Back in 2011 when Architosh published its well-regarded 2011 State of Apple in CAD/3D Industries — Special Series, “The iPad: How the CAD/3D industry is being changed,” Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk said:
“…fundamentally it’s about the creation of new work flows and new means of access to your information.”
Bass was partly touting his own iOS apps and in particular AutoCAD WS (now AutoCAD 360) but he could have been speaking quite prophetically about IMSI Design’s award-winning TurboSite for iPad.
TurboSite
TurboSite was a hot ticket item at this year’s AIA National Convention in Denver, Colorado. It was the co-winner of this year’s BEST OF SHOW honors in the mobile category. Part of what makes this app so appealing is that it exemplifies the newness of what is possible in workflow innovation due to the merging of software with new hardware capabilities. That hardware innovation belongs to Apple–with the iPad–but the praise for the app goes to IMSI for its imagination of refined and improved workflows and elegant software.
We are going to dig into the app and what it can do in a second but one final comment is that TurboSite Pro–much like the new BIMx Docs by Graphisoft–builds on some solid foundation in earlier apps–notably IMSI Design’s Turbo mobile lineup of CAD viewers. We have already noted in an earlier review of TurboViewer Pro 2.0, IMSI’s mobile CAD technology is fast.
Beyond a Viewer
TurboSite Pro may be built on the same technology as the TurboViewer series of iOS apps, but the program is so much more than just a mobile CAD or 3D file viewer. To get started we will first add a file to TurboSite Pro.
One of the things I wanted to do was test different DWG files. So I used my own files rather than those that come as demos for the program. TurboSite Pro had zero problem recognizing an AutoCAD (DWG) file directly from AutoCAD or from any of the exports coming out of numerous other competitor CAD programs. In other words, those that utilize DWG conversion libraries from the Open Design Alliance.
TurboSite Pro supports over 20 plus file formats, including native support for DWG, DXF, DWF, PDF and 3D PDF (U3D). Other formats are converted automatically utilizing an IMSI Design cloud-based conversion server. We ran that process several times when we reviewed TurboViewer Pro 2.0 and the process works very smoothly.
Some notable files you can bring into TurboSite and its family of sibling apps include Rhino, SketchUp, STEP, ACIS, OBJ and IGES.
GeoMarker
Before we talk about all the reviewing tools that are available in TurboSite Pro the highlight feature of this app should be discussed. This is its GeoMarker technology. Unique to this application is the ability to utilize the iPad’s various sensors and GPS hardware.
The GeoWalk™ and GeoMark™ tools help you set your location relative to your drawing in TurboSite Pro. The most import of these is the GeoMark feature. By locating GeoMarks on your drawing in TurboSite Pro you can attach images, audio and video taken at each GeoMark in addition to notes.
GeoWalk works by allowing TurboSite to track your position via the iPad’s hardware systems. You can either tap your iPad’s GPS or SPS (Sensor Positioning System) to have TurboSite Pro locate you. The SPS system is using your iPad’s accelerometers, gyroscopes and compass. Accuracy of these systems depends on calibration processes and the signal strength of your GPS. You cannot use both GPS and SPS at the same time but must choose one.
GPS works best outdoors where you have clear and strong signal strength–not the case for my testing. Therefore I turned on and calibrated via SPS. Calibration is one of the more tricky aspects of this program and will likely require trial and error. There is a GeoNudge feature that helps you refine your accuracy but the bottom line for us is that having TurboSite Pro follow you around on your drawing isn’t as nearly as important as you might think for many cases.
Cases where it would be valuable would be in the open site (field) where there exist little to no markers. Inside of a building you will likely have reference points (i.e.: rooms, walls, windows, doors) and simply dropping a GeoMarker is all that needs to be done to get the best use out of TurboSite Pro. This isn’t to dismiss GeoWalk, but mainly to paint a more realistic expectation of this technology, its accuracy and the challenges that may confront users when setting up to use these features.
Video, Audio and Photos
Creating audio, video and photos to accompany your notes on a plan in TurboSite Pro is what makes TurboSite Pro a very special application. The UI/UX of this process is direct and elegant. If you take an image that you don’t want to use you can replace it with another. Images and video can be saved to locations on your iPad. Using a GeoMark you can attach or associate with that GeoMark media in the form of images, audio or video as shown in the next image below (see image 01).
01 – Part of TurboSite’s strength is its ability to geolocate the user on a plan from which point geo-tagged video, photos and audio can be recorded and associated.
As you can see in the image 01 you also have the ability to attach notes. A notes popup window comes up as well as the keyboard from which you can type your notes out. As you geo-locate marks on your drawings in TurboSite Pro you may at times already have images from previous site visits or just images you took earlier in the day that you now want to attach to your GeoMark. This too is also possible. Before you can use existing photos on your iPad you will need to give TurboSite access permission in the general settings.
next page: Viewing and Markup and More….
Viewing and Markup
We have already mentioned that TurboSite Pro opens 20 plus popular CAD file formats. That’s in its favor. Now once you have the drawing you want to review you can access the built-in markup tools.
These consist of annotation tools and redline tools. There are also tools to help you take dimensions, including those done in 3D (see image 02).
With nearly each markup tool you implement you can alter items through the Properties palette, including line type, terminal end (e.g.: arrow type), and color. (see 04 below)
02 – 3D CAD files can also be annotated, including use of the dimension tools, as in this example.
03 – TurboSite Pro allows the user to fully control the visibility of layers, which can aid the process of ‘selective’ annotation and markup.
04 – The markup tools have numerous property customization options all accessed through the Property Inspector.
You can also change fill color, fill pattern and degree of transparency. With the Text properties palette you can turn on an innovative Face Me feature that makes text face the screen regardless of the orientation of the 2D or 3D data. (see image 05). A fixed size feature allows the text to scale which in many cases might be useful. The markup tools exist on the left side of the main window while the program functions exist on the right side.
The right side tool palette consists of the GeoMarks index, Layouts–and with AutoCAD files you get both model space and saved paper space views, Layers, Visual Styles, Screen Shot button, Exports, Team, and Save and Settings. (see image 03)
With the Export you have the option of exporting out the original DWG file, Markups only in DWG, TurboApps file (.TAP), a JPG screenshot, HTML zip bundle and a PDF report. (see image 05)
TurboSite Pro Reports
In our view the killer feature of this app may be its automated reports. These PDF reports bundle together all the GeoMarkers, their associated pictures, video, audio, and notes and combine them with other annotations throughout the file.
The default format for these reports is logical and covers things like date, time (which is attached to each element in the markup file), weather, project name, project location and the name of the individual doing the TurboSite Pro report.
Closing Comments
As a markup tool TurboSite Pro is a solid performer with just the right amount of markup tools options. The ability to use the translucent highlighter or to make translucent objects with a variety of colors gives you a large variety of control over many marks. Polys, circles and rectangles supplement text callouts which can be combined with various lines with varied arrows and ends.
What makes TurboSite Pro particularly strong is the combination of GeoMarks combined with excellent use of the built in iPad camera and sensors and GPS. And the ability to auto-generate field reports complete with images.
05 – Face Me is a feature that makes text annotations always face the screen no matter what the orientation is of the underlying 3D CAD data.
Despite the praise for this app, there are some areas for improvement. First and foremost the online help could be much stronger. TurboSite Pro is easy to figure out but if one is going to provide a manual it should be evenly complete. We did not see adequate instruction on several items. There is no information on the reports for example. We trust that the Geo features that are dependent on clear and strong signals for your GPS will only get better as hardware advances. IMSI has taken advantage of these as much as we can imagine them doing at this time and no other iOS app in existence that we are aware of has bested this company in this regard.
Another feature we would like to see is the ability to fix a 3D file view to a top view. In our work with a particular CAD file (see image 05) our 2D data was implemented as elements on a plane in space–a particular capability in a non-Autodesk app that can export out to native DWG format. As a result it was hard to handle this particular file. When navigating it would spin out or obit out of perfect x-y plane view.
A Word About Versions – New Info
As we were wrapping up this review IMSI Design announced and even presented at Autodesk University the very latest news on TurboSite branded products. (see our detailed news report) What is largely included in this update are some new features and pricing and availability options for the three levels of this product. Let us be clear. We have reviewed TurboSite Pro, the fullest version of the three levels of this product. The other versions reduce features and price.
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TurboSite Standard v2 is now a free app. TurboSite Plus and TurboSite Pro v2 are now apps that offer subscription plan options as well. TurboSite Plus is aimed at small and medium sized firms and features the same unlimited GeoMark™ features as the pro version. It cost 199.USD or starts at 9.99.USD per month via subscription. TurboSite Pro is aimed at medium and larger sized firms and includes enterprise capabilities like Adobe 3D PDF viewing and markup, plus real-time Apple FaceTime and Skype based conferencing for team collaboration. TurboSite Pro is 499.USD or 29.99.USD per month via subscription. There are annual discount rates as well for subscription. (read our news reports here).
Recommendations
From the point of view of automation and swiftness in the production of a “field report” TurboSite Pro is worth every penny. The new subscription offerings give architects and AEC professionals fine-grain control over the app’s utilization and the ability to try it out before adoption full time or before a full-scale firm-wide rollout. For users who in particular wish to attach video and audio notes to geo-locations on drawings TurboSite is nearly in a league by itself. Some users may wish the program had more predefined marker symbols for site reviews so that you can simply locate items you may wish to count, like electrical outlets or similar items–useful in surveying existing conditions of buildings that will get renovated or expanded upon. In time these features may get added.
For users who do not need the ability to work with 3D PDF files or need FaceTime or Skype conferencing built into an AEC plan review tool, TurboSite Plus will provide the core feature set you actually need. For those who do need conferencing these new abilities in TurboSite Pro will be a nice add. —- ANTHONY FRAUSTO-ROBLEDO AIA LEED AP
Pros: TurboSite Pro v2 offers superior coverage of a wide array of CAD file formats with its integrated cloud CAD conversion server. Once files are converted over into the native format they can be exported in “markup” form as DWG files–very useful to bring that markup data back into not just AutoCAD but all other CAD programs that can work with DWG import data. That means most of the industry. The program has solid and flexible markup tools; TurboSite Pro features innovative GeoMark features, works with sensors on iPad to help position you inside buildings on your plans.
Cons: We felt the TurboSite help documentation had missing or shallow information regarding certain features. We feel this needs to be addressed and that the help and tutorial documentation in general be improved upon. Luckily, the app is largely easy to learn without referring to a product manual. Additionally, while the markup tools are robust and flexible, a future addition of a library of standardized symbols would aid certain types of existing conditions reports of buildings and facilities useful in AEC, broadening the appeal of the app beyond the typical construction phase “field report” market.
Advice: For architects and other CA (construction administration) professionals the TurboSite lineup and Pro in particular offers a very strong toolset that can be put to use quickly and with little training efforts. The icing on the cake is the way the app generates and packages up the “field reports” process and provides numerous output options.
Cost: TurboSite Pro v2 is 499.USD for a full license but is also available for 29.95.USD per month for subscription. We mentioned the pricing of the other versions above.
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