NOVATO, Calif., Oct. 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IMSI®/Design, a pioneer in mobile solutions for AEC and the global leader in retail CAD, today announced TurboSite™ and free TurboSite Reader for iPad™.
Designed as the ultimate field and site survey mobile app, TurboSite reinvents the way every architect, engineer, and contractor will approach site visits and documentation.
"This is the most exciting app we've seen in AEC for a long time," said Doug May, CEO of SPG Solar, one of the leading designers and builders of commercial solar power systems and products. "We used TurboSite at a recent solar conference to let customers explore various installation sites and product designs. Navigation was a breeze and the detail was unbelievable. It was like our customers were actually there."
Added Royal Farros, CEO of IMSI/Design, "TurboSite is the first true mobile AEC app... a professional building app that can't be done on a desktop or laptop computer."
For decades documenting walk-throughs and creating punch lists have been a time-consuming and physically-tiring process.
Not only do site visits typically require carrying a full set of building plans, but a laptop to take notes, extra batteries to keep that laptop running throughout the day, a digital camera to create visuals, and usually a collapsible chair and small folding table to work from. Each location that requires documentation involves setting up and breaking down this temporary work station. For an average-sized structure, this cycle may be repeated dozens or even hundreds of times.
But that's only half of the work involved. Once information has been gathered, it's taken back to an office where, using a variety of software applications, it is painstakingly assembled for report distribution. Given such a manual process, errors aren't uncommon.
"We're doing away with all of this," said Doug Cochran, CTO of IMSI/Design. "I was a practicing architect for 20 years. Anyone that has ever done a site visit will agree: This is the app we've been waiting for."
Using only TurboSite and a lightweight iPad, building plans are electronically viewed. Navigation around plans, including all saved views, is lightning fast using simple gestures on iPad's touch screen. GeoWalk™ tracks location within a structure, while GeoNudge™ pinpoints exact location. When documentation is required, a photo or video is taken using iPad's built-in camera and is automatically positioned correctly in a separate layer over the electronic file. Text notes and audio annotations can also be added. Even your orientation when taking notes and photos is denoted by TurboSite's unique GeoMarks™.
Unlike the tedious traditional process, once the information is gathered, it's immediately available for viewing and distribution using free TurboSite Reader.
"As part of many design and building teams, a huge portion of time is spent on field and site surveys," added Cochran. "We estimate we'll save up to 80% of the total burden involved. That's a massive jump in productivity and cost saving for the AEC industry."
The patent-pending GeoWalk™ feature highlights innovation in TurboSite. Many times GPS is not available, for example, indoors where a GPS satellite signal is blocked or in remote locations where there is no wifi or cellular signal. More significantly, the vast majority of CAD drawings are not geolocated, rendering the GPS information you may have ineffective.
GeoWalk, however, is anytime anywhere positioning. Using patent-pending SPS™ -- IMSI/Design's new Sensor Positioning System -- GeoWalk does not require GPS or geolocated documents to track progress in real-time through a job site.
"Like many of the other features in TurboSite, GeoWalk breaks new ground in positioning," commented Farros.
TurboSite includes:
Walk-thru Site and Floorplans Based on Calibrated Geolocation
- GeoWalk™ (patent pending): Anytime Anywhere positioning, even when GPS or A-GPS is not available or a document is not geolocated
- GPS: Full support for satellite GPS, A-GPS, WPS, etc.
- SPS™ (patent pending): Sensor Positioning System, uses built-in sensors, including accelerometers, gyros, and compass, to determine position and orientation
- GeoNudge™ (patent pending): Allows you to dramatically increase the positional accuracy by moving position indicator to exact location
Documenting Features
- GeoMark™ (patent pending): Intelligent markers and links that are auto-located and oriented
- Automatically creates a layer containing GeoMarks and markups so original file is protected and undisturbed
- Content types include:
-- Photos
-- Video
-- Audio/Dictation
-- Text
-- CAD drawing data
- GeoMark Manager allows you to create, name, edit, delete, view and organize content for optimal reporting
Mark-Up Features
-
Redmark tools: Markup 2D and 3D objects using:
-- Line
-- Circle
-- Rectangle
-- Revision cloud
-- Highlighter
-- Text
-- Rectangular text box and leader
-
Inquiry tools
-- Distance/Dimension
-- Angle
-- Perimeter
-- Area
- Layer Manager - Layer view manager to turn layers on/off, invert layers, turn all layers on/off
- Layout support - View model space and paper space layouts in your drawing
- Create screen shots of drawings and markups
Unique 3D Features
- Support for 3D PDF (U3D)
- Unique "always facing" text and dimensions that always face current view in 3D
- Arrow leaders snap to 3D objects, uniquely allowing them to lock and orbit in 3D correctly
Automatic Report Generation
- No more tedious compiling of gathered data, information can now be immediately viewed and shared using free TurboSite Reader
File Sharing, Interoperability, and Localization
-
File Management:
-- Create sub-folders
-- Cut/Copy/Paste/Rename files and folders
- TAP (TurboApps) file format consolidates disparate file types and assembles into a single, highly-portable file to ease distribution, sharing, and archiving
- Quickly email marked-up files
- Native support for DWG, DXF, DWF, PDF, 3D PDF (U3D), plus more than a dozen other popular AEC file formats including 2CD, 3DM, 3DS, ASAT, CGM, DCD, DGN, EPS, FCW, IGS, OBJ, PLT, SAT, SKP, STEP, STL, STP, TCW, and WRZ
- Support for 15 languages: Chinese (simplified), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish
"TurboSite is the first truly new AEC solution in a very long time," said Farros. "We hope it will be considered one of the top AEC innovations of 2012."
Availability and Pricing
TurboSite v1 for iPad has a limited time introductory price of $499 (regularly $999) and is available now. TurboSite Reader is free and is also available now. For more information, please visit www.TurboApps.com.
About IMSI/Design
IMSI/Design is a pioneer in mobile solutions for the AEC (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction) industry and the global leader in retail CAD (Computer Aided Design). With over 16 million products distributed since 1988, IMSI/Design products include the award-winning TurboCAD®, TurboViewer®, TurboReview®, and TurboFloorPlan™ families of precision design applications for mobile and desktop. Please visit www.IMSIdesign.com for more information.
The IMSI/Design logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15468
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15465
