Between the Lines

Glen Canyon Dam 3D Model Created by Autodesk ReCap and ReMake

In August of 2016, a team of Autodesk employees including myself Shaan Hurley and led by Autodesk’s Pete Kelsey along with Autodeskers David Dreffs, and Carlos Orona and a team from the US Bureau of Reclamation took on a very large infrastructure project to capture the second largest US dam Glen Canyon Dam located on the border of Utah and Arizona in the beautiful American Southwest. The Glen Canyon Dam is just 16 feet shorter than the Hoover dam and... Read more →

Baroque 3D Topologies

In the summer of 2016, Professor Andrew Saunders of the University of Pennsylvania and some of his students spent six weeks in Italy laser scanning and amassing an archive of some of the most important examples of Italian Baroque architecture. The resulting archive includes key works from Francesco Borromini, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Girolamo and Carlo Rainaldi, Pietro da Cortona, Guarino Guarini and Bernardo Vittone. The motivations beyond archival and preservation purposes were to find better methods to explore and teach... Read more →

Aerial View of Lake Oswego Oregon Autodesk Office

I recently purchased and received my new personal UAS/UAV a DJI Mavic. This little drone folds up and can be easily packed in my backpack or camera bag and has many advanced technologies like obstacle avoidance and several automated flight modes like follow me and follow terrain. II t can go 40mph and has a radio range 4.6 mile range however FAA rules require visual one of sight which is definitely not that far. The camera is not as good... Read more →

Back in Hawaii for the 75th Anniversary December 7th Remembrance

I am in Hawaii to attend the 75th anniversary of December 7th. The event is not a celebration of the event or war, but to remember how bad war is and how we must never repeat this as well as honor all those that on that Sunday morning died or were forever affected. We had expected and hoped President Obama would be attending but it appears he may not be able to attend and cancelled his speaking events. I do... Read more →

How to Succeed with Photogrammetry

The Autodesk Remake team created an infographic to provide tips to get the best 3D model from photos. They also announced a Design by Capture competition using Autodesk ReMake & Autodesk Fusion 360. Read More on the Autodesk ReMake Blog: http://bit.ly/2e3gxTJ Read more →

Autodesk ReCap Helps Preserve & Share the Story of the Antikythera Shipwreck

Autodesk ReCap helps preserve & share the story of this shipwreck with 3D models & 3D printed artifacts http://autode.sk/2dpgn8q Read more →

Play Hide and Seek with a 3D Laser Scanner

If you have done a lot of 3D laser scanning or LiDAR you know how waiting to see if the scan is done can be sometimes a hide and seek game to not get caught in the scan and photo. On a recent project the FARO scanner caught me as evidenced by the point matching when merging scans in Autodesk ReCap Pro. Laser scanning systems take photos at the end of a laser scan so that it can bake the... Read more →

Fast Cars and Generative Design

Back in May of this year I had the pleasure to be in the hot and beautiful Southern California desert at Trona Pinnacles near Death Valley with a group of engineers, scientist, champion Baja 1000 champion race drivers, car builders, mechanics, designers, cinematographers, technologists, and more for a historic off road race car project test for a generative designed car, the Hackrod. The Hackrod was designed by Autodesk Dreamcatcher using design input and performance data from many types of sensors... Read more →

Create a 3D Human Skull

Have you ever wanted your own 3D skull or other unique object? Now you can make any 3D model you create or find on the web into a real physical 3D object of cardboard or clay without a 3D printer. Check out this tutorial created by David of Make Something using the free and fun Autodesk 123D Make to create a full size 3D skull. You can create some really cool abstract sculptures from cardboard as well. You could use... Read more →

What Do You Do While 3D Laser Scanning?

Fort those that have done a fair bit of laser scanning, what do you do while the scanner is rotating 360 degrees and you try to stay out of the beams view and pass time? My laser scanner shuffle moving around the scanner instead of sitting underneath or walking away. I will most times wear headphones with music playing. So do you Play air guitar and drums, make sound effects like a laser “pew pew pew”, or just look boss... Read more →

Autodesk Forge Developer Conference Keynote

If you were unable to attend the Autodesk Forge Conference this week, you can still watch the keynote on YouTube. Forge is powerful set of cloud services, APIs, and resources for developers to quickly create the data-centric apps, experiences, and services that power the future of making things. Read more →

Aerial 3D Terrain Mapping with a Drone

Recently I edited a 3D model and created a quick video in Autodesk ReMake (formerly Autodesk Memento.) The 3D model was generated using Autodesk ReCap 360 Pro from photos taken last month using an UAS/drone in the hot windy Trona Pinnacles near Death Valley California. The ability to create 3D textured models from aerial photos opens up many possibilities in design, construction, and site mapping. Autodesk has released specific features in ReCap 360 Pro named Fly that allow you to... Read more →

Reality Computing Used to Assist in Oso Mudslide Disaster

On March 22, 2014, a large landslide in Oso, Washington killed 43 people and destroyed dozens of homes. Heavy rainfall in the previous days and weeks had saturated the soil on a hillside over State Road 530 and the Stillaguamish River. This eventually triggered the slide, burying approximately 1 acre below in 30 to 70 feet of mud, soil, and rock debris. Shortly after the mudslide, the Field Innovation Team (FIT) sent a team to support first-responders in finding innovative... Read more →

Autodesk Memento Becomes Autodesk ReMake

Autodesk Memento becomes Autodesk ReMake and has formally graduated to a commercial Autodesk product! Autodesk ReMake turns reality data into hi-resolution 3D meshes for design & engineering workflows and so much more. It has been a long journey to this point and many new features and great feedback along the way from Memento users. http://Remake.autodesk.com Read the message from the product manager and Mother of Memento Tatjana Dzambazova. Memento graduates to Autodesk ReMake! Mammoth skull was being worked on by... Read more →

Monitoring the Worlds Coral Reefs Using Reality Computing

Check out what my good friend Sly Lee and his non-profit scientific organization The Hydrous are doing to help educate people and make sure there are coral reefs for our children and their children. Coral reefs are often referred to as the rainforests of the sea. They occupy less than 0.1 percent of the ocean floor but provide a habitat for 25 percent of the world’s marine species. And like rain forests, coral reefs are at severe risk due to... Read more →

Final Autodesk Memento Beta Goes Live

A new beta build of the Autodesk Memento Windows version has been announced and available for download. Memento is an extremely versatile tool for 3D mesh model repair, 3D model creation, and 3D printing. Our Autodesk Memento Team posted build 1.8.0.22 which has several new enhancements. With this new beta for Windows (Mac coming later) you can now create 3D textured models using 1000 photos, decimate by selection, a new file format, Autodesk Gallery, Play Viewer, and offline reconstruction in... Read more →

New Autodesk ReCap 360 Pro

The new ReCap 360 Pro an all in one reality capture solution is out. If you are doing reality capture then you should look at the new features like Fly features for UAV/drone photos, Auto-Cleanup tool, Scan-to-Mesh (converting point cloud data into 3D textured meshes) in addition to the new low price for such a powerful tool. Read More about the all new ReCap 360 Pro: http://autode.sk/25Ve8fK Read more →

Made In Space Additive Manufacturing Facility

Made In Space is developing manufacturing technologies that are enabling people to live and work in space. The Made In Space Additive Manufacturing Facility was launched on March 22nd, 2016 and arrived at the International Space Station on March 26th, 2016. This is a first step toward putting manufacturing systems on the Moon, Mars, and on deep space missions. Read more →

AMF in Orbit

The Atlas V launch vehicle lifts off from Cape Canaveral. Credit: NASA Congratulations to NASA, Orbital ATK, and Made in Space for launching the new 3D Printer Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) into orbit last night. It will soon arrive and be installed on the International Space Station and provide an upgraded 3D printing capability for use by the astronauts - and possibly you. Contained within the AMF is Autodesk Memento software. I have always thought our Autodesk products were out... Read more →

REAL 2016 is a Wrap

Yesterday was the final of two days of the REAL 2016 conference ending with a great reception and stunning sunset with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. There were many great exhibits as well as presentations. Here are a few photos from some of the sessions and things I experienced. The Autodesk Memento booth was packed the entire time and I have it on good word that Autodesk Memento is going into space. Stay tuned. Airbus presented on the... Read more →

Great First Day of REAL 2016

Yesterday was the fist of two days for the REAL 2016 conference in it’s second year. Being held at scenic Fort Mason there are about 900 attendees networking, attending presentations, and looking at exhibits and vendors.Autodesk was periscoping several of the presentations yesterday (https://www.periscope.tv/autodesk) and I was tweeting @shaanhurley and posting to Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shaanhurley/ live from the event. The night ended late with my good friends the Laser Cowboys of the Smithsonian Institution at a local In n Out Burger.... Read more →

REAL 2016 – Hoping to See You in 3D

If you are involved in reality capture, computing and creation 3D technologies, I hope you are in San Francisco preparing to attend REAL 2016. The REAL 2016 conference will be the place to be to learn about the very latest technologies and cutting edge workflows. I will be there both days and am looking forward to all the great products, technologies, networking, and presentations. The location at Fort Mason is also one of the most scenic conference locations for a... Read more →

Discount Code for REAL 2016 Event

There is a discount code for readers of this blog for 25% off the conference price. When you register at http://real2016.com/ use the promotional code of BetweenTheLines. Read more →

REAL 2016

Meet me March 8th and 9th in beautiful San Francisco at REAL where you will see the very latest in 3D and Reality Computing. There is will be some great presentations by some speakers like Adam Metallo and Vincent Rossi (the Laser Cowboys) who will present on the Smithsonian 3D Digitization Program. There will also be many exhibits and vendors at the event. How could you not want to attend a great conference with an epic view of San Francisco... Read more →

Graffiti Found Scratched Inside Apollo 11

Autodesk and the Smithsonian have been working together on a reality capture project of historical significance. The team are capturing for the first time the complete inside and outside of the Apollo 11 command module where the astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin sat during the historic mission back in 1969. Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that put humans on the surface of the Moon. Read more about this amazing project in Fast Company. Scientists Rediscover Astronaut Graffiti Scratched... Read more →