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Autodesk Debuts New Mapping Solutions
By Glenn Letham (editor@geocomm.com), October 2, 2002
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Last week, Autodesk Corp. played host to myself and roughly a hundred other GIS enthusiasts at the first in
a series of presentations known as the Autodesk Exposition, 2002. This special promotional event is
designed to introduce users and potential users to the latest product offerings from AutoDesk’s
GIS solutions Division.
Hosts Erick Stockton, Director of Autodesk Government Solutions, and Larry Diamond, VP, GIS
Solutions Division used the opportunity to tell us about the company, describe how Autodesk is
different from the other software vendors, and detail what the company has done/will do to
address customers needs.
Autodesk VP Larry Diamond walsk us through the strengths of Map 6
- “nobody should tell you what data format to use!”
Autodesk's Latest Figures:
$974 million Revenue 2001
83 offices in 160 countries
16 R&D centers (one more coming soon in Tampa, Fl)
1,100 authorized training centers
2,177 resellers
3,706 employees
more than 5 million estimated users of Autodesk products
2 million+ students trained each year
FYI… did you know that Autodesk employees in San Rafael, CA are encouraged to bring their pet
dogs to work (no cats allowed!)
Purpose of the “road show”. To introduce users & potential users to AutoDesk’s GIS solutions. The
company, unlike most others, has released all of its core product updates simultaneously. Products are
bundled and marketed as a solution “series” - solutions include Autodesk OnSite series, Autodesk Map
Series, and Autodesk Civil Series. The one product that appears to stand alone (although it’s also
bundled in the series) and excites Autodesk executives, like Diamond, is Autodesk OnSite Desktop 7.
The Following are key new features and benefits of Autodesk OnSite Desktop 7: Workflow
Enhancements, 3D Visualization, Additional Data Formats Supported, Reporting, Application
Programming Interface (API), 2D & 3D together, and a robust API. OnSite 7 has been built on
Microsoft’s .NET technology.
OnSite Desktop 7 Features:
- load Arc.Info coverages & E00 files
- read Microstation DGN and MapInfo MIF/MID data
- read most raster data formats including MrSID and ECW
- thousands of projections and coordinate systems supported
- create 3D perspective views
- cut and fill
- buffering
- run Autodesk Map Queries and Themes
Map Series 6
What is it? Essentially, it’s a suite of mapping apps developed to enable users to create, maintain,
analyze, and present maps and all parts of the mapping workflow. Components include:
Autodesk Map 6 - for map creation and maintenance.
Autodesk OnSite Desktop - for data analysis, visualization, and presentation
Autodesk Raster Design - enables the integration of raster imagery into the workflow
Oh yeah, this is also said to be the biggest Autodesk Map release since Map 1!
The product series will be available in October - more details available from www.autodesk.com/reseller or
www.autodesk.com/subscription.
To show off the capabilities of this latest release, senior Autodesk staff gave an interesting “full lifecycle”
presentation. This involved displaying 2D and 3D data using vertical exaggerations to highlight cut/fill
requirements. The scenario involved viewing rising water levels in a pond in order to determine the effect
on a proposed residential development. Various tasks involved the creation of contours, animations, new
3D elements, attributed features, and even dragging and dropping a 260 mb ECW image onto an
existing 3D scene. We also saw examples of how easy it is to use CO-Go functions such as the manual
input of bearing and distance measurements to create features; the generation of topology; use of TIF,
ER Mapper, and MrSid data - all brought together with coordinate transformations made on the fly
In developing these products, Autodesk has taken into consideration a number of things from its
customers. Trends in the industry like interoperability, engineering accuracy, the need for precision, open
systems, ease of use, flexible customization, and data sharing have been identified and taken into
account, as have future GIS requirements such as the need for a complete, collaborative workflow
solution, and the need to be able to use any data, anytime, and anywhere.
So what did I take away from the presentation? Autodesk is clearly a software company with a focus on
customers that have a relationship to the Earth - they all have a requirement to document and/or explore
the Earth. Additionally, they are creating and/or managing the Earth’s infrastructure. Of particular interest
to the users is the requirement to share data with professionals and no-professionals alike, whether it is
at a jobsite, over the Internet, a corporate intranet, or via a wireless communication device. Key to the
company’s philosophy… “nobody should tell you what data format to use!” Releasing all of the core products at the same time shows us that the developers are apparently all on the same page and communication within the company is of paramount importance. The "series" solutions addresses the need for complete workflow solutions and customers are sure to find a relatively simple pricing scheme... this is sure to impress customers and potential customers!
A number of Autodesk solution providers and strategic partners were on hand to show off their apps and
related solutions. Companies in attendance included:
- Spatialinfo (www.spatialinfo.com- creators of Spatialnet, AM/FM GIS system
- Robert steltman Inc (www.rsteltman.com) - creators of LDD Tools for surveyors, planners, and civil
engineers.
- GTD (www.geographic.com) - provider of North American geographic data products
- Kanotech (www.kanotech.com) - developers of Civic Center 2002 for local government
- e-Terra (www.myeterra.com) - GIS integrator and developer of the SARS tracking system and homeland
security solutions.
- 4DataLink - developer of AM/FM GIS solutions
- Kodak (www.kodak.com) - provider of Kodak Citipix and Ortho mosaic data products
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