LAS VEGAS, Nov. 28 -- Autodesk, Inc., the leader in cloud-based design and engineering software, and Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc., a global leader in precision positioning solutions, today announced they have signed a letter of intent under which both companies will collaborate to allow products within Autodesk’s leading design and construction software portfolio for Building Information Modeling (BIM) to more efficiently interact with Topcon’s on-site field positioning hardware. This collaboration is designed to allow building and civil infrastructure construction customers to form a tighter, more seamless workflow that will increase on-site worker productivity, enhance field safety, and improve quality control.

“We have worked with Topcon for a long time as a development partner and see tremendous synergies between our software offerings and Topcon’s leading positioning hardware,” said Nicolas Mangon, senior director, AEC strategy and marketing, Autodesk. “This past year, Autodesk has invested in delivering design data to the point of construction via Autodesk BIM 360 cloud services and mobile applications. Working with Topcon now allows us to take the next step and leverage this data to more seamlessly drive the placement of work—greatly facilitating the installation process of a construction project.”

“We are pleased to work with Autodesk, a leading provider and innovator of software solutions for BIM,” said Ewout Korpershoek, senior vice president product management and marketing at Topcon. ”It is our mission to provide our customers with state of the art positioning solutions, that allow for the highest efficiency data collection, data management and layout. Through our collaboration with Autodesk, we will be able to better streamline the data flow between design and execution via a seamless connection between the office and site, providing a higher degree of accuracy and productivity.”

Timeline

Initially, the companies intend to work together to provide greater interoperability between certain aspects of their services and solutions to design and construction professionals. The initial phase will focus on API-level integration between Autodesk’s AutoCAD WS product and Topcon’s systems, with further exploration of potential combined offerings both on the desktop with Autodesk’s design solutions (such as AutoCAD, Revit, and Navisworks) and in the cloud with Autodesk’s BIM 360 offerings, including BIM 360 Glue and BIM 360 Field. These solutions are intended to directly connect and drive Topcon field positioning hardware for installation layout tasks, as well as for “as built” data collection and documentation.

Over time, Autodesk and Topcon intend to work together to develop more tightly integrated solutions that will allow for optimized, more seamless connections between office, web and mobile workers, between virtual and real worlds.

About Autodesk University

Now in its 20th year, Autodesk University is the annual series of Autodesk in-person and virtual user conferences, which include the flagship Autodesk University event in Las Vegas, as well as international events including Autodesk University Japan, Brazil, Russia, Germany and China. Associated online content is available through Autodesk University Virtual. The 2012 events will bring together over 70,000 designers, engineers, architects and digital artists to Learn, Connect and Explore. More information is available at the Autodesk Universityweb site.

About Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.

Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. designs and manufactures precise positioning products and solutions for the global surveying, construction, agriculture, civil engineering, mapping and GIS, asset management and mobile control markets. Its parent company, Topcon Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange – 7732), was founded in 1932.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries-- including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects-- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

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Source: Autodesk