February 2017

46 BUILD / February 2017 , Geospatial Hydraulic Modeling with CivilGEO Chris Maeder, Engineering Director at CivilGEO, talks to us at Build about the firm, its offerings and what the future holds. CivilGEO software needs to be ambitious. The civil engineering community and the issues associated with today’s complex water infrastructure demand it. CivilGEO’s mission is to offer state of the art software that combines world-class hydraulic modeling capabilities with superior geospatial referencing capabilities. GeoHECRAS brings together into one application the work of several separate “silos” or disciplines. A civil engineer is able to eliminate multiple steps by integrating external data sets directly into the model. Our software stream-lines many of the rote, labor-intensive aspects of modern civil engineering work while generating more accurate and ultimately more useful hydraulic models. GeoHECRAS is an AutoCAD, Bentley MicroStation and ESRI ArcGIS compatible interactive 2D/3D graphical user interface data wrapper to U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s HEC- RAS software. GeoHECRAS addresses the main issues an engineer typically encounters by: 1.) speeding up the HEC-RAS model creation process; and 2.) incorporating multiple layers of geospatial information into the HEC-RAS model. No other software presently on the market offers this capability. GeoHECRAS is platform- independent and has the capability to draw from multiple data sets as it creates a model. Our software is directly tied into the cloud computing data centers of NASA, USGS, EPA, FEMA and others and uses these vast storehouses of mapping information. For example, GeoHECRAS can instantly retrieve high-resolution digital elevation terrain data from anywhere in the world for use in a HEC-RAS flood study. Similarly, watershed drainage areas are nearly instantly delineated using a cloud computing server cluster, which use a parallelized algorithm to allow larger and more complex problems to be handled. All of this performance allows the engineer to see things in real- time, making him much more productive and allowing the engineer to view and experiment with a variety of project scenarios. Many firms offer generic solutions to address a client’s needs. CivilGEO takes a distinctly non-generic approach to customers. At the very beginning of a client relationship, CivilGEO’s support team will often use the client’s own data as it builds a model and demonstrates GeoHECRAS’s features to the client. We want to be sure that GeoHECRAS brings real value to a client and that the software does not merely sit on the shelf. We want to know that GeoHECRAS will help the client with present projects and future ones as well. It is common for CivilGEO to engage in what some have called “software development on demand.” If a client makes the case for a feature that CivilGEO believes will have long-term value, we will implement the new capability as soon as possible, sometimes within 24 hours of the request. This shows our level of commitment to our clients and is a good example of how seriously we consider our responsibility to provide outstanding technical support. We consider our clients an extension of our team here at CivilGEO. We strive to develop software that meets our clients’ needs and our clients, in turn, function as our sounding board. Engineers are quick to point out which features within the software need to be revised or reworked and we are quick to pay attention. In this regard, we have a truly collaborative relationship and this keeps innovation at the forefront of what we do. Virtual reality technology represents the next frontier for civil engineering software. CivilGEO has combined virtual reality technology with HEC- RAS to give the engineer the ability to perform flood modelling, design bridge replacements, analyze dam failures, and create stream realignments within a virtual reality 3D visualization framework. As multiple data sets are pulled into the model, the engineer can easily switch from 2D to 3D viewing perspectives to examine the data. GeoHECRAS allows the user to interact with the HEC-RAS model, visualize the terrain, cross-sections, roadway crossings, levees and other structures, all in a high resolution 2D virtual reality. Future trends point to greater automation of the engineering process. Much like designing a “self-driving car,” we ask how we can make our software even more automated and intuitive. How can we design the software to free up even more of the engineer’s valuable time? In its present form, GeoHECRAS works like a “data-wrapper” for many different file types such as CAD and ArcGIS files. But, in the future, we see this software as even more powerful and intuitive. It will have the capability to extract key information from and work with an even greater variety of raw data whether it is CAD-based, GIS-based, LIDAR, simple survey shots or aerial maps. The software will analyze the file and get the information it needs to automatically and intelligently build the hydraulic model with minimal data manipulation and minimal burden on the user. The engineer has only conceptual challenges as the software works in the background, managing raw data, rote tasks and critical details. The software will learn from the engineer and will develop predictive powers. This form of “teamwork” between engineer and software engine is our ideal. With ease and learned intelligence and minimal input or data manipulation by the engineer, the software will generate multiple hydraulic analyses for a variety of scenarios, using the computational power of the cloud as necessary. This capability will increase the engineer’s productivity ten-fold. We have always been ambitious at CivilGEO and the future projects more of the same. Our mission has always been to create the best tool possible for the engineering community and this goal will continue to motivate us in the years ahead. 1702BU06