SAN RAFAEL, CALIF. — The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) selected AutoCAD Civil 3D for road and highway design projects statewide. The contract is over a five year period and includes access to Autodesk’s AutoCAD Civil 3D software, training, and services. 

 REDLANDS, CALIF. — Microsoft selected Esri to participate in the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) Alliance Partner program. Esri’s flagship ArcGIS software will be demonstrated in MTC Envisioning Centers worldwide as part of the Strategy Briefing offering. The geographic information system (GIS) tools will also be available to Microsoft prospects and customers to use during Proof of Concepts workshops.

SALEM, ORE. — For every $1 invested in the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) nine information technology systems on the Oregon Transportation Investment Act III State Bridge Delivery Program, $2.10 was returned in benefits — making the agency’s return on investment, in terms of costs avoided, more than double.

EXTON, PA. — Bentley Systems Inc. released its NCS Workspace for Civil, which enables designers to incorporate the United States National CAD Standard (NCS) in Bentley’s InRoads and GEOPAK 3D civil engineering design software. The workspace allows users to establish integrated standards to accommodate corporate, discipline, project, client, and user needs and preferences. According to Bentley, this capability eases standards compliance, streamlines data exchange, and lowers costs throughout the civil project lifecycle.

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — Firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting arena appear to be investing in design process-enabling technologies that will help them face the competition and take their offerings to the next level. According to a recent online survey held by ZweigWhite’s weekly management publication The Zweig Letter, 37.5 percent of respondents said their firms are primarily investing or have primarily invested recently in technologies such as 3D design software.

DUBUQUE, IOWA — Eagle Point Software Corporation announced the next generation of its Pinnacle Series solution. This revolutionary technology presents multiple implementation, training, and support resources in a single, concise user interface. By replacing the disparate systems that organizations currently use to teach, implement, and support Autodesk technologies, people can efficiently use software the way it was intended and effectively get their work done.

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The benefits of project information management (PIM) recently were highlighted in two presentations at the AEC Technology Strategies 2011 Conference, held June 9-10 in La Jolla, Calif.The benefits of project information management (PIM) recently were highlighted in two presentations at the AEC Technology Strategies 2011 Conference, held June 9-10 in La Jolla, Calif.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – BLUERIDGE Analytics added a Topo Import module to its web-based software, SITEOPS, that it says allows users to jumpstart the conceptual phase of site design, revolutionizing the speed and ease with which civil engineers, architects, and land developers are able to acquire integral and accurate data. As an add-on module, Topo Import is fully integrated with SITEOPS, conceptual site planning software that allows users to create and analyze multiple layouts, grading plans, and preliminary budgets to save time and money in the land development process.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Motion Computing began shipping its first small form factor, rugged tablet PC. The Motion CL900 features a 10.1-inch display that enables both touch and stylus input, Intel Atom Processor Z670 Series and Windows 7. According to the company, the CL900 allows users to communicate continuously as well as analyze, report, and act on data findings, all while in the field.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — As of June 2, 2011, Autodesk began shipping its Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2012, joining Autodesk Building Design Suite 2012 as the company’s second new suite for the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. The Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2012 combines tools needed to plan, design, build, and manage infrastructure, offered as a single purchase. The suite extends familiar AutoCAD workflows by adding the power of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for infrastructure including model-based design, analysis, visualization, and simulation.