3D simulation of driving on highway with several speeds of car

[livra_depp]

Hi guys,

 

I posted this @ AutoCAD general section, and seems that my problems are much related to 3D modelling and rendering.

 

I'm really anxious and lost in this field, however, finding this forum is so amazing. The deadline is coming , my major is environmental so I'm a noob in using AutoCAD or AutoDesk civil

 

A brief information about my project ( or my nightmare )

- About safety when driving in highway ( transportation )

- The prof gave me several pdf files, which are the top views and the cross sections, so I can see different layers with different thickness. The pavements contain lots of sign boards, trees, lights ...

Requirements:( temporary )

1/ Form 3D scenery of the highway with sign boards, trees, lights ...

 

2/ Render: the driver will input ( = key in? ) a certain speed, then the program will run the 3D animation as if he were driving on the road. Different speed values will give different rendering time, so the driver can estimate how dangerous it is when driving so fast.

 

My questions ( I read books and still have no idea where to start )

1/ I choose Autodesk Civil 3D 2008, is it the suitable software for my project? another friend suggests Autodesk for Architecture, I read and get confused so 1st help please tell me which program to use? Thanks a million

 

2/ What is the main steps to build 3D scenery from all 2D views? I use 1 software to convert all pdf files into dwg files. How to combine the cross section into the rest?

 

3/ About rendering, how can we adjust the time? or can we directly adjust the speed of rendering? to make it like a textbox for users to key in speed of car, I must learn VBA in Autodesk civil ? Since I only need a simple program, can you tell me which part I should learn in VBA?

 

I'm desperate, this interim presentation will be 5 days later

Please help me, I just want to know which functions to use, which part I should learn. I'm lost, and time is not enough for me to learn everything ( sorry for the last minutes rush, before that I thought I could do it well on my own:( ) and my major is Environmental, not this part

 

I appreciate any response, please:)

Thanks a million times,

Livra

[mugshot]

... one only suggestion... all 3d works-do it ic civil 3d/autocad or any generating program... animation... 3ds max or equivalent.

[shift1313]

wow that is quite the task you have. Making a 3d scene from a 2d drawing is no easy task. With little to no cad experience i believe this will be time consuming for you. Typically these programs arent geared towards what you are trying. I havent used civil but i know inventor does animations and i believe 08-09cad will do them(07too) but i do not believe that is what you are looking for. Probably 3dstudio would be more geared towards your project.

 

As for the animation speed i think you should create your scene, render it, then use some external video software to change the playback frame rate. I think some of the preloaded microsoft video stuff will do this. Worse case scenario you can use MS Access and when the user inputs in a speed you open a file that has already been created.

 

depending on the computer you are using, rendering a scene, let alone a video may take some time.

 

i work in transportation research and honestly i would take video of driving a car and play it back at different speeds, would be easier:)

 

what kind of a time line do you have on this project?