Autodesk Inc. has acquired the technology assets of Larkspur, Colo.-based Get The Point LLC, which developed software to transfer information from Autodesk's design applications to robotic total stations and move CAD and BIM control points directly from design files to layout in the field.
The software is also bi-directional. It can bring points collected by total stations back to the design files for as-built accuracy verification. The deal was closed on Aug. 21.
"A lot of doors have been opened," says one approving GTP early adopter, Cody Taylor, regional director of virtual design and construction at Rogers-O'Brien Construction, Dallas. "If it becomes integrated within Revit or through an additional plug-in developed by Autodesk, with all the resources they have, it's going to be fine-tuned."
Taylor says GTP has saved him expensive rework by ensuring correct placement of critical elements, such as MEP sleeves, prior to slab casting. On one recent seven-floor project with about 1,000 sleeves per floor, "out of the entire job, we only missed four—which is unheard of. We couldn't have done it without it."
"It's a fantastic product," adds another user, Nick Kurth, virtual construction manager at PCL Construction's Denver, Colo., office. "GTP is getting uptake by subcontractors. There is a lot of value for QA/AC, but the self-performing GC seems to see it more than the ones that don't [self-perform]. We get our hands dirty. We are actually building stuff. It is very rooted in the way construction guys think. Quality is such a critical piece of us making money."
Not included in the deal is GTP's patented technology for modifying Sokkia total stations to improve stakeout.
GTP's product has been re-branded as Autodesk Point Layout. According to Mark Fritts, senior marketing manager for construction, it is sold as a stand-alone plug-in and available in English in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The suggested retail price in the US is $3,995 for a perpetual license, and it varies by country. Autodesk Subscription which provides technical support, software upgrades and other benefits is an additional $600 per year.
