by B.J. Novitski

The biggest attention getters at this year's A/E/C SYSTEMS Show may have been the project extranet companies and CAD systems, but there were plenty of other interesting products on display. These serve the construction industry in areas as diverse as presentations, structural analysis, team communications, job site reporting, and legal documentation.

One newcomer on the scene was ArchitectureWeek, which promises to report on such news in a uniquely timely manner. In this last in a series of reports from SYSTEMS 2000, held in Washington D.C. in early June, we look at a sampling of tools for design and construction professionals.

Design Support Systems

A new rendering system from Japan made its debut at the Show. ArcRender distinguishes itself from other renderers by its speed and simplicity. You can set material colors and textures, define an animation path through a design, and set objects, such as doors or drapes, to open or close during an animated walkthrough. Users can import architectural models from other CAD systems then easily add backgrounds, lighting, plants, people, and furnishings.

On display together were Merlin 3D, a fast modeling/rendering environment from Digital Immersion Corporation and Nav3D, a real-time motion controller from LogiCad3D. The controller is a six-degrees-of-freedom navigation device that gives users the impression of intuitively "flying through" the scenes they're modeling. Merlin 3D renders fully textured scenes at real-time animation speed.

EZ is real-time conferencing software for use with a local-area network or the Internet. Image: Sigma Design International The Nav3d controller is a navigation device with six degrees of freedom for navigating a 3D scene. Image: LogiCad3D   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.