Arctuition - Precise Design

We are pleased to announce that Apple has approved our beta release and our testers have been sent a link to download our software.

We do have positions open in our beta program; if you are in the consulting engineering industry and are looking for a great digital alternative to pen and paper field notes and .PDF mark-ups, we would be more than happy to send you a link to download our software to your iPad now.  Tap the JOIN US link at the top of our landing page to submit your name and email address.

Join our conversation at the newly created subreddit below:

Arctuition subreddit 

We would like to thank all of our testers and look forward to some great feedback.

Cheers,

After working as a designer in the consulting engineering space for 25 years, you pick up on a few things. We are all a unique breed - efficiency is incredibly important in our industry, particularly now as we are recovering from a bit of downturn in the economy. While the points below certainly doesn't apply toeveryone in the industry, I find it to be shockingly consistent in my career:

Engineers want to cut costs and come in under budget

Engineers don't necessarily embrace change

Engineers are generally not very organized

Engineers need to manage incredible amounts of data

Looking at the list above, you can start to see a few conflicts. Since most consulting engineering firms go through a bidding process to win contracts, every bit of time charged to a job increases costs. The best way to decrease costs is to become more efficient and organized - researching methods and techniques that will promote continuous learning. So, you can see this is a bit of a conundrum.

Technology can play a big factor in decreasing costs. During the design development phase, powerful desktop software like Revit has sparked a renaissance in engineered design. For the construction and project management phase, Bluebeam and PlanGrid are starting to become common in the field, with managers using tablets in the field to check their construction documents. This is all leading to massive increases in efficiency and organization, something each firm must have to survive in a competitive environment.

The Spark Between Your Paper and Hand

For the past six months, I have been working closely with engineers and designers to find out how they are collecting site data during the early design phase and schematic design phase of new projects. Surprisingly, this process has experienced almost no significant changes over the past 20 years other than digital cameras.

Even with the prevalence of powerful tablet computers, almost everyone we have talked to is still using paper and pencil in the field to gather data and explore design ideas. The reason? Usability. While there are portable CAD packages and .PDF editors out there, none of them provide the ease of use or tool set required to compete with the trusty pen.

Like I said earlier - engineers don't necessarily welcome change; they love the comfort and reliability of having that intimate connection that lies between a sheet of paper and their hand.

Putting an End to Pen and Paper

The problem we have gathered through many interviews is pen and paper sketching and data gathering is slow, messy, outdated and entirely inefficient. Some engineers complain that they have to redraw field notes twice just to get clear data into the CAD department for drafting where it needs to be drawn again in digital formats. Associated photos taken in the field are not organized well and take a lot of time and effort to present into a usable format.

Our goal is to satisfy the four conditions listed at the beginning of this article. We are working on a portable app that will dramatically reduce time spent in the field by providing a software solution that organizes and simplifies data gathering and concepting in the field. At the same time, we realize the importance of making our app as simple to use as paper and pencil.

The technology we are developing converts freehand drawing on an iPad into measured, scaled vector geometry in real-time. We have one simple goal in mind -massively increase efficiency in the field by eliminating pen, paper, drawing sets and digital cameras from the field investigation toolbox.

Our app can be used as an infinitely sized sheet of graph paper or a platform to load and design over engineered .PDF files. Investigators not only have the power to mark-up existing conditions, they can draw (in perfect, measured geometry) equipment variances from what is shown on their prints to what actually exists in the field.

Since ArcSense has the ability to draw to scale, the tedious task of dimensioning everything in the field is eliminated. Everything an engineer or designer draws in the field can be directly exported to a .PDF or .DXF (CAD) file.

Our focus, however, is to keep this as simple as sketching on paper. We don't have a bunch of complicated icons or tools. Anything you draw can be accomplished with our pen tool, just like you would do it on paper.

Photos Are People, Too

In addition to our patent-pending drawing tool, we are implementing a location based photo solution that allows investigators to identify exactly where and what direction the photo was taken and enables precision drawing, measuring and notation capabilities on top of the placed photo.

If I could take pictures, locate them on my .PDF plan and add dimensional data directly on top [of the photo], I could gather the data I need to create a mechanical plan in 1/4 of the time it takes me to sketch in the field" -Kevin R., Mechanical Designer

We are early in our development process and very excited to see how engineers and designers can save time in the early phase design process. Our most recent build added a freehand tool that enables direct input translation for quick hand written notes and sketches. We also added a dimension tool that measures true to the .PDF drawing scale - perfect for taking quick measurements on your iPad rather that using a tape measure in the field.

 Your Early Feedback is Critical

Since we are early stage, we have a lot of work to do. We are opening our public beta at the end of March and we need feedback from engineers and designers who are out there in the trenches, gathering the data they need for their designs. If you have an iPad, we want you to join our beta and let us know what we need to build into our engine to streamline investigations in your engineering field.

 Cheers - we hope to see you for our beta release!

Answer by Charles Nivison:

We have developed new, patented technology that uses statistical learning to predict and correct user input when drawing on an iPad.  Anything the user draws (with finger or stylus) is converted to precise, measure geometry in real-time.  We are early in our development cycle and are looking for feedback (we are currently in open beta) - we plan on launching to the public in April. Just Draw and Let Us Figure It Out

In the information age, we all use statistical learning in our everyday lives. But what exactly is it?  If we use it all the time, then why is it not a recognized buzzword?

Every time you stumble on to Google and search for that “crazy restaurant where everyone is angry”, or “dog jumps over mailman”, you will notice that the search results predict what you are looking for before you even finish typing.  When you text your girlfriend on the other side of the country and your phone predicts the next word you are about to type (good or bad), that is statistical learning in action.  If you freak out a bit on Netflix when some guy named “Max” starts telling you what you want to watch for the night, there it is again.  It is all over the place.  Let’s hope that the next time you jump into your new fancy smart car, it doesn’t automatically take you to the local pub - if it does, you may have a problem.  

Statistical learning is a form of machine learning rooted in artificial intelligence that evaluates information received from a pool of gathered data and predicts the most favored outcome, usually in real-time.  It has been used for decades in the technology sector, and has been getting exponentially smarter over time as devices become more powerful and pools of data become larger and larger.

And speaking of the technology sector, I love the integration of tech with freehand drawing on mobile devices.  I don’t consider myself an artist, but I’ll be damned if I don’t kind of look like I know what I am doing when I use many of these fancy graphics packages.  It is pretty impressive to me that I can spend 15 minutes on my couch and create something I think looks really good - until I look at the sample pictures created by real artists.  I still don’t know if those are meant to be encouraging or discouraging, but I do know that I lack the vision needed to create anything even close to what I am seeing.

These apps are great at what they do and with some vision and a little practice, you will become a better artist.  They all have something in common - they directly translate what you are drawing on the touchscreen and apply effects such as smoothing or averaging your segments or converting your shape to the closest geometric shape in a canned library.

"With ArcSense, you just draw it and our algorithm does all the work."

Our precision drawing app is completely different.  While others in this space convert user input directly, we use statistical learning as you draw to predict and correct input in real-time. Based on a large pool of data, ArcSense evaluates your input and converts sloppy freehand drawing into perfect geometry of any type.  Other vector drawing packages rely on different tools to create different geometry types - they make YOU think how to create the geometry you need.  With ArcSense, you just draw it and our algorithm does all the work.

My point here is technical, precise drawings can now be created by anybody, no previous design experience required, nothing complicated to learn.  While you are drawing, ArcSense is thinking.

 Continue this conversation with me below, I love good questions and ideas! 

All the Best,

Our application can revolutionize how engineers gather data in the field.  If it is precise enough for engineering, what can you do with our tech?  We would love to find out!  Join our beta and download our app pre-launch, for free.

It's amazing the crap you do in your  mid-twenties when trying to impress your much more seasoned team members.  In the mid-90's, I was the second youngest designer on our consulting engineering team at a well known AEC firm.  I took great satisfaction in getting tasks done quickly in the most efficient manner I could muster up.  

I'd also be the first to volunteer for site investigations where others would shy away.  For me (as a very visual person), going out in the field was great experience - a few hours of seeing mechanical systems in action translated into much more clever design solutions back at the office.  Oh, the wonders hidden within some dingy mechanical room are beyond anything you could learn in a classroom.  Some systems were perfectly designed, others seemed like something you might see in a Dr. Seuss book - but most offered something unique.

Some trips, however, provide you with absolutely nothing;  somehow, those are the trips I remember the most.  One particularly cold winter day in Michigan, my boss approached me with a job we needed to do for one of our clients - a major pharmaceutical manufacturer.  

"Uh, Chuck", he said a bit sheepishly, "we need to go up on a roof and identify a few things".  What was missing from that statement was "we" meant "me" and a "few" meant over 50 vents and many roof top air handling units.  I happily accepted since I had never done a roof investigation and I was too young to know any better. 

The only existing information we had on this *huge* roof was a full size blueprint that was about 25 years old.  It fell somewhere in between "worthless" and "a hindrance", it was just too difficult to decide which of those two words was a best fit.  With me also was a tape measure, a notepad, a few colored pens and a checklist of systems I needed to identify: exhaust fans, rooftop units, and vent pipes.  

Once on the roof, I still remember my initial glance looking over what was in store - it was like a post-apocalyptic war zone, a sea of mechanical monsters with plumes of condensate jetting out from everywhere on the roof (the sub-zero temperatures played well into that scenario).

And so the process began.  I found out (through some very frustrating  trial and error discoveries) that the print I was using was almost entirely inaccurate.  That process alone chewed through a ton of rework.  The only solution to record the data I needed was to sketch the footprint of each unit on a notepad, then meticulously measure the unit size and relative location. This was awful in the freezing weather; it was nearly impossible sketching with gloves on, so my right hand was constantly exposed to the elements.  What I ended up with was many pages of mess with measurements everywhere - in the end it took two days to translate and convert these drawings into AutoCAD.      

For the vent pipes, I needed to find out how close they were to each rooftop unit and what type of vent it was... and this is where a bad dream becomes a nightmare.  I assumed that there must be an identifier on each pipe - but no, nothing but flashing and tar and filth.  That's when I knew - for the first time,  the olfactory system needed to play a role in a site investigation.

"But it was very obvious which vent was poop and which was dope - you just needed to straddle that pipe, close your eyes.... and SNIFF."

Now, I'm still not sure what left a bigger trauma footprint on my brain over those three days - the lingering smell of virgin sewer gas or the paisley-inducing notes of many unknown chemicals.  But it was very obvious which vent was poop and which was dope - you just needed to straddle that pipe, close your eyes and....... SNIFF.  

Twenty years later - I'm still around - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, they say.  But I know this - there are factories still out there, there's plenty of old roof plans that need to be documented and, yes, there are vent pipes waiting for a friend.  

I've been doing a lot of interviews lately with professionals in the consulting engineering industry and I was surprised to find out that site investigations like this are still being conducted in mostly the same manner.  Sure, there are a few handy new tools like digital cameras and digital .PDF viewers, but most people are still taking physical prints, notepads and pens.  The existing digital tools available have some very important gaps - they have no real-time measuring capabilities, are limited in their zoom level or have too many complicated options; and none have provisions for simple, precise sketching.  As a result, most people are still using their trusty, outdated pen.

"[With ArcSense] I could have finished the job in less than a day compared to a whole week."

I'm proud to say that ArcSense can solve almost all of these problems and finally bring site investigations into the 21st century.  For a roof investigation, you can use your iPad to find and capture a satellite image of your job site, seamlessly import the image into ArcSense and scale it to true dimensions with the swipe of our calibration tool.   The power of an active satellite image map would have been invaluable to me for that old job.  I could have just walked around the roof, sketched the footprint of every air handling unit and exhaust fan I saw and typed in any pertinent data (or used the microphone).  Depending on the clarity and size of the image, I may have been able to trace each vent, too.  Regardless, I could have finished the job in less than a day compared to a whole week.  Making a few spot checks with my tape measure would be all it takes to have confidence in the scale of my active map.

ArcSense is the only digital .PDF editor / design package that recognizes and corrects any type of freehand input as measured, vector geometries in real-time.  And one of the best parts - the sketches you create are automatically digitized.  Your CAD drawing is almost done  - ArcSense .DXF files can be directly imported into AutoCAD and even sent to the office directly from the field.    

And it is easier and faster than using pen and paper.  Entities and text can be copied, rotated, scaled, and grouped - a remarkably efficient system that will minimize your time in the field.

We learned so much from our private beta test (wrapping up this week) - but we are eager to get our software in the hands of designers everywhere so we can learn much more from a larger, national audience.  Our public beta test starts at the end of March; we invite anyone in the engineering industry with an iPad to try ArcSense themselves!  You keep our free software at the end of the test.  Spots are limited, so signup below today.

Oh, about identifying chemical vents vs. sanitary sewer vents; ArcSense can't really solve that problem yet.  You may have to give us a few years on that front.  In the meantime - happy sniffing!

You early tech adopters out there with identified problems you face in the field; I hope to see you in our program - your input is crucial during this beta stage.

 All the Best,