Issue Nr. 7
Apr 29th 2002
Contents:
This really was about time, wasn't it?
The Raydirect plug-in for Rayfront is finally available for
pre-ordering. Raydirect allows the integration of profile based
daylight redirection systems into simulations with Rayfront. This is
the first time that such systems can be evaluated and compared under
realistic conditions without building a full-scale mockup space.
Using the plug-in is almost trivial, all the complexity of the
underlying computations are hidden behind a simple selection of the
type of system you want to simulate. The software has been thoroughly
beta tested in selected offices around the world, and was found to
work in an easy and reliable way.
I am currently setting up the physical production, such as printing
the CD-ROMs, and shipping will start in the first week of May 2002.
Until then, there's a special pre-order price available. If you want
to save money on the most advanced daylighting software currently
available, don't hesitate to take advantage of this offer!
More information about Raydirect can be found here:
As I have already announced some time ago, I have entered a
collaboration with ALware,
a german software company developing
3Dsolar, a geometry modeller for Radiance. 3Dsolar is not so much a
traditional CAD program as it is a tool for creating "building
models". It is intended for use very early in the design process, in a
stage where the use of a traditional CAD package would be difficult or
even counterproductive. This program can be thought of as a sketching
tool, that allows to model a building in an extremely simple way,
while still offering enough flexibility so that the relevant parts can
be included right away, and will show their effects in the
simulations.
The software follows a fully parametric design paradigm. This means
that you can start with the outline (the "bounding box") of your
building, divide that into the floor levels, and then place rooms
within each level for daylight analysis. If you later decide that your
building should be a meter or two taller, just say so and all the
subordinate elements will adapt to the new dimensions. This may sound
too easy, but it is really surprising to see those very well though
out functions in action, and to recognize how well they are adapted to
the practical design process.
To anyone interested in this, I highly recommend to try the free demo,
so you can see for yourself how simple it is. If you have any
experience with other CAD software, then you will have to start with
forgetting a lot of what you already know. But once you get into the
new approach, you'll soon become a fan of parametric modelling too.
Since 3Dsolar and Rayfront work so well together, we are offering a
bundle with both programs for a special price. This may well be
another offer you can't refuse!
More information about 3Dsolar can be found here:
I have entered a collaboration with a company in Austria, with the
goal of developing an online version of Rayfront. At first, this will
be a service primarily for visualization, but since it's ultimately
based on Radiance, it will offer the full computational accuracy for
use in lighting simulations as well. The service will consist of a
stripped down version of Rayfront running on the server, and a
frontend in Macromedia Flash, that can be operated in any web browser.
It will be possible to upload DXF files to the server, to set up all
simulation parameters completely online, and then the server will run
the actual jobs. I will keep you informed when the project arrives
at the stage of public beta testing.
There are still several months of work ahead of the final release, but
a first prototype is already running successfully. There's annother
positive side effect of this project, in that many of the changes I
now have to make to the Rayfront core will later benefit the upcoming
Rayfront version 1.1. The necessity to completely seperate the actual
functionality from the user interface is a driving force to establish
a very clear structure of how the different parts of the software work
together. Such an improved architecture will make adding new features
much easier later on.
Rayfront Update to 1.0.4
In a few days, the installer for the update to version 1.0.4 of
Rayfront will be available. This update fixes a hand full of bugs that
have been found during the last few months. Note that the Raydirect
install already includes all the changes due for this update.
Web Site Redesign
Those looking at the pages for Raydirect will notice that their layout
is different from the rest of the site. This is the first hint at the
impending relaunch of www.schorsch.com. The current design, while
earning many compliments for its stringent and uncrowded appearance,
has been catching dust lately. The new design will be more compact,
and it will offer more navigational links in a left hand column, where
most web users have grown to expect them nowadays. In a way, the site
will become more "conventional", but I hope to improve the useability
at the same time, so that my visitors will have an easier time to find
what they're looking for without much searching. Another goal is also
to make it validate for XHTML 1.0 with style sheets, which cuts down
on the amount of HTML code required, while making sure that it will
display correctly on all modern browsers. The update of the full site
is planned within the next two months.
Issue 08 (2002 Sep. 9.)
Issue 07 (2002 Apr. 29.)
Issue 06 (2001 Jul. 10.)
Issue 05 (2001 Feb. 20.)
Issue 04 (2000 Dec. 5.)
Issue 03 (2000 Aug. 31.)
Issue 02 (2000 May 15.)
Issue 01 (2000 Mar. 19.)
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