SketchUp-Ruby Architectural Form Generation

Note: This article was originally posted in 6/2007. I am trying to get a status update in this project.

Update: Rafael has provided this reply:

While I initially used Sketchup for very-fast prototyping, I have since that last Sketchup post, ported most of my work to Autodesk's ObjectARX, and am currently working with AutoCAD and Dassault System's CATIA. There's a very high probability of a Sketchup port in the mid-term future as it's a very good platform, I will definitely keep you posted about that.

Rafael, a student of computer science and artificial intelligence at the University of Sussex, posted a series of images from his research project about form-generation and genetic algorithms.

The interesting thing is that he is porting his code to use SketchUp and Ruby. Unfortunately, there is no mention of any code to download, nor is there any mention of the terms of availability.

Links:

Blog Post
Research Project

Caligari trueSpace 7.6 released free

Perhaps a little off-topic, but interesting nonetheless, Caligari (which was recently acquired by Microsoft) has released today version 7.6 of it's 3d modeling application named trueSpace.

trueSpace is clearly an attempt by Microsoft to catch up to the Google SketchUp/Google Earth combination.

SketchUp .X Exporter

Just a link to another .X exporter. ZbylsXExporter

The first .x exporter I was aware of is Erwan's, and 3DRad exporter also has an option to export to .x.

The signifigance? It allows you to create models in SketchUp for use in Microsoft's DirectX-based XNA game development resources.

SketchUp Namesets

Chris Glasier is developing a new kind of navigation interface for SketchUp which he calls "namesets."

There is a discussion here, and Namesets has a site here (with videos.)

Beginners SketchUp Woodworking Series

LumberJocks member Betsy is learning to use SketchUp and sharing the experience via a series of blog articles.

http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Betsy/blog/series/925

Design Your Dwelling Competition

I'm a little late in posting this, but the contest is still open.

Dwell & Google SketchUp challenge you to explore what this means to you in the "Design Your Dwelling" design competition featuring Google SketchUp software.

http://www.dwell.com/services/contests/design_your_dwelling.html

SketchUp to Ogre Exporter

This is a Ruby based script for SketchUp which can export 3D scenes to the Ogre 3D rendering engine. It is released under the LGPL.

via: http://www.di.unito.it/~nunnarif/sketchup_ogre_export/

myVR Software AS Announces SketchUp Pro Support

The new and free myVR export plug-in for Google SketchUp Professional provides SketchUp
designers with a new and extremely efficient way of sharing their 3D models, while maintaining
their intellectual property.

http://www.myvr-software.com/main

PSA: YouTube Videos

I changed my YouTube account, so a few of the video I have posted may not work until I get everything updated.

LightUp Retail Version Available.

v1.2a of LightUp is now available for download as a time-limited free demo and also as full version.

LightUp

Export models to 3DS Max ASCII format

I found this at an Atari forum.

There's not much information about it, but you can download it here.

The plugin notes :

This script is written to export ASE for importing custom scenery into Atari's RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, so there are lots of features missing. (And other seemingly strange ones present :p)

Photomatch Videos Part 1 and 2

Here's a couple official videos from the "Techniques" series.





See all videos by SketchUpVideo (currentlty 72 videos)

Updated Construction Line Tool

1. Hitting the Ctrl key will toggle the creation of Construction Points at the line's end points.
2. Added ability to change length of the last drawn CLine using VCB.

Visit the CLineTool page for the latest download.

CutList v4.0 Released

CutList 4.0 was released "exclusively" over at the Lumberjocks site, but you can still download it.

Construction Line Tool Update

The tool now adds Construction points to the ends of the line for snapping.

See the Construction Line Tool page for information and downloads.

Show a Weld Using Textures

Here's a video from youtube user eGtry for using a sketchy texture to show a weld. video