http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/index.php Copyright 2012, Natan Elsberg Natan Elsberg en-US SPHPBLOG 0.4.8
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In the CAD industry as much as we believe that digital documents are the way of the future we still can't seem to wean ourselves from the use of paper for our day to day design tasks and presentation purposes. We should all be familiar with a little company named HP who seems to have the world-wide market cornered for large format CAD plotters and printers. And how many of you have passed by their exhibit booths at an event? All of us – right? And how does a vendor get people interested in his products? By demonstrating them of course with beautiful breath taking images printed with the best inks on the finest paper right? Do you think those folks really care what the subject matter is they are printing? Of course not – they just need to be printing pretty much during the whole event.

I finally figured this out a few months ago and have leveraged the position to my advantage – and I am sharing this tip with you so that you will take advantage of this next time you go to an event. Well if they don't really care what they are printing why not have them print something that is of value to you? At an event in Holland a few months back I fished out my memory stick and walked over to the HP guys with the best pics from our recent family vacations. I came home from that European trip with more than 5 full size posters of some of the best family pics, for absolutely nothing! It’s a win-win – they want to print and I happened to have some great subject matter. Yes, I still had to pay to have the posters mounted and framed but you would not believe how much excitement there was when Dad arrived home with such splendid images. May I suggest that the next time you attend a CAD conference that you load up your memory stick with the best of the best images and bring something home that the whole family can appreciate.

Photo: my daughter Gilad's first scuba experience


]]> http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/index.php?entry=entry080113-080804 Natan Elsberg Sun, 13 Jan 2008 13:08:04 GMT http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/comments.php?y=08&m=01&entry=entry080113-080804
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]]> http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/index.php?entry=entry080106-033103 Natan Elsberg Sun, 06 Jan 2008 08:31:03 GMT http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/comments.php?y=08&m=01&entry=entry080106-033103
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]]> http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/index.php?entry=entry071216-080202 Natan Elsberg Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:02:02 GMT http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/comments.php?y=07&m=12&entry=entry071216-080202
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After the first big accident some two years ago I decided to make a mock-up of an RDV scene to show how you can visualize the sight-distance problems associated with train/roadway at grade intersections: http://www.rdvsystems.com/samples/infra ... /index.htm

I as well took the time to go and visit with some of the leading rail engineers here in the country to better understand why the simple principles we apply to road design and sight distances doesn't apply to trains. While I have listened intently to their explanations of how a train can't possibly stop in time when sighting some type of hazardous situation on the rail in front of them - I still don't get it. Shouldn't the driver of a train have some sort of ability to see what is going on and be able to make a decision to stop the train safely (without hurting or killing people) if the unexpected happens? As many of you know I am also deeply involved in aviation, and I can't think of a similar type of situation where passenger safety is left to sheer luck as it seems to be in the local rail industry.

I went to the rail authority as well and talked with them about how visual analysis may in fact help them better plan for these types of situations. In fact there was some agreement on that matter and we even put together for them a simulation for an experimental system that they are working on which can detect intrusions at at-grade crossings and send a signal down the line far enough in advance for the driver to stop safely before the crash:
http://www.rdvsystems.com/samples/infra ... /index.htm

As well, as a result we are actually doing many more projects for the Israel Rail Authority helping them visualize new proposed rail corridors and long term projects, the results of one such project you can view here:
http://www.rdvsystems.com/samples/infra ... /index.htm

While I am happy that our solutions are in fact being used by the rail authority,(hey who doesn't want to sell their professional services), I am still bothered by the fact that decision makers still aren't able to see the benefits of 3D visualization, not just to make an effective presentation but to actually use the virtual models as safety planning tools to improve design and operational standards of transportation systems. I know they are going in the right direction, but it just kills me every time I hear another report of an accident that we could have predicted and possibly avoided or planned for in a better manner were we to use visualization tools more effectively.
]]> http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/index.php?entry=entry070604-162552 Natan Elsberg Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:25:52 GMT http://www.rdvsystems.com/natan_blog/comments.php?y=07&m=06&entry=entry070604-162552