3D Animation Applications in Highway Design

Traditionally, highway engineers use pencil and ruler to lay out lines and curves over contour maps for highway geometry design. Numerous calculations of stopping sight distance, minimum turning radius, and curve alignments are required during the design process to ensure safety, to minimize economic and environmental impact, and to reduce construction costs. Engineers usually perform iterative computations manually during the design process to meet design criteria and environmental constraints. The traditional process of highway geometry design is cumbersome and time consuming. The traditional approach limits engineers from taking a broader perspective in the overall highway geometry design process. Current method of three dimensional (3D) has nothing to do with highway design process. CARD/1 was developed to enhance the learning experience for highway engineers. This tool allows engineers to design the highway efficiently and to modify the design easily. A 3D highway geometry model can be generated by the software at final design to allow engineers to place themselves in the driver’s seat and maneuver through the designed highway at maximum design speed. Some key technologies of highway design with 3D-animaion based on CARD/1 was discussed in this paper.