been using FDO for about a year, just started using it in the 2008 release and in the past 4-5 months I find myself using it every day.

Neal: Where did you learn about FDO?

Andrew: When I was in the army I used GIS and so I knew that this data was readily available. I stumbled onto a webcast by Dana Probert, or Lucy Kuhns that showed how using FDO technology you could integrate GIS data into your AutoCAD Civil 3D enviroment. I also learned that AutoCAD Civil 3D has all the capabilities of AutoCAD Map 3D so anything I learn about that product increases my skill in AutoCAD Civil 3D.

Neal: What are some other topics around CAD and GIS you would like to learn more about?

Andrew: One of the things we are trying to do is to use GIS to keep track of our projects. So what better way to organize your projects and data but to use a GIS map front end. The struggle is how exactly can we do that – how do we take it from the tables within our project and integrate that into a Map and share that across more than our civil and map users, or expose this information to our clients.

I was impressed how Andrew has taken the initiative to learn more about a technology that many civil engineers or even AutoCAD Civil 3D users are unaware of. By using FDO Andrew is saving time and money by leveraging data that is in many cases FREE! Andrew is thinking of great enterprise uses as well, by consolidating information into a single point of access to allow other users to view project data. That gives me all kinds of ideas for more CAD and GIS posts around integration ... Thanks Andrew!!

If you are interested in sharing your experience with FDO, you can contact me at neal.niemiec@autodesk.com or simply leave a comment.

Good Mapping, Neal

FDO - Best Practices (Scale Ranges)

2009-09-01T06:16:00.000-07:00

I was recently contacted by an avid reader of my blog who had asked about limiting the amount of data when an AutoCAD Map 3D user opens a drawing with FDO data attached. In my previous post FDO Best Practices (The Spatial Query) I showed how a user can limit the spatial extent of FDO data sources. By using the spatial query it allows the user to work with a subset of the FDO data. However, there is another way that you can limit information and also change the stylization by using scale ranges.

This feature is available from the FDO Style Editor. An AutoCAD Map 3D / Civil 3D user can have as many scale ranges setup for an FDO feature as you want. For example, at a certain scale a user might NOT see an FDO layer called parcels, when the user zooms in to the map the parcel data might then be visible, zoom in again and now the parcels may have a thematic theme applied to them, zoom in once more and now parcel labels appear. The following shows the Style Editor interface where the scale ranges are setup in AutoCAD Map 3D.

Using both the Spatial Query tool and the Scale Ranges its then possible to create your 'template' drawing that has the stored FDO connections to (.SHP, Oracle, MySQL, etc.) data that is managed. This means that no matter how much data and to what spatial extent it is in - you can selectively bring that GIS data into your user environment based on location and scale.

I have put together a video that will help to show this: and yes it is narrated.

FDO - Best Practices (Scale Ranges) from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

FDO - Best Practices (The Spatial Query)

2009-08-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

Think of data at the scale of a city, county, state, country or even the world. By nature GIS data can be at a scale that most CAD users are not used to. When I talk to CAD users that are new to FDO and using GIS data one of the issues that often arises is bringing volumes of GIS data within their drawing environment at a scale that exceeds their needs.

For example, take an AutoCAD Civil 3D user that is working on a new subdivision. They might only be working in an area that comprises a .5 mile square area, but the soil information they are integrating is for the entire county. How can they reduce the soil data before they add it into their current drawing environment?

The answer is to add the GIS data using the query option, define a bounding area and add the data to your map. The result is that even before you integrate the GIS data FDO will use the boundary to clip the information to the user specified area. I have created a video that shows this workflow - sorry you don't get to hear my James Earl Jones voice narration this week ;)

FDO Optimization from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

CAD and GIS (Translation and FDO)

2009-08-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

Terribly sorry, my apologies and a large helping of sympathy from me to you. I realized that this post was long overdue and could certainly help in clarifying CAD and GIS integration techniques. Traditionally, users of GIS or CAD technologies have relied on the ability to translate between formats like .SHP and .DWG to integrate data. Entire companies have been forged on this type of workflow, one need only look at a company called safe software, which has built a business on translating between different spatial data types.

This model has been around for years and still remains a viable means to integrate your GIS information with your design CAD data. The benefits are you will quickly be working with the other data in the format that you area used to and have all the tools that your CAD or GIS platform supplies. However, the downside is you will usually be creating redundant information (multiple copies) of the same data. Perhaps, though the most important issue to avoid is when translating data there is always the possiblity of error or information being lost. When this happens you can simply insert your face into Bill Murray's on the image above and explain to your manager that the data has been 'LOST IN TRANSLATION'.

Then comes Autodesk and does something incredibly selfless from a software vendor perspective. Yes, its true I work for Autodesk, but consider the following. In 2006 Autodesk created a technology called FDO which allows you to integrate GIS data inside your AutoCAD Map 3D environment. Yeah yeah, it sounds like ArcGIS for AutoCAD which can emulate GIS information inside an AutoCAD environment, but FDO allows the user to manipulate the data directly. For example an AutoCAD Map 3D user can connect to .SHP or ArcSDE databases and use the AutoCAD tools to do design work, or do complex spatial analysis with the data. Further, what makes FDO so powerful and the reason I love working for a software company like Autodesk is they made the technology open source.

WHAT!?

That's right, instead of using FDO to lock down your data, or create some proprietary format like other software vendors in the CAD and GIS industry might do - Autodesk made it available for anybody to use, develop and implement in their software.

So I have put together a small video that highlights the difference between the traditional world of data translation - and using an open platform technology like FDO to FREE your data and make CAD and GIS integration a reality. After this post if you're still 'Lost in Translation' look at the following video to see what I am talking about ;)

Don't Get Lost in Translation from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

FREE GIS Data - Part 2 - WMS

2009-08-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I talked about the availability of FREE GIS data in a file format called the shapefile .SHP. However, the next source of FREE data I want to talk about is called a WMS (Web Mapping Service). Its actually not a file at all, but instead an online service that distributes GIS data in a raster format using standard protocols. Simply, a user can access these online WMS services to integrate GIS information in the form of an image by using a web link. For example, http://wms.jpl.nasa.gov/wms.cgi?version=1.3.0 is a url from NASA to access daily imagery.

The WMS is a standard that has been fostered by the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) so that data can be hosted, distributed and consumed by users regardless of the software platform they use. So an AutoCAD Map 3D user can consume GIS data hosted by an ESRI WMS service, and an ESRI user could consume GIS and CAD data hosted by an Autodesk Mapguide service.

WMS services are readily available and one need only to google on the topic to find useful lists of these services. Because a WMS will return an image to a user often the type of data you find are imagery, orthophotos and other raster datasets. You will however find some vector data like soils and forestry that while the original data is vector in nature it is being distributed as a WMS so a wider user base can take advantage.

In AutoCAD Map 3D you have the ability to access WMS through the FDO technology. To try this simply go into the Data Connect dialog and choose the FDO provider for WMS and enter this WMS from NASA: http://wms.jpl.nasa.gov/wms.cgi?version=1.3.0 for the server name or url.

when prompted for the username or password simple press login - it isn't protected. The next dialog will show you all the WMS layers available. I usually use the Blue Marble satellite imagery. Check this layer on and add it to your map.

As you zoom into the image you will notice it pixilate and you can make another request to the service to sharpen the image by right clicking on the WMS layer and resampling the image.

WMS are great sources of data that can be useful for the backdrop of your engineering project, your basemap, and even overlay live weather on your mapping data.If you are an AutoCAD Map 3D user or AutoCAD Civil 3D user you have the same FDO tools available to take advantage of another FREE GIS data format.

FREE GIS Data - Part 2 WMS from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

FREE GIS Data - Part 1 - The Shapefile

2009-08-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

In my previous post 'How Important is the .SHP file to the AutoCAD Map 3D User' I discussed the benefit of being able to integrate GIS data using this common file format. The value of being able to use the .SHP file is that these files are readily available from numerous sources and they are FREE!!

Today, there are many GIS data websites or 'clearinghouses' at the city, county, state, and federal level. Much of the information will be of political boundaries, transportation, environmental, demographic as well as have regional datasets. These are great resources to find data to build a basemap and add context and intelligence to design projects. The following are some websites that anyone interested in taking advantage of this GIS data format should know.

GIS Data Depot - Data from the National level down to the County

Geospatial One Stop - U.S., Federal, State & Local GIS Data

National Atlas - US biology, geology, demography, environmental, water and much more.

Arkansas Map Library - Guide To Mostly On-line And Mostly Free U.S. Geospatial Data

National Historical GIS - Census data with boundary files

And don't forget to Google 'GIS Data' + the name of a location to find less known sources of FREE Shapefiles.

Good Mapping, Neal

How Important is the .SHP file to the AutoCAD Map 3D User?

2009-08-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Just as the .DWG is to CAD the .SHP is to GIS. It is the most common and widely used format for sharing vector GIS data. .SHP files or shapefiles can hold geometries: points, lines and polygons but only one type. For example you could have a .SHP of well points, or a .SHP containing lines representing roads, but you couldn't have a .SHP with both wells and roads in it similar to the way a .DWG file can. Also a key differentiator is that while a .SHP is called a 'Shapefile' in the singular - a .SHP file is actually comprised of at the least three different files (.SHP, .SHX, .DBF). It follows then that when I am working with shapefiles that I will have at least three files all starting with the same filename, but having different extensions. The following is a list of the types of shapefile extensions and their uses.

Mandatory files :

.shp — shape format; the feature geometry itself
.shx — shape index format; a positional index of the feature geometry to allow seeking forwards and backwards quickly
.dbf — attribute format; columnar attributes for each shape, in dBase III format

Optional files :

.prj — projection format; the coordinate system and projection information, a plain text file describing the projection using well known text format
.sbn and .sbx — a spatial index of the features
.fbn and .fbx — a spatial index of the features for shapefiles that are read-only
.ain and .aih — an attribute index of the active fields in a table or a theme's attribute table
.ixs — a geocoding index for read-write shapefiles
.mxs — a geocoding index for read-write shapefiles (ODB format)
.atx — an attribute index for the .dbf file in the form of shapefile.columnname.atx (ArcGIS 8 and later)
.shp.xml — metadata in XML format
.cpg — used to specify the code page (only for .dbf) for identifying the character encoding to be used

For the AutoCAD Map 3D user there are 2 ways to intgrate this traditional GIS data into their design processes. The first is to simply use the translation tools (Map Import) to convert the .SHP file data into autocad objects. This has been the method for incorporating .SHP files for more than a decade. However, with the FDO technology that is available within AutoCAD Map 3D a user can simply connect to a .SHP file and edit that file in its native format. This truly is CAD and GIS interoperability meaning you can work directly with your .DWG and .SHP data in the same environment without needing to convert or change the underlying data.

So What!? So why bother ... I think the most compelling value of the .SHP file is most geospatial (CAD or GIS) tools can write to this format making it an excellent format for sharing data. Being the most common GIS format also means that you can readily find data for your project from city, county, regional and national data clearinghouses and in most cases its FREE! Yes I dropped the F-BOMB ... its FREE and can often serve as a good source of data to create a basemap to then launch your new precision CAD design work. To start using the .SHP file with your project work just try Googling 'GIS DATA' + a city or county in your area of interest ... you might be surprised at what you find.

Good Mapping, Neal

Geoweb 2009 - Cityscapes

2009-07-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Geoweb 2009 where this year the theme was on Cityscapes. Its a timely topic for conferences to focus on as cities are growing, are home to most of our world’s population, are the center of most economic activities, and are the origin of most of our problems related to our impact on the natural world. Our cityscapes are the most important landscape of our time. So the technical emphasis that I presented was on urban environments and the integration of BIM/CAD/GIS using a product called LandXplorer. Why, consider that by 2030 the world population will be over 8 billion and 60% of that population will be in Urban areas. Also consider that in 1900 only 13% of the worlds population lived in these areas.

To better help city planners and developers accomodate needed change in the world's urban areas we need tools that help visualize and simulate urban environments.

Therefore, I taught a hands-on workshop where attendees brought their laptops - installed the software, and within 2 hours had integrated CAD and GIS data including building footprints from a MySQL datastore and BIM models in a single visualization environment. If you would like to learn more about LandXplorer you can learn about the offering here: LandXplorer

If you would like the material for the workshop you can email me at neal.niemiec@autodesk.com

SQL Server 2008 Express

2009-07-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

I have written about Microsoft's new release of SQL Server before but needed to blog an update. SQL Server 2008 which is a full spatial RDBMS. This database is on par with Oracle Spatial and the latest release of AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 has built in FDO support. What is even more exciting is that there is a FREE version of this database called SQL Server 2008 Express. One of the greatest benefits of using a SQL Server database is if you use Microsoft products - security is easily managed and when using a windows based operating system you seemlessly login. I know - its sexy, so in honor of this new technology and the release of AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 I have put together a video (its silent ... forgive me) on installation and using it with Map 3D.

Download Video

From Paper to the Web

2009-06-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

Its all about the data in the end, and many organizations in utilities, engineering and construction industries have many of their information locked up in paper maps. At the same time these organizations are working today in a CAD or GIS framework and need to be able to integrate this information with there current investments. in addition, once the information is extracted and integrated from paper it needs to be distributed to other users, and thats where web-mapping can be used. The following is a workflow where AutoCAD Map 3D with Autodesk Raster Design and Mapguide can fulfill these needs.

Scanning is the first step, and is the common practice of taking hard copy documents and converting them to a raster image

Georeferencing is then accomplished through a process of rubbersheeting the 2D image in lacking a coordinate system to a 3D real world coordinate system.

Vectorization can then occur where raster pixels in the image are converted to traditional GIS vector objects. Once this process is accomplished; attribution, spatial analysis and classification of the data is possible.

Finally, through web-based mapping technology the data can be shared to a wider user group that may need to view the data without having to have a direct copy of it, or the software used to manage it.

Below is a video showing the workflow which can also be downloaded

From Paper to the Web from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

Download Video

What's the Value of AutoCAD Map 3D

2009-06-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have written before on comparing AutoCAD to traditional GIS investments. It is however the same as comparing an apple to an orange. A true comparison would be to a tool like AutoCAD Map 3D which can integrate CAD and GIS data and gives the geospatial tools needed for GIS work.

Recently, an article was published that highlights the value of using AutoCAD Map 3D instead of AutoCAD for certain workflows. The most common workflows that were evaluated were: data input, data management, data analysis and deliverables. At a time when the workforce is being asked to do more with less, this information is most appreciated.

Article: Road Map to Cost Savings

Model your City with LandXplorer

2009-06-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

Recently I had the pleasure to travel to MIT in my home town of Boston to participate in the OGC 3D Fusion Summit. This is the first time in North America that industry leaders are coming together to exchange knowledge about 3D geospatial solutions for urban planning, homeland security, urban warfare, and personal navigation. The summit was attended by over 60 people from around the world from various different government organizations and agencies including software vendors Bentley, ESRI and of course Autodesk.

Showing LandXplorer to this diverse group was really an honor as many of the days participants represent the thought leadership in moving towards a holistic view of visualizing and managing data at the city level. Visualization being a key factor behind the new product from Autodesk, released just this year. I was skeptical at first as to the importance of viewing data at the city level, for anyone that has lived a life with traditional GIS systems moving from the 2D to 3D has had little benefit. However, if you look at the growing trend for sustainable development (i.e. LEED certified projects), a growing urban population and the need to manage infrastructure you have very compelling reasons for modeling the city environment in 3D.

Also, with the momentum in BIM (Building Information Modeling) as a practice and requirement for many city and government agencies, combined with technologies like terrestrial laser and lidar acquisition of data means the creation of building and cityscapes has become feasible. Also consider that today GIS data clearinghouses are making terrain information more accessible and that many cities have CAD data in many different disciplines (mapping, facilities, engineering, utilities). This convergence of CAD-GIS-BIM has led us to the cross-roads of being able to assemble and manage a full 3D cityscape.

Enter LandXplorer from Autodesk! This software portfolio of products from Autodesk allows the integration of CAD, GIS and BIM data and allows the users the ability to do measurements, querying, create dynamic videos and distribute the 3D city to numerous different viewers. These viewers range from publishing to Google Earth KML, Web Based viewing and standalone desktop clients. The purpose is to allow a city or government the ability to combine its different data types to create a representationally accurate model that can be used for planning and sustainability projects.

LandX from neal niemiec on Vimeo.

The following is a download to a video (avi) that shows the Autodesk LandXplorer Studio product.

Link to file:https://download.yousendit.com/UmNJeFlaMGtEa1ZMWEE9PQ

AutoCAD Map 3D and the Utility Toolkit

2009-04-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

To help solve the issue of CAD and GIS integration within the utility industry, Autodesk has created utility toolkits that leverage the features and functionality of AutoCAD Map 3D creating a stream-lined set of tools that support a data model. The toolkits use AutoCAD Map 3D (object data, object classification and annotation templates) to minimize the design process and essentially hardcode standards into the DWG information. Not only does this have the added benefit of reducing the design work and minimizing errors within the DWG, but by using the utility toolkit the designers are also adding utility attributes (a data model) to the autocad objects. The data model is derived from over 500 utility companies worldwide, however it is flexible and can be changed to fit the unique needs of the individual utility.

This should not be overlooked, as many of the utilities today have a process of redigitizing the design DWG information into other asset management applications like a GIS system. When utilities implement the utility toolkits on AutoCAD Map 3D, design information can be geo-referenced, error checked, have utility attributes and symbology then simply exported in a format expected by other applications like Autodesk Topobase, or other GIS investments.

The news gets better because the utility toolkits are FREE to any AutoCAD Map 3D user that is on subscription. Currently there are three toolkits – water, wastewater and electric. Below you will find a link to a demonstration of the features and tools within the toolkit and how that data can be integrated into asset management applications.

Utility Toolkit from Neal Niemiec on Vimeo.

Link to Video file:

https://rcpt.yousendit.com/678426680/9287d677703e34c554df23f71a1cb86c

Link to Utility Toolkit Website:
http://lp.adskhost.com/index.php/1335-autocad-map-3d-toolkits.html

WGUG - Midwest Infrastructure and GIS Technical Conference

2009-04-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about an upcoming event, running June 1-3 at the Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center in Sheboygan WI, its the first Midwest Infrastructure & GIS Technical Conference being organized by the WGUG. The WGUG is the Wisconsin Geospatial User Group and this group is run by Municipal Government users, to promote the sharing of techniques and knowledge.

I will be presenting different presentations on topics like CAD and GIS and Digital Cities, but I am really excited about a hands-on workshop ( Web‐based Mapping Using Mapguide Open Source ) that I will be giving on Monday the 1st. This is real training where I invite attendees to bring their laptops and we install and create web 1.0 and web 2.0 mapping applications. Anyone at any skill level of web development will gain valuable information, software and techniques to distribute information over the web. The best part is that this workshop focuses on open source alternatives meaning that you can implement what you have learned with little to no investment in expensive software or enterprise architectures. If you are interested in geosptial technologies, tired of the usual 'kool-aid' conference or looking for alternative solutions ... this conference is for you.

Midwest Infrastructure & GIS Technical Conference
Date: June 1st - 3rd, 2009
Location: Blue Harbor Resort & Convention Center. 725 Blue Harbor Drive, Sheboygan, WI 53081

Good Mapping, Neal

ArcGIS for AutoCAD

2009-04-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

ESRI has released a tool, ArcGIS for AutoCAD, that will allow integration of ArcGIS data within AutoCAD. It enables AutoCAD 2009 based software to consume ESRI ArcGIS Server Map Services (raster maps with individual selectivity and feature attributes). The latest release also provides functionality to query GIS spatial data and exchange feature class data with ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 or higher. There is also a software development kit (SDK) available.

It allows AutoCAD users to dynamically interact with dynamic GIS maps, include the results of GIS analysis and models (performed by ArcGIS) in their CAD environment and include GIS base maps when publishing to DWF or plotting to hard-copy. The latest release also provides a mechanism to exchange (write) CAD data to ArcGIS 9.3 or higher.

This is another tool that can be employed to further join CAD and GIS within the same user environment without costly translation operations. My only contention with this tool, is while it is FREE it does require the ArcGIS Server - which as we all know is far from FREE. Also, ESRI says this is interoperability, however the GIS data is rendered as a raster layer that the AutoCAD user cannot edit. So it begs the question is this interopability, or is this just integration?

For full interoperability between CAD and GIS, meaning being able to read and write CAD and GIS data, I still believe that the open source FDO technology (available in AutoCAD Map 3D) leads the way and it doesn't require costly investments in an enterprise framework.

For more information click the following links:

ArcGIS for AutoCAD

FDO

Good Mapping, Neal

What - There is a Better AutoCAD!?

2008-12-07T22:18:00.001-08:00

There are inherent issues in using AutoCAD instead of AutoCAD Map 3D for managing geospatial data and that is why I often refer to it as AutoCAD Plus! When managing geospatial data and especially when integrating data between the traditional CAD (engineering) data and GIS (cadastral) information you need to use the right tool for the job. AutoCAD Map 3D contains all of the functionality of AutoCAD with additional tools for integration with traditional GIS systems. So this week I have created 4 videos that show a few of the benefits of using AutoCAD Map 3D instead of AutoCAD. The videos are as follows:

1. Multi-user access to DWG drawing information, allows AutoCAD Map 3D users the ability to share the workload and work across layers and objects within the same drawing.

2. Coordinate system support allows integration with traditional Geospatial data and aligns your data with real world space.

3. Drawing cleanup tools allow you to increase the accuracy of your drawing information by identifying and fixing the errors that often occur from digitizing, scanning and integrating data from numerous sources.

4. FDO (Feature Data Objects) allow you to connect to geospatial data without the need to translate or import, reducing redundant copies and data loss.

Be sure to download the Camtasia AVI player to view the AVI video clips. Open the player and double click on the .exe file then you are ready to run the first AVI.

Download AVI video files

Download CamPlayer

Introducing Mapguide Maestro!

2008-11-25T09:20:00.001-08:00

Mapguide Maestro was recently released for Mapguide as the open source alternative to Autodesk Mapguide Studio. Previously the alternative to was to use the web studio, that was installed with Mapguide Open Source. However, the issues were that the open source web studio only supported .SHP and .SDF file formats limiting the developer from many of the other FDO providers (i.e. SQL Server, ORACLE, ArcSDE, WMS, WFS) as well as only creating 3 of the 4 Mapguide elements (data connections, layers and maps). Mapguide Maestro creates all 4 Mapguide elements (including the layout) like Autodesk's Mapguide Studio and contains all the official FDO providers.

I did however notice that there were some differences. For example, it did not create a thematic layer like Autodesk Mapguide Studio does, and instead I got a message saying that "this function is not yet implemented". So I assume this will be added soon as the button was available and the download website makes no misconceptions that feature/functionality is still being developed. Instead a user could instead use Autodesk Map 3D to publish to Mapguide and then use Maestro to tweak the layout and or data options. Also, it does not contain Symbol libraries and Print layouts. Mapguide Maestro does solve the issues that were hurdles in the previous Mapguide web studio and if quick and simple web based mapping is the object - Mapguide Maestro delivers a great choice. I look forward to seeing it develop in the open source community in the coming months.

Good Mapping, Neal

FDO Provider for SQL Server 2008

2008-11-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

Recently released by Autodesk was the addition of another FDO provider, this one is for the new SQL Server 2008 database by Microsoft. The most important, at least to me and my geospatial brothers and sisters is now SQL Server is a fully enabled spatial database similar to our friends at Oracle and their Oracle Spatial database platform. Some of the notable features of SQL Server 2008 is the following:

Use the new GEOGRAPHY data type to store geodetic spatial data and
perform operations on it.
Use the new GEOMETRY data type to store planar spatial data and perform
operations on it.
Take advantage of new spatial indexes for high-performance queries.
Use the new spatial results tab to quickly and easily see spatial query results directly from within SQL Server Management Studio through support for spatial standards and specifications.
Extend spatial data capabilities by building or integrating location-enabled applications through support for spatial standards and specifications.

For the AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 and Mapguide 2009 user they can use this database to read/write data to, increasing the options for centralizing geospatial data for enterprise sharing. And Microsoft has also made it easy to start using this data base today, they created a SQL Server 2008 express, a free version that will have some limits on the size of the database that you can create. To obtain the FDO you will need to be on subscription with Autodesk and access the Autodesk subscription center.

The FDO team made this a very easy process with an installer that updates your provider files for AutoCAD Map 3D and Mapguide automatically. Simply download from the subscription site and run the .EXE file and your AutoCAD Map 3d 2009 and Mapguide 2009 will be ready to access the datastore. What a great alternative to the usual databases in our industry!

Good Mapping, Neal

Free FDO Provider for KML

2008-08-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

SL-King was one of the first third parties that took advantage of FDO being open source and created FDO providers for Oracle and SQL Server. Well SL-King has done it again and released a new FDO provider for KML. It can be loaded with Mapguide Open source and AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 and 2009. Without testing I would assume a Civil 3D user could load it since it has a full version of map inside it as well as Mapguide Enterprise. This is a great addition to the FDO providers available especially since Google submitted KML (formerly Keyhole Markup Language) to the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) to be evolved within the OGC consensus process with the following goal: KML Version 2.2 will be an adopted OGC implementation standard.

KML is an XML language focused on geographic visualization, including annotation of maps and images. Geographic visualization includes not only the presentation of graphical data on the globe, but also the control of the user's navigation in the sense of where to go and where to look.
From this perspective, KML is complementary to most of the key existing OGC standards including GML (Geography Markup Language), WFS (Web Feature Service) and WMS (Web Map Service). Currently, KML 2.2 utilizes certain geometry elements derived from GML 2.1.2. These elements include point, line string, linear ring, and polygon.

Thanks SL-King for the contribution!!

Good Mapping, Neal

GEOWEB 2008

2008-07-28T14:30:00.001-07:00

Last Monday I had the pleasure to travel to Vancouver British Columbia and deliver a workshop on Mapguide Open Source. As it happened the workshop was full and all 30 attendees and I, for the next three hours went through creating simple web 1.0 web-mapping applications to web 2.0 applications. The later is adding functionality that allows participation and adding functionality for the user to interact with the data. The last portion of this workshop we looked at creating a mashup. A mashup is where two technologies are leveraged together to create a 'new' application. For this we integrated some BIM models within the Mapguide web-based map. The result was a 2 dimensional map that linked to 3 dimensional building information. It results in a light weight FM application. The best part is its using DWF (Design Web Format) a free technology to view the building data and of course Mapguide is an Open Source technology. The next workshop will be offered at the conference GIS in the Rockies.

Until then . . . good mapping.

Cheers, Neal

The Need for Enterprise Geospatial

2008-05-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Recently ESRI posted a great article on Enterprise GIS and I think it serves as a good overview of the importance and influence that GIS has had in recent time. GIS started its life as a very solitary technology and information was usually left on the island to be managed soley by GIS specialists. However, with other geospatial technologies (especially the spatial database) like Oracle and PostGIS which are suited to share information throughout an enterprise, sharing and distribution of geospatial data has been moved to the forefront. Now what was an isolated technology is now a mainstream I.T. asset. With this growing need to manage GIS information I have seen an excellerated demand to integrate GIS and CAD systems. CAD, being the design technology of choice and GIS being the analysis and management piece - now more than ever integration between the two is necessary. So perhaps this should be termed Enterprise Geosptial and not just Enterprise GIS (my 2 cents).

As the demand grows for a enterprise solution data translation is going to be less needed and instead direct read and write of information preferred. One of the technologies which is also an open source technology that facilitates this integration is FDO. Recently, FDO version 3.3.0 has released a beta FDO provider for SQL Server Spatial 2008. So very soon users of AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 and Mapguide Enterprise will have direct read and write capabilities to this exciting database. For an overview of FDO look at a previous post here FDO Data Access Technology.

NEOGEOGRAPHY - what do YOU think?

2008-03-26T21:31:00.001-07:00

Its an interesting topic . . . but what is it and perhaps even more important of a question is do YOU believe you are a NEOGEOGRAPHER. GIS in the last 3-5 years has seen a great deal of adoption into mainstream I.T. within both the public and private sectors. Where GIS was once a technology that was often isolated, its now becoming an integral part of mature enterprise systems. As this integration into mainstream I.T. has occured its requiring the GIS professional that has traditionally been trained and manages a single GIS system, to be a jack-of-all-trades and cross-trained in many different technologies. Its not enough to be able to work within a single software suite, but instead understand in addition - web technologies, database(s), mobile solutions and programming languages like javascript and PHP often mixing different software vendors as well as open source offerings. As a result many GIS professionals today that are charged with building and developing robust enterprise applications are more than GIS specialists or GIS developers, but rather NEOGEOGRAPHERS. Neogeography is in simple terms the next level of GIS, combining many different technologies and fostering Web 2.0 type applications. My question for you is, do you feel you are a GIS professional or are you being required more and more to be the NEOGEOGRAPHER and pushing the limits of traditional GIS?

food for thought, Neal

Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 workshops at TUGIS

2008-03-26T20:20:00.001-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of attending the TUGIS GIS conference at Towson University in Maryland on March 17, 18. This conference has been taking place for over 21 years and this year had over 500 attendees. I taught 2 workshops on web-based mapping, one on Web 1.0 and the other on Web 2.0. The main difference between these two types of web development are web 1.0 is aimed at the publishing of information and represents the initial state of the internet where web 2.0 is aimed at participation and rich functionality for the enduser. The workshops themselves were 1.5 hours long and attendees brought their own laptops and installed Mapguide Open Source, Mapguide Studio and sample data. While anyone that has every taught a technical course can attest, an hour and a half is not alot of time, but I am always amazed at how simple and robust Mapguide is and how easy it can be to get a site up and running. Also, add to the fact that people show up with every flavor of laptop with a gambet of different software installed really shows how versatile Mapguide can be in its deployment. TUGIS is a great conference and I look forward to participating again next year. It was mentioned that there were to be training courses this summer on various geospatial topics, so if you are in the Baltimore area, be sure to check it out.

Good Mapping, Neal

Autodesk in Wisconsin

2008-03-03T16:24:00.001-08:00

This last week I had the pleasure to attend the WLIA (Wisconsin Land Information Association) conference in Lake Geneva. This was the 20th year of the association and the conference had over 500 attendees primarily from the GIS field. A colleague of mine, Bob Lenz and I presented a four hour workshop on Enterprise GIS showcasing AutoCAD Map 3D 2008, Mapguide Open Source and FDO. Those that attended our workshop got first hand experience working with these tools, but also understanding the fundamentals in Enterprise GIS and specifically using Oracle and MySQL databases as a means to centralize GIS and CAD data. Later in the week we also presented an exciting presentation on Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 that focused on open source technologies including Mapguide Open Source and Fusion. Overall the conference was a great success and I look forward to participating next year.

Good Mapping, Neal

Autodesk KAMPS Out!

2008-02-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

On February 20th, I was invited by Michelle Ellington (President of KAMP) to make a pilgrimage to the horse capital of the world. Give up, that's right its Lexington, Kentucky - home of the UofK Wildcats and a special GIS user group called KAMP. KAMP stands for the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals which promotes networking with professionals involved in mapping and geospatial technologies and the opportunity for them to exchange ideas and experiences. Autodesk recently became a corporate sponsor to the organization and on this day I gave a four hour seminar of the Autodesk Geospatial products that spanned from products like AutoCAD Map 3D 2008, Topobase, to prototype applications bringing CAD-GIS-BIM into one environment. Most of the audience consisted of regular ESRI or CAD users and this was their first exposure to some of the more advanced geospatial offering from Autodesk. Advanced Solutions, a reseller, was also involved in the planning of this event and everyone left with trial versions of AutoCAD Map 3D. I had a great time and when I asked at the end, if they would be interested in a workshop on Mapguide Open Source there was a great deal of enthusiasm. I look forward to working with Advanced Solutions to make this happen in the future.

Thanks KAMP!

Good Mapping, Neal

CAD and GIS - Apples to Apples Please

2008-02-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

I remember my first position as a GIS project specialist for a state government agency and trying to bring in a DXF file into ArcView 3.2 and how time and manually expensive it was. Well that was some time ago and while ESRI has started to create tools to try to integrate CAD and GIS information its clear that the GIS giant is still comparing its GIS tools to base AutoCAD. Ideally any comparison and real integration should be with the Geospatial CAD programs like AutoCAD Map 3D where these two technologies can be integrated seemlessly. When I was looking at some of the latest and greatest information on CAD and GIS integration I quickly found this whitepaper from ESRI, and while I appreciated the historical perspective, the comparison between mapping in AutoCAD and GIS is misleading. For anybody that is looking to draft and design non-geographic information a simple seat of AutoCAD fits the bill. With the precision editing and design capabilities that a CAD package provides its the best tool for data creation. But for the user that is going to design, create and manage geographic information and wants the design capabilities of a CAD package they should be using AutoCAD Map 3D. AutoCAD Map 3D fits perfectly between the traditional CAD and GIS space. Its built on AutoCAD giving the user all of the editing and precision tools for data creation while also giving stylization, data management and analysis tools for GIS. Lets take a close look at the misconceptions that are still largely misunderstood today.

Misconceptions taken from ESRI whitepaper CAD and GIS integration:

"CAD is drawing-based and manages data as drawing files or a set of drawing files.The set of drawing files can be a set of map tiles that share a common coordinatesystem but are physically disjointed. The main product of a CAD system is a papermap."

AutoCAD Map 3D can read natively DWG files of course, but can also manage information in data models like ArcSDE, Oracle, SQL Server and personnal geodatabases as well. This is accomplished using FDO.

"CAD layers are nothing more than an entity property, such as color or line type,sometimes enhanced with the use of a layer tag. CAD standards do not alwaysseparate object systems by layer; objects could be differentiated just as well by coloror line style."

AutoCAD Map 3D can create object data and data classification on AutoCAD objects. CAD standards today on cadastral information should manage attribute information within this environment or consider centralizing data into a central datastore using FDO. Ideally this could be done ArcSDE, Oracle or SQL Server.

"GIS is database-oriented and thus tends to handle data in a single seamless database.Because GIS has always held the possibility of managing data over a widegeographic extent, it includes many tools for map projections and for handling largedata volumes."

AutoCAD Map 3D can handle data not only from a single seamless database, but works to integrate data from multiple different sources allowing greater integration between traditional GIS data stores and CAD formats.

"GIS Shows relationships between features (valves are connected to pipes as a database requirement)"

AutoCAD Map 3D can create topologies on AutoCAD objects for analysis and highlight spatial relationships

"GIS Scales from one person to hundreds with no changes in the system interface"

AutoCAD Map 3D allows multiuser access to DWG files as well as datastores like ArcSDE, Oracle, SQL Server to name a few.

"GIS can use CAD data without conversion. ArcGIS, for example, can display CAD data in DGN, DWF, and DWG files directly and in the same map display asGIS layers. ArcGIS symbolizes CAD data as defined in the CAD file."

AutoCAD Map 3D uses FDO technology to access many different industry standard datastores directly without the need to translate the data. It also allows direct read and write access and as a result reduces redundant data and data loss from translation processes.

"GIS can control how the data is symbolized and use the CAD data in GIS analysis solong as the CAD data is added as simple point, line, and polygon features to a GISlayer. If you create a layer file from a CAD feature class, you can change thesymbology used to draw its features, join attributes stored in separate tables to thelayer, and select which features to display according to their attribute values."

AutoCAD Map 3D can control sylization through object classification . You can also create and manage stylization and thematic mapping that includes smart labeling and transparency.

These are just some of the glaring misunderstanding today when comparing AutoCAD to GIS. Ironically the title of the ESRI article is "CAD and GIS - The right tool for the job". Well anyone that is going to compare these two technologies would do well to compare apples (AutoCAD Map 3D) to apples (ArcGIS) and not apples (ArcGIS) to oranges (AutoCAD). AutoCAD Map 3D is what should be used when integrating traditional GIS (ESRI) with CAD data and vice versa. In fact AutoCAD Map 3D is specifically aimed at integration and any ESRI installation that needs to integrate CAD information would benefit from a license of it. So, allow me this little consession, but if you want to integrate GIS and CAD the right tool just might be AutoCAD Map 3D.

Good Mapping, Neal

Mapguide Open Source 2.0 Candidate

2008-02-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

Recently Mapguide Open Source release candidate 2.0 was posted on the OSGEO site. One of the exciting integration pieces for this release is the integration of the FUSION framework. Not to be confused with the Oracle middleware, this FUSION is created by DMSolutions and is an application SDK for web development. FUSION is standards-based consisting of HTML, CSS, Javascript and XML making it highly extensible. For those familiar with Mapguide site creation you know that until now you have not had much flexibility when altering the layout of the site. FUSION helps solve this by separating the interface from functionality. Essentially, you are able to use the map frame from Mapguide and add functionality in the form of 'widgets' to the site. The result is greater flexibility in site design and increased options in adding custom functionality, so why not get on board and start using Mapguide Open Source today.
MGOS release candidate 2.0 DOWNLOAD

MGOS getting started LINK

Leverage Open Source Web-Based Mapping in AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 using Mapguide Open Source

2008-02-04T12:50:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to publish data to the web, but either didn’t have the means or technical background? Well, today thanks to Autodesk and its recent contribution to the open source community you may have the ability sitting on your desktop right now. That’s right! If you are a user of Autodesk Map 3D 2007, AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 or similar Autodesk release of Civil 3D you have built in functionality to publish to a Mapguide site. Perhaps one of the most over looked yet powerful abilities of these desktops is with FDO and being able to create and edit your spatial information and publish to a Mapguide Open Source, or Mapguide Enterprise site. What’s the difference you ask between Mapguide Open Source (MGOS) and Mapguide Enterprise (MGE), they are essentially the same product, with MGOS being open source and free to download and use while MGE is the commercially available and supported version. In essence MGE has been tested and supported by Autodesk and has a few additional components like FDO providers for Oracle and SQL Server. However, there are open source FDO versions for Oracle and SQL Server as well as many others. The one product which will be of benefit before you start solving the worlds problems with tons of online maps, is a product called Autodesk Mapguide Studio. This little bundle of joy allows someone to create FDO links, layers, maps and layouts for Mapguide and it doesn’t matter if it is the open source version or commercially supported. From cradle to grave there are only four steps to creating a site using Mapguide Studio and it’s priced in the few hundreds of dollars so it’s easy to get the funding. Not to sound all kool-aid on Mapguide, but my cup runneth over on this tool, if you are completely new to web development, you will enjoy how easy Autodesk Mapguide Studio can make creating and managing a Mapguide site. The following is a quick diagram of the components and their interaction in publishing to a Mapguide Server.

Alright, so let us pretend you are from Missouri (the show me state) and you’re a picture kinda person that enjoys bullet points. Lets do this step by step

1. First, get yourself a trial download of Mapguide Studio from Autodesk DOWNLOAD Install is straight forward, just take the defaults

2. Download and Install Mapguide Open Source (this is both the Mapguide Server and Web Server Extensions), for this we are going to use the windows installers and version 1.2 DOWNLOAD when installing the server take the default settings and when installing the web server extensions be sure to take the bundled configuration. This includes the Apache webserver and is ideal for those new to Mapguide.

3. Test the Mapguide Server by going to the Mapguide Administrator page here http://localhost:8008/mapguide/mapadmin/login.php Notice the :8008 designates the port number of the Apache webserver. If you want to use IIS as your webserver you would specify that when installing the web extensions and you would drop that from the above url. If the install worked correctly you should have a screen like this which prompts for the default login 'Administrator' and password 'admin' noting these are case sensitive.

4. Next lets add some data using FDO from either Civil 3D or Map 3D. This is done by using the Data button in the display manager and using the, you guessed it, Connect to Data option. If you don't see the display manager, try the command MAPWSPACE and set it to be ON.

5. From the 'Data Connect' dialog choose a data type and connect to it, in this example I am using a shapefile of U.S. counties. Add the data to your map by using, right again, the 'Add to Map' button.

6. I will forgo the steps to stylize the layer, but note that you could create a themed layer on this information and the published layer will maintain these in Mapguide. This was a huge step in integrating with Mapguide because it means you only have to do your stylizing once. So next lets start the publishing to Mapguide. Open the Publish dialog by going to the display manager and choosing Tools and publish to Mapguide:

7. Next lets Communicate with the Mapguide Site. enter in the site, in this case it is http://localhost:8008/mapguide and click the 'GO' button. You will be prompted for the login information, this is the same as in step 3. Once logged into the Mapguide stie choose the folder to add a directory to the mapguide site and enter 'Pubish'. Once you have this click the Publish command and all datasources including any base autocad options will be published to the Mapguide site.

8. When finished you want to open Mapguide Studio and enter in the information for your site. By now you are a Mapguide wiz and know the site is http://localhost:8008/mapguide and the login is 'Administrator' and password 'admin'. The Getting Started Tab shows you the four steps to creating a site - you can experiment creating a site from scratch using this task pane, but we don't have to because we have just published data to Mapguide. If we expand the Publish directory we should see a data and layer folder and a default map. Double Click on the default map and choose the Preview mode in Mapguide Studio, you should see have something similar to the following screen shot.

9. The last thing we need to do is create a layout for our map to reside in. Right click on the Publish folder and choose 'New' and select 'Web Layout'.

10. Add a title to the layout called 'MyMap' and click on the button next to 'Map resource used in this layout:' and specify the default map which was published. Finally, save the layout by clicking on the blue folder in the upper left corner, the default name is 'New web layout' which is fine for this example. You should have something similar to this when your finished. You can switch between the Edit, Split and Preview modes to view the data and the default tools in a mapguide layout.

11. Now lets launch this new bouncing baby Mapguide site by going to the Edit pane and scrolling down to 'Preview in Browser AJAX' and clicking on the button at the end of the url. You will most likely be prompted for a login and password which is the same as in step 3.

12. After launching the page and entering the login and password you should have a complete Mapguide application. Congratulations you have joined the ranks of thousands of online mappers and are leveraging open source to connect to the data and publish it to an open source web-based mapping platform. We have only scratched the surface in this exercise and I will continue to explore and expand the documentation on this subject.

Good Mapping, Neal

learn more at http://mapguide.osgeo.org/

Using MySQL with FDO in AutoCAD Map 3D 2008

2008-01-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

On January 16th, Sun Microsystems announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MySQL AB, an open source icon and developer of one of the world's fastest growing open source databases for approximately $1 billion in total consideration. The acquisition accelerates Sun's position in enterprise IT to now include the $15 billion database market. This coupled with the fast adoption that MySQL is getting it is now a reasonable alternative to use this database to start to centralize your data using AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 and FDO technology.

The following exercise will guide the AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 user on installation of MySQL 5.0.22 and creating a new datastore and populating it.

1. Download the supported version of MySQL noting to take the standard configuration, I also recommend setting it up as a service. For this example use the root user and apply a password.

Download MySQL ver 5.0.22 (supported version) and install
http://downloads.mysql.com/archives/mysql-5.0/mysql-5.0.22-win32.zip

2. Download and install the GUI tools, this is a useful interface to backup and drop tables.
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/5.0.html

3. To finish configuration you will need to copy the libmysql.dll which you can find by doing a system search on the machine you installed the MySQL database. Once located, copy the file to C:\Program Files\AutoCAD Map 3D 2008\FDO\bin

4. Open AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 and open the Data Connect dialog. If MySQL is installed on your machine you can use the machine name or simply Localhost. Enter in root for the username and the your password set at installation.

5. From the Data Store drop down, choose Add New Data Store. In the Create MySQL Data Store dialog, enter a name and coordinate system.

6. When prompted with the Edit Schema dialog choose to Edit Later, this dialog will close and you can then Click the Connect button in the Data Connections dialog.

7. In the Data Connect Dialog choose to connect to another data type, for this example I will use a shapefile to populate the MySQL datastore. The result should be a dialog similar to this with a connection to a ESRI shapefile and the MySQL database.
8. Next from the Display Manager choose the Click the Data button and choose the Bulk Copy option.
9. From the Bulk Copy dialog set the shapefile connection to copy to the MySQL connection and click the Copy Now button.

10. If we open the Data Connect dialog and choose the MySQL data connection we can see the information that was copied and we can add it to our map. You should have something similar to this when finished.

Using FDO and MySQL it can be easy to migrate information to a central datastore. Now the information has additional security capabilities, can be extended to applications like MS Excel and Access, and redundant copies minimized. Try it, you might like it

Good Mapping, Neal

FDO Data Access Technology

2008-01-18T15:53:00.001-08:00

Enterprise GIS is an architecture that integrates geospatial data and services and shares them across the organization. It can also be viewed as an infrastructure that extends and enables existing enterprise systems using geospatial data. At the heart of this type of implementation is the most important asset in an organization, the data. Recently, Autodesk created a technology to allow the read, write, and editing of geospatial data sources directly without the need to import and export. This direct access is important because it minimizes data translation between formats and as a result reduces data corruption, or data loss.The technology is called FDO (Feature Data Objects) and besides allowing direct access to your data, it is also an opensource technology. That's right, Autodesk, the company that created FDO, gave the source code to the Open Source Geospatial Foundation known as OSGEO, http://www.osgeo.org/ . The impact of this technology is that it can now allow for Enterprise sharing of data easily by facilitating the centralizing and updating of geospatial data. For example, a user can take gather GIS data from multiple formats and integrate them in a single map. Combining information from ESRI, AutoCAD, Mapinfo, raster formats and database information in a single environment for analysis and mapping. FDO also allows information to be copied from one format to another through an operation called 'Bulk Copy'. For example, common flat file formats like shapefiles and SDF (spatial data files) can be loaded into a databases like Oracle, ArcSDE, SQL Server and MySQL. Once this occurs other users in the enterprise can access this data from common applications like MS Excel and MS Acces.

This minimizes the cost of having to have information locked away from non-gis users and time consuming translation processes. Currently, the main geospatial companies that are applying this technology today are Autodesk in the Geospatial products AutoCAD Map 3D and Mapguide Enterprise and 1Spatial which provides operational solutions to organizations with large spatial databases. By leveraging FDO in your GIS environment your data can live inside your organization while staying neutral to the platform of your choosing. By that I mean you don't have to implement a proprietary platform that may limit how you can extend your data to different users. This is an exciting time when technology like FDO is allowing flexible options to the traditional GIS environment. While FDO stands for (Feature Data Objects) with direct read, write, and edit capabilities and the ability to copy data from multiple formats, I think it should stand for FREE-your-DATA-OPTION.

Good Mapping, Neal

List of Different FDO Providers
http://fdo.osgeo.org/OSProviderOverviews.html

Open Source Provider for Oracle
http://www.sl-king.com/fdooracle/