BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3 - (Page 40)

CIVIL Step-by-step analysis HNTB has worked with the USACE for more than 40 years and now acts as an extension of the USACE-Huntsville staff, providing consulting, engineering, and technology support. The company’s Federal Services Group and Technology Incubation Center collaborated to deliver the cross-discipline functionality that makes TrueViz OnTarget effective. “When the software is loaded with data from a proposed military range’s terrain, targets, trails, and other factors, designers can optimize the range design by evaluating earthwork alternatives, performing line-of-sight analysis, and assisting master gunners in applying training requirements to the terrain,” said Juan Uribe, program manager, Training Facilities, HNTB. “The software allows for visual veriﬁcation and critical analysis of the range years before construction. This helps avoid costly adjustments and delays during construction and operations, providing our clients with better training facilities.” Bentley solutions and data formats were standard for both USACE and HNTB, so making Bentley software the foundation for this customized tool was a natural choice. The challenge was to develop a library of stanv HNTB’s TrueViz OnTarget for the planning and design of training ranges integrates CAD, GIS, database management, and 3D modeling dard range templates that can be used to rapidly create 3D models within the software environment. The 3D models become the starting point for design and facilitate the developing 25 to 30 ranges, each taking up to six years to complete. process of gaining stakeholder buy-in by verifying that the design The most complex sites are designed for aerial, armored, motorized, meets the training objectives. and/or dismounted exercises. A single range can cover as many as HNTB designed the TrueViz OnTarget software to enable accu6,000 acres, providing enough space for soldiers to learn how to rate visualization of the range design, which creates opportunities acquire, engage, and hit both stationary and moving targets at disto achieve signiﬁcant cost savings. Conducted at the 35 percent tances of up to 2,400 meters. and 95 percent design review points, the line-of-sight analysis can In the past, ensuring targets were unobstructed by landforms calculate alignments for up to half a million training proﬁles. This or vegetation required complex line-of-sight analyses, in which a analysis not only optimizes the range design and number of modeling program indicated whether or not each target could be engaged. It typically took several weeks to design the optimal ﬁring position-target objective alignments to fulﬁll the complex training requirements. In 2003, the USACE partnered with HNTB to develop proprietary software for the planning and design of training ranges. The result was an innovative software program called TrueViz OnTarget, which enables the review of hundreds of thousands of ﬁring position-to-target pairings. Built on the Bentley solutions platform, TrueViz OnTarget integrates CAD, GIS, database management, and 3D modeling to make the design process more efﬁcient. Using TrueViz OnTarget, line-of-sight analysis that had taken weeks to complete can now be run in less than ﬁve minutes. In a story published last year in the USACE Huntsville Center Bulletin (April 2006), Mark Fleming, program manager, Army Training v Line-of-sight analysis that had taken weeks to complete can now be run in less than ﬁve minutes Facilities Program Ofﬁce, U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, said, “Applying this tool saves time and reduces the cost of constructing military training ranges, reduces contact with unexrequired targets, but also eliminates line-of-sight issues during conploded ordnance, reduces environmental impact, and optimizes struction. The software also models ﬁring positions and targets laytraining by making it more realistic.” outs to verify optimal camera locations. to specialized facilities that simulate urban environments, the Huntsville, Alabama, facility manages about 15 million acres of training lands. Designing training ranges to safely support live-ﬁre combat maneuvers takes special expertise. At any given time, the USACE is 40 BE MAGAZINE | Volume 4, Issue 3

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3

Contents Rising to the Challenge News BE Newsletter Highlights More ITS Sightings Racing Concrete Canoes Lights, Camera, Action! Making the Cut People’s Choice Awards 2007 Executive Keynotes Building Clear Vision of a Dream Concrete Results Reaching New Heights Building News From Bentley Golden KIWI Awards 2007 Civil A Coordination of National Highway Proportions Training Troops Beautifying Highways, One Sign at a Time Civil News From Bentley Geospatial Facility Facelift Planning for Uncertainty Geospatial News From Bentley MicroStation at the Heart of LiDAR Surveying Solutions Plant Making the Grade Data Deja Vu Data Clouds Provide Clear Visual of Underground Saving Precious-Metal Mining Time Plant News From Bentley Advertisers Index Special/Academic The Art of Visualization Training Is Key To Delivering State-of-the-Art Solutions Bridging the Information/Infrastructure Gap

BE Magazine - Volume 4, Issue 3

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