GEO Business 2016 – OS Model Builder Launch!

By David Crowther

Between the 24^th to 25^th May 2016 Cadline exhibited at the GEOBusiness 2016 event at The Business Design Centre in Islington. The weather was glorious and the event supported by many people looking to find cutting edge geospatial Technology and Services.

http://geobusinessshow.com/

Cadline have supported this event for a number of years and we partnered with Autodesk in 2015 to promote the use of both GIS and CAD products within the Infrastructure industry. Last year Cadline not only showcased our DynamicMaps suite of Geospatial tools:

But we also presented in a workshop to discuss the benefits of using Infraworks 360 for 3D Modelling to help collaboration within a practical BIM project.

Our presentation in 2015 detailed how beneficial Ordnance Survey datasets are in the creation of accurate and data rich 3D Models. However, we highlighted a number of issues which would make utilsiing OS data within Infraworks for some users a rather complicated and time consuming task. This included the Time and Expertise required to order, download, convert, process and configure OS datasets to work within Infraworks 360.

The alternate to using OS datasets, is to utilise the Model Builder plugin that comes free within Infraworks 360. This tool allows you to draw an area of interest anywhere in the world and a 3D Model is created for you on the fly, which is pre-configured to work within Infraworks. Again, however, there were drawbacks with this approach, specifically around inaccurate data and poor coverage.

Inaccurate Terrain Data:

Poor Coverage:

After last year’s event and having taken on board the feedback from our many visits to users utilsiing Infraworks, Cadline and the Ordnance Survey partnered to develop the OS Model Builder application which generates pre-configured 3D Models for Infraworks 360 using OS Imagery, OS Terrain 5 and OS MasterMap Topo Buildings with height attributes.

Cadline and the Ordnance Survey launched the OS Model Builder on the 24^th May 2016 in a workshop at the GEOBusiness event and it was extremely well received with over 30 attendees interested to hear more about an application that will allow them to build 3D Models for Infraworks using Ordnance Survey data.

Many of the attendees commented on and were impressed by the core advantages that the OS Model Builder provides, including:

• Creating Ready Made 3D Model in minutes
• No Data Processing or Configuration Required
• Accurate Building Height Details
• UK Coverage and Accurate Terrain Data

We then showcased the OS Model Builder on our stand, and in particular showed how it simple it was to create a complex, yet accurate 3D Model of Edinburgh Castle using OS datasets.

During the GEOBusiness event the Cadline stand was visited by many people in the geospatial community who saw great value generating 3D Models of OS data for other applications, which is great food for thought on how we can further develop the OS Model Builder to meet the growing demands of the Local Government, Engineering and Infrastructure market.

We were also visited by a number of staff from the Ordnance Survey who worked on the OS Model Builder project, and wanted to see the launch of the application they had spent time helping to develop. Culminating in a visit from both the Cadline Managing Director Barry Lewis and Executives from the Ordnance Survey, where a number of suggestions for the development roadmap of the OS Model Builder were discussed.

So in the future watch out for; greater integration with other OS datasets, increased access to non-OS datasets such as data from the Environment Agency, BGS and Utility companies. All of which will ensure that the OS Model Builder should be your solution for generating highly accurate and data rich 3D Models for Infraworks and soon other Autodesk and GIS applications.

Why not try the OS Model Builder Application yourself: OS Model Builder