FORUM8 Design Festival 2013-3Days (in Commemoration of the Head Office Relocation) 
Date: September 18-20, 2013
Venue: Shinagawa Intercity Hall / Conference rooms (Day2&3)
(Up&Coming Fall Issue)

Evolving VR-related Technologies and Their Applications Support Advanced CIM
A variety of Latest Cases in Geotechnical, Civil Engineering, Structures, and Architecture Fields

We FORUM8 held "FORUM8 Design Festival 2013-3Days" for three days from September 18-20, 2013.
Ahead of this, we moved the Tokyo head office into Shinagawa Intercity, Minato city on July 16. The head office and the satellite development office that had been located separately within Meguro city were integrated, with a seminar room and exhibition spaces extended.

Thus the Design Festival of this year has set a subtitle of "in Commemoration of the Head Office Relocation". It was mainly operated in the seminar room at the new head office (21F, Building A, Shinagawa Intercity) for Day1, and the Shinagawa Inter City Hall and the conference rooms (B1) for Day2&3.

Originally multiple events had been held separately. In 2009, they were reorganized into "FORUM8 Design Festival", which has been held in the autumn every year, for three days. This time the Festival was organized based on three events: "The 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud Conference," "The 14th UC-win/Road Conference," and "The 7th Design Conference," along with related exhibitions and training seminars enhanced.


New Approaches and Proposals Presented in Sessions on Diverse Topics

On Day1 of the Design Festival were held the final judgment of "The 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud Conference" and the "UC-win/Road expert training seminar".

In the former, 12 works had been nominated in advance out of the entries. Using VR-CloudŽ, the nominated works were then opened to public for general vote. On the Day1, prizes were determined by totaling the results from judgment by the members of a selection committee and the general vote. The latter was held in parallel with the Design Festival as the final day of two-day seminars starting from the previous day. 

Sessions to compose the Design Festival were held from the next day in the Hall and the conference rooms on B1F of Shinagawa Intercity. 

In the morning of Day 2, announcement of prizes and prize-giving ceremony for "The 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud Conference" were held in the Shinagawa Intercity Hall. In the afternoon, sessions were held in three rooms. "VR Conference" was held in the hall, comprising the general sessions and driving simulation sessions for the 14th UC-win/Road Conference.  <Geotechnical Sessions> of the 7th Design Conference were held in No.1 and 2 conference rooms, and <Seismic and disaster-preventing Sessions> in No.3 conference room respectively.

After all the sessions were over in each venue, the network party was held in commemoration of the head office relocation and publications of "The new edition of "Introduction to ground FEM analysis" at Foyer in front of the Hall.

In the morning of the last day of the Design Festival (Day3), <Design Analysis sessions> of the 7th Design Conference were held in the Shinagawa Intercity Hall continued from the previous day. In the afternoon, <Civil engineering & CIM Sessions> and <BIM sessions> were held in the Hall and No.1& 2 conference rooms respectively. In the No.3 conference room, Support Corner was set for "Students BIM&VR Design Contest on Cloud (VDWC)" and  "Students Cloud Programming World Cup (CPWC)", entitled <VDWC/CPWC Sessions>. Posters and the awarded works in the past were also exhibited.

Furthermore, through Day2 and 3, our latest products and services including simulators were arranged at the exhibition corners at Foyer and FORUM8 office for many visitors to try.

Contents of each event and session are followed.

Greetings by Yuji Ito, FORUM8 CEOExhibition in the Tokyo Head Office


     Day 1 The 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud

A Variety of VR Applications Have Made Steady Evolutions

Day1 of the Design Festival on September 18 saw the final judgment of "The 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud." This was established when UC-win/Road was awarded with "Software Product Of The Year" prize in 2002. Since then, a variety of its applications have made steady evolutions as the related technologies develop and spread.

In the contest this year, 12 works were nominated out of the entries through the preliminary selection (September 4). These works were opened to public using VR-CloudŽ for general vote allowing users to participate broadly (from September 7 to 17).

On the other hand, just as the previous time, FORUM8 appointed three judges: Mr. Fumio Seki  (Nihon University), Mr. Hiroo Kasagi (NPO Workshop for Sustainable Community), and Mr. Tatsuoki Inagaki (Pave & Road How-to Way Technology Association). After the preliminary selection mentioned before, the final judgment on Day1 determined awarded works by totaling the ranking points weighted 70% of the general vote and 30% of our selection committee. The announcement of the results and award-giving ceremony was held on Day2 on September 19.

The award winners and works of "The 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud" are as follows:

Preliminary selection for nomination
by judges
Announcement of nominated works
(From the left: Messrs Satoru Machida,
Hiroo Kasagi, Tatsuoki Inagaki,
and Fumio Seki)

The awarded works of the 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud

"VR Traffic Regulation Simulation for Night Construction Works"
The Planning and Research Department, Iwasaki Co., Ltd.
In executing the bridge repair construction work at the Tokachi Ohashi Bridge in Hokkaido, the traffic regulation plan around the intersection was simulated based on the regulation drawings and field survey. Visualizing the regulation plan with VR, it was made possible to examine the visibility at night or in winter or work procedures, and to grasp problems in verifying traffic flows etc. in advance. The outcome was presented at "Lectures on CIM (Sapporo)" organized by Japan Society of Civil Engineering as an example of using CIM during construction.

The Planning and Research Department,
Iwasaki Co., Ltd.
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"Driver Training and Driving Diagnosis System of PCC (Pure Car Carrier) Simulator"
Qube Ports and Bulk
In order to train drivers who unload vehicles from the Pure Car Carrier and park them at a quay, VR data containing PCC and a quay was created. While encountering risky events under different daylight and weather conditions controlled by the trainer, the driver unloads vehicles from the ship and parks them at the quay. After finishing driving, a diagnosis for driving and parking skill is output.

QUBE Ports and Bulk
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"VR Simulation Using the Result of Tsunami and Evacuation Analysis"
Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd.
In the consulting process of countermeasure against tsunami, integrated results are derived from tsunami analysis results in consideration of movement of dynamic wave motion and the evacuation analysis result of simulating vehicle traffic in an emergency with a micro model. By visualizing these results within the same VR space and evaluating them, it allows users to get much larger effect than the conventional consulting method.

Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd.
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"Intelligent Seat VR Simulator"
TS TECH Co., Ltd.
This is a simulator for trying "Intelligent Seat", having "the side support function" to hold the body movement when driving around the corner, "the adjustable seatback seating face function" to support the shoulder movement when operating the steering wheel, and "the pre-crash safety function" to improve performance of holding occupants at the time of crash.

TS TECH Co., Ltd.
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"VR Data for Osaka Underground Streets"
Graduating School of Osaka University
This is the data that models above and under ground about 300m in every direction on the south side of JR Osaka Station. By representing buildings and underground streets accurately and simulating behaviors of vehicles and people, it is assumed to apply to studies on optimization of the future society with ICT, such as vehicle signal control and analysis of crowd behavior in an underground arcade, verification of evacuation guidance in emergency or the effect of guiding flow of people with signage.

Graduating School of Osaka University
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  Design Prize
  Mr. Fumio Seki (Nihon University)
"Utilization of VR Simulation in the New-Type Road Structure"
Seoul University
"2+1" is a new form of road that is capable of cost saving compared with construction of a 4-lane road by incorporating a common passing lane between up and down lanes of a 2-lane road. Aiming at introducing it into Korea, construction of a model road is now being planned. In order to understand its safeness in advance, a road of about 13km was created with VR. An experiment was conducted using a drive simulator. The driver's conditions and behavior in the passing section are analyzed and judged.

Seoul University
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  Community Development Prize
  Mr. Hiroo Kasagi (NPO Chiiki Zukuri Kobo)
"City Planning Road VR Simulation"
Sozogijutsu Co., Ltd.
This is a project to connect two city planning roads located in the east and west. Since it will also serve as a school-commuting road, it is planned to construct a sidewalk and cycling way aiming to secure safety. In addition, 3D VR was created that reflects plans such as a viaduct and sidewalk box in order to verify trafficability of the local residents. It is also considered to use this in the community hearing.

Sozogijutsu Co., Ltd.
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  Engineering prize
  Mr. Tatsuoki Inagaki (Pave & Road How-To Way Technology Association)
"Proposal of a Construction Method in the Railroad Beam Single Rail Section"
Noda Engineering Co., Ltd.
In constructing a railroad beam, it often happens that the place for the single rail section is very narrow. Construction using a crane etc. at a station platform or in a mountainous area tends to be accompanied with a problem of securing a proper site. In the recent years in addition, there are some cases that a bridge is washed away due to local severe rain etc. Therefore, construction methods that make it possible to construct in such a location are expressed with VR.

Noda Engineering Co., Ltd.
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  "Investigation of Actual Condition of Traffic Safety"
  Korea Transportation Safety Authority(TS)
The Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korean Transportation Safety Authority investigates the actual road and traffic condition on the nation's roads and highways every year to evaluate their safety. Areas that fall below the country's Traffic Safety Index and Traffic Safety Culture Index require improvement. To propose the solution plan with new road alighment and road facilities for these areas, the current condition and the proposed plan was reproduced as VR environment using UC-win/Road, and included them within documents to be submitted for approval.  

  "Improvement of Business Efficiency Using VR in Safety Measures for Narita Smart IC and Promotion of Its Use"
  Oriental Consultants Co., Ltd.
VR model of the Narita Smart Interchange, which was built to mitigate traffic congestion, was created during off-hours as means of decreasing traffic accidents in the interchange and encouraging more drivers to take it, consequently streamlining all types of business related to the interchange. In particular, this virtual environment was designed for use with driving simulation scenarios to test different sign design and the visibilty of signs for safety measures. The driving simulator was showcased in a local festival in the city of Narita where it drew a big crowd and encouraged more public activities and also contributed to questionaries being filled out by more people. Further developments are planned. 

  "3D VR Training Environment for Automobile Drivers"
  Virtual Simulation and Training Inc.(VSAT)
VSAT's 3D VR Training Environment built using UC-win/Road is situated on a 16 square mile land comprised of highways with on/off ramps, city streets, intersections, railway crossings, Driving Agility Cone Courses, etc. and hosts various driving hazards and training scenarios designed to enable students to experience common driving situations and hazards, while guided by their instructor that control environmental conditions and scenarios using the Simulator Control Station, developed using the SDK, from a separate screen. Simulator Control Station also tracks the scenario progress and the position of the driven vehicle using an overhead view of the land area used. In a Driving Agility Cone Course that also serves as training environment for Emergency Vehicle drivers, the Control Station keeps track of how many cones were touched, and how many were knocked down by the driver to evaluate their maneuvering skills. VSAT's 3D VR Training Environment is indeed the most effective driver training system, as students can use the driving simulator "full screen" that provide peripherial vision while the instructor controls weather, time of day, visibility (fog and haze), road conditions, and viewing distance from the Simulator Control Station, without students being able to predict the next driving environment and scenarios. The instructor can also control traffic density in each of the major training areas, the city, the highway, and the Interstate Freeway.

  "VR Simulator for Evaluating Dangerous Scenes in the Field of In-vehicle ADAS"
  Hagiwara Electric Co., Ltd.
VR simulator, an excellent tool for reproducing various driving environments, was used for dangerous scene assessment in the disicpline of in-vehicle ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System). The ADAS device was interfaced with the VR simulator to be used for the assessment, which consequently helped build the kind of development environment that allows all the advantages of VR technology to be exploit. 

Press Releases on the recap of the Awards Ceremony for The 12th 3D VR Simulation Contest on Cloud have been released through the following medias.
  • Visual Communications Newspaper: Iwasaki CO., LTD. wins the Grand Prix in the 3D VR Simulation Contest (Oct. 14, 2013 issue)
  • Construction IT World (Official website of Ryota Ieiri): Grand Prix goes to Iwasaki CO., LTD.! FORUM8 releases the award winning works of the 3D VR Contest (Sep. 26, 2013)
  • Iwasaki CO., LTD.: Iwasaki CO., LTD. wins the Grand Prix in The 12th 3D VR Simulation Contest on Cloud (Oct. 10, 2013)
  • Yahoo News: Road construction has come this far! Construction site in a snowstorm and trailer accidents can now be verified via Driving Simulator (Sep. 28, 2013)



   Day 2 (Sep. 19) The 12nd 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud Award Ceremony

Possibilities Expanding Through Evolution of ICT and Collaboration of 3D VR Technologies
New Uses of Driving Simulators

Day2 of the Design Festival started in the main hall out of all the three venues at Shinagawa Intercity Hall and conference rooms (1&2 and 3). Following the opening lecture of the "VR Conference", the 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud Award Ceremony took place with announcement of awards in the morning. In the afternoon, <General Sessions> and <Driving Simulation Sessions> for the 14th UC-win/Road Conference were held.

Seeing the 13th this year, "UC-win/Road Conference" started in 2000, following the release of "UC-win/Road." Since then, it has been taking place annually. In the mean time, it came to serve also as "VR-Studio(R) conference" since the release of "VR-Studio(R)" in 2009.

The nominated for the 12th 3DVR
Simulation Contest on Cloud
Shinagawa Intercity Hall

Progress of CG-related Technologies, Future Uses of AR to Be Focused
VR Applications Move onto the Next Stage


The first speaker of Day2 was Mr. Toshiro Kawamura, former vice president of NEC, now Advisor of FORUM8 Co., Ltd., giving a special lecture "The development and future expectation of computer graphics." Mentioning hardware, software, and network of the dawn period of computer dating back to early 1960's, he then focused on CAD. He followed the stream from the evolvement of CAD itself, CAD/CAM/CAE to PDM (product data management) and PLM (product lifecycle management), and to BIM and CIM. Next, he mentioned CG in early 1970's, rapid spread of CG movies since 1980's, and development of environment for creating CG, which made such evolution possible. He also mentioned visualization of diverse simulation and support for medical fields and corporate management as the actual circumstances of utilization of 3D CAD data, VR, and CG, which are spread in a wide range today. It is AR (augmented reality) that he pays attention to in particular. In addition to current unique usages, he explained possibilities of its applications in the future such as addition of information, image identification, object identification, image sharing that allows eye-movement. On the other hand, he pointed out challenges in its utilization or research and development in consideration of the characteristics of CG. Finally, he showed efforts of FORUM8 to work on VR in terms of BIM, CIM, image processing, sensing, and information DB (database).

Mr. Toshiro Kawamura,
former vice president of NEC,
Advisor of FORUM8

After the lecture, award winners of the 12th 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud were announced with their works. The award ceremony was proceeded with Mr. Satoru Machida as Presenter: Advisor of Projection Mapping Association of Japan / CEO of AmbientMedia / Part-time advisor of FORUM8 (see the above article for details of the contest and awards). In making comments on the contest, Mr. Fumio Seki, College of Engineering, Nihon University stated on behalf of the judges that it is noticeable that VR applications have stepped onto a bit different stage from visualization or simulation so far, extending to new uses such as training and education.


      Day 2 (Sep. 19) The 14th UC-win/Road Conference

General Sessions


Diverse 3D Representation Technologies, Future Evolution Expected

The first special lecture for <General Sessions> of the 14th UC-win/Road Conference held in the hall in the afternoon was "Instant and Flexible 3D Reconstruction Using a Digital Camera" by Professor Masatoshi Okutomi, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology. After summarizing 3D input devices and stereovision as the related equipment, he described general idea of "3D restoration from images" (obtaining the 3D positions uniquely from the theory of triangulation using stereo vision) and challenges regarding this. Then he mentioned the mechanism of restoration (from 2D to 3D images) by freely moving a camera that he aimed at, as well as the overview of Structure from Motion, their approach to it (Incremental Structure from Motion) and its process flow. The approaches they adopted in consideration of its problems are as follows: 1) Inputting new images, 2) Extraction of feature points and matching, 3) Estimation of the camera position, 4) Estimation of three-dimensional points, 5) Loop closing, 6) Total optimization, and 7) Generation of the surface.
At the same time, he presented some cases such as 3D point groups restored by the method and texture mapping on the surface.

Professor Masatoshi Okutomi,
Graduate School of Engineering,
Tokyo Institute of Technology

Next special lecture, "A New Development of 3D / VR / AR" was given by Mr. Hiroyuki Hagura, President of 3D Image Forum and Special-appointment Professor of Digital Hollywood Co., Ltd. First of all he talked about his involvement with computer and various 3D images etc. Then he explained ideas with examples about technological evolution like from 3D to S3D (stereoscopic vision), from S3D to VR, from VR to AR, from AR to 3DPM (3D projection mapping) or 3D printer, and from 4K to 8K. He also summarized advantages and problems of surgery using S3D, mentioning laparoscope operation, laparoscope HMD (head mount display) operation using VR, and da Vinci Surgical System, based on his own experience. He then referred to high technologies in the medical care field such as X-ray CT (computed tomography), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), PET, and cancer treatment apparatus utilizing heavy corpuscular rays (HIMAC: Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba). Then he stated how he came across the need to establish "State of the Art Technologies in Expression Association" mentioned in detail later as an organization for those who use diverse state-of-the art technologies for representation.

Mr. Hiroyuki Hagura,
President of 3D Image Forum and Special-appointment
Professor of Digital Hollywood Co., Ltd

The last lecture in <General Sessions>, which formed the first half of the Conference, was "The Latest Case Studies of 3D Projection Mapping and Future Development" given by Mr. Mamoru Hanzawa, General Manager of Japan office of Christie Digital Systems, Inc. First, he presented the company profile and services including the display system for simulator, projectors, and VR system integration. Then he explained diverse and unique cases dealt by his company, such as 3D projection mapping on the wall of a building, 2D projection mapping, indoors projection mapping, and special video rendering. Taking for instance the latest 3D projection mapping, NHK special program, and overseas events, he mentioned the processes of realizing them and their original devices.   Furthermore, he talked about the movement of future projector technologies, with expectation and challenges regarding use of laser projectors. He showed his opinion that as the needs for diverse projection mapping increase, unique inspiration, technologies, and attractive contents will become more important.

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Mr. Mamoru Hanzawa,
General Manager of Japan office of Christie Digital Systems, Inc.


Driving Simulation Sessions


Use of Advanced DS, Needs Getting Sophisticated

<Driving Simulation Sessions>, the second half of the 14th UC-win/Road Conference was held in the hall in the afternoon starting with "Use of Simulation in the Field of Information Processing for Accident Prevention and Safety" by Professor Koji Oguri, School of Information Science and Technology, Aichi Prefectural University. Originally specializing in biological signal processing, he wondered if he could use the expertise in the efforts of aiming at decreasing traffic fatality to zero.
He described how he came to introduce UC-win/Road after developing a driving simulator (DS) on his own. Using DS, he obtained various biological data of drivers. He started a study to estimate driving conditions of a driver such as sleepiness, by combining them with road conditions and vehicle information. Currently, with development of sensors etc. he is considering not only estimation of drivers' conditions and prediction of their behavior but also support for safe driving, amenity and social problems, through visualization of the driver, development of smart devices, and analysis of big data. Then he explained the overview of DS including three simulators already held in the lab and the one under development based on UC-win/Road, and experiments using them. He drew a picture of DS to be expected in the future. Finally, he stated about the study topics such as estimation of the driver's conditions, driver activate, driver perception, smart device fusion, and support for the elderly people. He also mentioned the latest study such as a technology to reduce accidents attributed to drivers.

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Professor Koji Oguri,
School of Information Science and Technology, Aichi Prefectural University

Next, Mr. Koji Masuno, Application Engineer of Moog Japan Ltd. gave a special lecture "Simulator via high-performance motion and case studies of testing device." First he introduced his company and main product areas. He then explained simulators and testing devices with special focus. He also expounded the features of the products that reflect diverse needs, using screen images as an example of adopting a motion base for DS offered by his company. In addition, mentioning potential problems of a simulator with a translation device, he recounted the flow of control for improvement measures on the side of the motion base. He also mentioned the reduction of its influence. Furthermore, he spoke of the configuration and functions of the control loading equipment as well as its new application scenes.

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Mr. Koji Masuno, Application Engineer of Moog Japan Ltd

The third special lecture of the Sessions was "Development of ICT Technology and Future Development in the Use of Simulation," given by Lecturer Shuichi Matsumoto, at the science and engineering department, Keio University. Use of simulation started in the University when the nation requested them to examine transportation policies in response to Kawasaki pollution suit. He also talked about his own use of simulation. Regarding traffic simulation, he summarized its direction to aim at, classification of types, comparison of development between Japan and other nations, and the role of the clearinghouse. On the other hand, though the university originally had DS for study use, there were also restrictions because of its expensiveness. So he focused on UC-win/Road. Last year he started to aim to develop a platform for study based on UC-win/Road, to be available for every faculty member of the transportation field. In considering the characteristics capable of building an environment for experiments with its open source, customizable and low cost system, they set the goal "to obtain better results by wise use." After its adoption, they have been utilizing it, e.g. for an experiments of studying provision of information on picking up speed and slowing down and its influence on mileage improvement. At the same time, they confirmed the advantages of UC-win/Road. Reflecting these, they also started joint studies with other universities by using UC-win/Road.

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Mr. Shuichi Matsumoto,
Lecturer at the science and engineering department, Keio University

They are planning to develop a system that allows extraction of driving intention data by improving environment for experiments with simple and easy DS having high cost-effectiveness.

Subsequently, FORUM8 staff member gave a presentation "Simulation Function of UC-win/Road Ver.9 and its Future Development." He talked about efforts on ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) including multi driver and multi walker functions, reinforcement of modeling by creating parametric models such as stairs and escalators, improvement of productivity in editing 3D spaces, additional functions to tsunami plug-ins, free-of-charge output plug-ins, and UC-win/Road OHPASS plug-ins. Regarding the future development plan of UC-win/Road, he recounted extension of crowd simulation, extension of the traffic-artery creation function,  support for parallel rendering, and quality improvement of CG rendering. Furthermore, he expounded the development policy of UC-win/Road for the future, mentioning items such as parallelizing simulation computing, native support for 64 bit, implementation of Structure from Motion, and on-line systematization of 3D data.  

The final stage of the Sessions was "Foundation of Association for Promoting the Use of Cutting Edge Visualization Technology", chaired by Mr. Hiroyuki Hagura, Secretariat at the Association. Yuji Ito, President of FORUM8 and the first Chairman of the Association made explanation on foundation of the Association. Then Mr. Satoru Machida, who acted as chairperson in the award ceremony in the morning, introduced the concept of the Association, the assumed related areas of visualization technology, the overview of its activities, and its organization.

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Foundation of Association for Promoting the Use
of Cutting Edge Visualization Technology


   Day2 (Sep. 19)  The 7th Design Conference

The latest case studies for design and analysis, civil engineering, and architecture; and the support for the student competition


<Geotechnical Session> and <Seismic and Disaster-Preventing Session>, which are 2 of the 6 sessions in "The 7th Design Conference" of Design Festival Day3, were held in Conference Room 1 and 2, and Conference Room 3 respectively.

You may be interested to know that the predecessor of the "Design Conference" is the "UC-win/FRAME(3D) Conference", which was first held in October 2003 following the release of "UC-win/FRAME(3D) " in 2002. The "UC-win/FRAME(3D) Conference" was also held in the following 3 years. In 2007 the aforementioned conference was co-held with the "UC-win/UC-1 User Conference" for the first time and the two conferences were collectively named the "Design Conference”. Since then the "Design Conference” are held every year and this year we just held our 7th "Design Conference".


Geotechnical Sessions

Introduction with a focus on the advanced user case studies of geotechnical series products

Geotechnical Session started off with a special lecture titled "Modeling Technology for Ground FEM Analysis" given by Associate Prof. Fei Cai from the Graduate School of Engineering, Gunma University who wrote the book "Introduction of geotechnical FEM analysis" published by FORUM8 Publishing. He coherently explained about the neighboring construction, design standard in which the geotechnical FEM analysis is introduced and also the work flow of geotechnical FEM analysis and its fudge factor. Moreover the 3 types of analysis (Pre-analysis, Post-analysis and Dynamic analysis) were given, and with regards to one of the examples of the dynamic analysis the method of modeling the actual problem was concretely explained. The note of caution when running the analysis and the techniques involved were also introduced with plenty of information to take home hence it was a very valuable lecture.

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Associate Prof. FeiCai
Graduate School of Engineering , Gunma University

Next, a special lecture titled "Practical Applications of UWLC2D and 3D" was given by Mr. Yasuhiko Okochi, the president of NOM Co., Ltd. Mr. Okochi introduced 2 examples of the development of liquefaction countermeasure techniques that he used in a practical task. In the first example, he explained the centrifuge model test and the analysis via UWLC2D and UWLC3D. He also touched on the usability of the analysis result of UWLC when compared to that obtained by ALID. In the second example, he explained how to apply UWLC2D to design using the case studies of earth fill and retaining wall design.

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Mr. Yasuhiko Okochi
President of NOM Co., Ltd.

The following lecture titled "Example of "GeoFEAS" Application in Retaining Wall Design" was given by Mr. Toshihiro Hanada, the president of Bulld Geotechno Co., Ltd. Mr. Hanada uses GeoFEAS on a daily basis to analyze the issues concerning the transformation, stress, and stability of the ground and a model comprised of both the ground and structures. Based on his experience, he explained an effective way of using GeoFEAS by bringing up "The displacement issue of the L-type retaining wall" as an example. He told his story of how he ran an FEM analysis on the displacement of structure as well as displacement that may occur during construction work to suggest an effective method in terms of stability of constructing an inverted T shape retaining wall planned for the development of residential sites: Construct an embankment prior to constructing retaining wall, and then construct foundation pile and retaining wall following the convergence of ground displacement.

The last special lecture was presented by Associate Prof. Kana Nakatani in the Agriculture Department of Kyoto University who developed "Kanako" which is the user friendly debris flow simulator and also adopted as a solver for UC-1 "Debris Flow Simulation". She explained from the technical points of the debris flow analysis to the process of the development, purpose, background and the characteristic of Kanako, on top of that, the several case studies in which the disaster-prevention method using the numerical simulation was implemented for the past actual debris-flow was introduced.

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Mr. Toshiro Hanada
President of Bulled Geotechno Co., Ltd.

In the presentation presented by a delegate of the FORUM8 Development Group, the latest features of FORUM8's geotechnical analysis series products and the prospects they have to offer were introduced with a focus on the overview of UC-win/WCOMD. Moreover the case example of debris flow simulation, the example of "Slope stability analysis via Shear Strength Reduction Method taking pore-water pressure into consideration" and the example of "Evaluation of seismic capacity of large section box culvert via seismic coefficient method and dynamic analysis" were also introduced.

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Associate Prof. Kana Nakatani
Agriculture Department of Kyoto University


Seismic and Disaster-preventing Sessions

The session's theme was very diverse, covering a wide range of urban disaster prevention measures

The first presenter of the Seismic and Disaster-preventing Session was Prof. Hiromichi Yoshikawa of Tokyo City University, an author and editor of  "Introduction to Earthquake Disaster Mitigation", a book published by FORUM8 Publishing Group in spring 2013. He gave his lecture titled "Introduction to "Earhquake Disaster Mitigation-Earthquake Engineering, Seismic Engineering, Tsunami Engineering and Disaster Prevention & Reduction"" in which the contents of the book was explained in further detail. He mentioned "Japan has the cutting-edge technologies for earthquake and seismic engineering, and disaster prevention since our country, Japan has experienced a lot of earthquakes. On the other hand, these technologies needs significant specialized and segmentalized techniques and knowledge, so there is very few publication which covers them all." and introduced this book as an unparallel all-in-one introductory book. Book is easily comprehensible and highly-reputed.

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Prof. Hiromichi Yoshikawa
Tokyo City University

Following Prof. Yoshikawa, Mr. Seiichiro Fukushima who is a manager for disaster prevention group of Tokyo Electric Power Service Co., Ltd. and also co-author of "Introduction to Earthquake Disaster Mitigation" gave his lecture titled "Why does an earthquake disaster occur and how we should face it". He emphasized that we should take a complete measure that combines both the disaster-prevention measures and disaster-mitigation measures to prepare for earthquakes and to do that it is necessary for the 3 types of recue; namely the Self-help, the Cooperative-help, and the rescue by public organizations; to function in harmony. He elaborated on his lecture by giving a comprehensive explanation on the essence that summarizes the 4 discipline that we need to take into consideration when dealing with earthquake disaster (Earthquake itself, Seismic capacity, Tsunami, and Disaster prevention).

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Mr. Seiichiro Fukushima
Manager for disaster prevention group
of Tokyo Electric Power Service Co., Ltd.

After the lectures by Prof. Yoshikawa and Fukushima who both contributed to the writing of the book "Introduction to Earthquake Disaster Mitigation", the presentation with the theme of "Seismic and disaster-preventing solutions using 3DVR" was given by a FORUM8 delegate. He introduced the 4 matters to be considered in virtual reality; "Tsunami prevention", "Evacuation measures", "Wave force of tsunami inflicted on school building" and "ES seismic analysis"); under the topic of "Disaster Prevention for Tsunami", the theme of the book, and FORUM8's "Solution for Earthquake Disaster Prevention".

Mr. Yoshinobu Adachi of Space Engineering Group of Secom Co., Ltd. gave his lecture titled "Efforts for seeking safety via space information and simulation technologies" as the theme of disaster and earthquake prevention. He raised 2 frameworks of the built environment; information of the architectural buildings and infrastructures obtained from BIM, and GIS which covers the information of the surrounding environment; and he emphasized that the strong linkage of the 2 allows dynamic simulation. Moreover he also mentioned how important it is to incorporate the disaster prevention mentality into the maintenance of buildings and how the integrated simulation that combines the concept of both civil engineering and architecture expands the possibilities.

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Yoshinobu Adachi
Space Engineering Group of Secom Co., Ltd.

The following lecture was on the disaster prevention considered from the BCP (Business Continuity Plan) perspective titled "The need for BCP and its basic concepts" given by Mr. Takashi Koyama of CEO of Hillvet Solutions, Ltd. He explained concretely that the damage scenario can be categorized into Influenza type and Earthquake type and the latter needs to be divided into the night version and daytime version. In addition he mentioned about the basic concept of BCP and its important points including the fact that it is necessary to understand exactly what kind of assets owned by a company and to always consider the kind of damage that will cause these assets to not function properly.

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Mr. Takashi Koyama
CEO of Hilvet Solution, Ltd.

After the lecture by Mr. Koyama, FORUM8 delegate gave a presentation on the FORUM8's BCMS activities that lead to the acquirement of ISO22301 (Business Continuity Management System) and the future activities. He also introduced "BCP Assistance Tool" and "BCP Assistance and BCMS Configuration Support Services", both of which are one of many FORUM8's solutions for earthquake disaster prevention.


   Day3 (Sep. 20)  The 7th Design Conference

On the Design Festival Day3 were held the remaining 4 groups of Sessions  (out of 6 in all) of the 7th Design Conference. Shinagawa Intercity Hall was used for <Design Analysis Sessions> in the morning and in the first half of the afternoon, and <Civil engineering & CIM Sessions> in the second half of the afternoon. Also in the afternoon, <Architecture & BIM Sessions> were held in the conference room 1&2, while <VDWC & CPWC Sessions> in the conference room 3 separately.

Design Conference is originated in UC-win/FRAME(3D) Conference, which was established in October 2003 in response to the release of UC-win/FRAME(3D) in 2002. Since 2007, it has been combined with "UC-win/UC-1Conference". It is the 7th Conference this year in this present form.


Design Analysis Sessions

Diverse Analysis Cases In and Out of the Country

The morning section opened up with "Concrete Engineering and Water  -Short/Long term Performance Evaluation-" by Professor Koichi Maekawa, Graduate school of Engineering, Tokyo University. First of all he recapped that the structure of concrete is subject to the influence of behavior of water.  Then he summarized the difference in the influence that water has on concrete according to a broad scale. He gave an overview of the multiscale analysis used their based on the link between water and concrete structure. He said that "Evolution of Thinking Machine" attracts attention in analyzing behavior of the micro world, and mentioned points to note. Next, regarding the fatigue life analysis of the existing reinforced concrete floor slab and its maintenance, he explained the system for estimating the remaining life of the concrete bridge deck slab based on the non-linear fatigue response analysis. In addition, he stated in detail about long-term excessive deflection of large-sized PC bridges and their design and control, long-term excessive cracks or drying shrinkage in a shallow underground RC culvert, and earthquake response analysis of a medium-rise RC building, while showing various specific cases and analysis data.
Professor Koichi Maekawa,
Graduate school of Engineering, Tokyo University

Next presentation was  "The Latest Version of Engineer's Studio(R)" given by a FORUM8 staff member. After reviewing the process of revising for the first time since the release of its first edition in 2009, he recapped the main features of the current Engineer's StudioŽ. Then he stated not only about functions of generating the mass from the load, functions about plate, cable, and attenuation elements, but also new functions to support 2012 Specifications for Highway Bridges and the limit state design. He also mentioned the planned development in the future including items related with 2012 Specifications and multipoint-input function.

The last presentation in the morning was "The latest case studies of Analysis Support Service" by a FORUM8 staff member. Firstly he showed the overview of the analysis support service and estimate examples according to business fields. He then explained analysis examples of Engineer's StudioŽ and UC-win/FRAME(3D), including an earthquake performance check of an existing bridge, analyses of river structures such as water gates and sluices, and analysis of a water supply facility (pond-like structure) in terms of their problems and specific procedures, while showing their results and the analyzing processes. He also mentioned the idea about the analysis support service in the future.

The sessions started again in the afternoon with "Numerical Simulation and Case Studies with Engineer's Studio(R)" by Dr. Jesus Donaire Avila, Earthquake engineering group from the University of Granada. First he introduced the studies made by him and others regarding improvement of earthquake resistance for a typical form of building structure in Spain (waffle flat-plate structure (WFPS)) through advanced technologies such as the hysteresis damper. He then expounded WFPS in terms of its components, evolution, features, and aseismic behavior. At the same time, he mentioned the influence from 2011 Lorca earthquake. Subsequently, he recounted a numerical model of the internal column slab junction of WFPS and a macro model of the internal and external column slab junction of WFPS, which he had worked on using Engineer's StudioŽ, showing examples of applications. What's more, he explained the vibration table experiment conducted to verify numerical simulation using specimens of WFPS.

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Mr. Jesus Donaire Avila,
Earthquake engineering group from the University of Granada

The final lecture of the Session was "Effectiveness of analysis of structural aseismatic reliability for distribution reservoir using 3D FEM models" by Mr. Hiroyasu Yabe, Pacific Consultants Co.,Ltd. and Mr. Yushi Ishiai, Technology Analysis Center (T.A.C). Mr. Yabe started with the overview of the trend of anti-quake reinforcement of waterworks as well as earthquake damages in recent years.   Then he recapped performance-code-based design in the guideline on the aseismatic construction method for water utilities, seismic performance and design earthquake prescribed in the guideline, and the concept for check standards etc. He had evaluated the distribution reservoir of flat-slab structure using 2D FEM models and 3D FEM models. He described the aseismatic performance evaluation dependant on different analysis models. He also expounded economic comparison of reinforcement work.  Further, effectiveness of analysis was examined based on the procedure of dynamic analysis and analysis cases. He gave its overview and its result. Through these he concluded that
(1) For water utilities, 3D analysis is effective for economical design, and
(2) Since water tightness is required for water utilities, it is necessary to design water utilities that have proper strength by computing leakage from the crack width or crack length using non-linear analysis.

Mr. Hiroyasu Yabe,
Pacific Consultants Co.,Ltd.


Civil engineering & CIM Sessions

The Latest Cases of CIM, Possibilities of Diverse Solutions

<Civil engineering & CIM Sessions> in the second half of the afternoon in the hall opened up with "Current state of CIM and its ideal model" by Mr. Shinya Sugiura, Obayashi Corporation. First of all, he stated about the organization and activities of CIM technology Investigative Committee that he belongs to, and its involvement with CIM Institution Investigative Committee. He showed the activities outcome of the first year (last fiscal year), effects to be expected from CIM (Construction Information Modeling), concept of CIM, pilot tasks performed last fiscal year and verification of the effects, points of the pilot projects in and after this fiscal year, and key items for consideration. He also illustrated the pilot projects he was involved in with a slogan of "Simple & Easy" towards establishment of CIM, such as a tunnel, bridge, and land creation projects. Showing the images actually used, he explained the scenes of using CIM models, such as an integrated model based on multiple sources of information, which was used for business analysis and then for construction management; points to consider in creating CIM models, effects of using CIM on the scene such as maintenance or consensus building; and the key concept for construction information modeling (CIM). He also mentioned possibilities of advanced collaboration of FORUM8 products with 3D models.

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Mr. Shinya Sugiura, Obayashi Corporation

The next special lecture was "Past, present and future of the technologies for road, bridge, tunnel and paving and about introducing CIM" by Mr. Tatsuoki Inagaki, Director of Pave & Road How-To Way Technology Association. He enumerated accidents and disasters around social infrastructure including roads and bridges, and as a relative topic, mentioned problems of deterioration of social infrastructure. Then he introduced points of road law revision in response to them, issues of maintenance and update being examined in the Conference to discuss measures to cope with the aging of social infrastructure, and activities of the subcommittee of road maintenance technology towards constructing a platform to grasp information on the facilities discussed in the Conference. Meanwhile he reviewed the overview and present situation of CALS/EC and road management database (MICHI) treated so far, and developed his speech into expectation towards utilization of advanced ICT and introduction of CIM in consideration of the above-mentioned issues. In addition, he illustrated diverse simulation using UC-win/Road. He also stated a proposal to succeed in CIM with challenges in introducing CIM, while stressing prevention and mitigation of disasters among the topics described in CIM Institution Investigative Committee. Finally, he insisted on necessity of organized education.

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Mr. Tatsuoki Inagaki,
Director of Pave & Road How-To Way Technology Association

Following these lectures, FORUM8 staff member made presentation "Development of 3DCAD Studio™." First, he introduced our existing CAD solutions such as general-purpose CAD (UC-Draw), the automatic drawing tool for civil engineering (UC-Draw Tools), and CAD functions of UC-1series. Then he reviewed their response to CALS/EC in the mean time, focus on 3D data that also leads to CIM, participation in a 3D CAD engine development project, and the process of starting to develop original CAD applications using the outcome of the project. Next, he recapped the functions of 3DCAD Studio™ under development such as of modeling, measurement, layers, and file input and output while demonstrating examples of model that can be created and creation work. He also mentioned development plans in the future, linkage among our products towards the future, and support for cloud.

The next presentation was "UC-1 Engineer Suite and functions of CIM, auto design and cloud" by FORUM8 staff member. UC-1 Engineer Suite, which is the generic name of product set editions of our design CAD software UC-1 series, is composed of 8 categories released one by one since this April. Apart from the latest functions of each single product, he expounded functions of CIM, cloud, and auto design, among the functions of the suite reinforced in particular. He also introduced development plans in the future about auto design of steel bridge, the steel bridge design tool, and the partial coefficient method.

The last presentation in the sessions was "Data linkage of CIM&VR and 3DVR Engineering Service" by FORUM8 staff member. First, he recapped the present situation and outlook of our integrated solutions using BIM/CIM. Then he showed demonstration of different design and analysis data are linked together on VR. He further mentioned available services such as 3D bar arrangement CAD for SaaS, 3DVR engineering service, 3D drawing options, report and drawings total service, noise measurement simulation service, 3D laser scan modeling service, 3D mock-up service, 3D scan work progress control VR modeling.


Architecture&BIM Sessions

Providing the latest information for BIM field

Architecture&BIM Sessions started off with a special lecture given by Prof. Yasushi Ikeda from Keio University who is a famous architect in the discipline of BIM research. It was held live from Paris where AIAC International Workshop for Built Architecture 2013 was in session and his lecture is titled "Global viewpoint about architecture and city design and data communication". He introduced about AIAC International Workshop Studio and the various other kinds of competition and project and even about BIM as the communication media for design information. He also mentioned about the advancement in digital design technology, arrangement of open source design environment with the help of advanced network technology, and the example of an interactive discussion among citizens on public works design through SNS (whose popularity has risen considerably) and the future vision.

Pro. Yasushi Ikeda
Keio University

The following presentation on the overview of BIM&VR solution was given by FORUM8 delegate. He explained about OHPASS plug-in which allows seamless linkage between the calculation result of Optimal Highway Path Automatic Search System OHPASS and UC-win/Road, evacuation analysis via EXODUS and an example of the visualizing the analysis result, 3DVR engineering service, all of which are the latest products and services FORUM8 have in store.

Mr. Tomohiro Chikada of Azbill Corporation. gave his lecture titled "Energy analysis for air-conditioning of buildings via DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus". He introduced about the building automation project currently being deployed by Azbill Corporation which focuses on infrastructures including hospitals, universities and factories. He thoroughly explained about the power-saving measure taken by Azbill Fujisawa Techno Center in summer 2011, the first summer after earthquake, in which he used DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus to run a simulation to predict the outcome and effect of the measure.

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Mr. Tomohiro Chikada
Azbill Corporation

Prof. Shuichi Asayama from Tokyo Denki University gave his lecture titled "Analysis for structures using Automation functions of Multiframe" and introduced the use of Automation function of Multiframe using Delphi. He explained the programming method of series of basic flow from the setting of joint data, cross section and load to the analysis execution and how to extruct bending moment using source code of the simplified sample. There were good questions like "Is it possible to make the span of column longer or shorter by automation design feature?", to which he replied "It is possible upon consideration. Once the information of joints have been changed, Multiframe will run automatic calculation". Furthermore, he introduced the designing of a structure shaped like a wave using sea wave.

Prof. Shuichi Asayama
Tokyo Denki University

Next Mr. Pascal Bergougnou who is a general director in Asia-Pacific of Graitec Pte Ltd. gave his lecture titled "The latest features of BIM structural steel detailing software Advance Steel/Concrete 2013, their case studies, and their interoperability". He explained the new functions of Advance Steel/Concrete, linkage with other software, automaic design of member, re-do/un-do features and the revision history, and automatic generation of bar arrangement drawing etc. In addition he introduced many case studies from many countries.

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Mr. Pascal Bergougnou
A general director in Asia-Pacific of Graitec Pte Ltd.

As the last lecture of Architecture&BIM sessions, FORUM8 delegate gave a presentation titled "BIM solution and 3DVR engineering service" and introduced 3D Scan Modeling Service, 3D Printer Model Service and even 3D Projection Mapping Simulation etc. of the latest FORUM8 BIM&VR solution.


VDWC/CPWC Sessions

Future "Urban design" for Olympic in 2020

To help students prepare for the submission of Virtual Design World Cup and Cloud Programming World Cup, both of which are the international competition for students, we had our room in which applicants cat get our support and gave presentations of the related products and even showcased some of our technologies. The presentation titled  "VR urban city system" given by Mr. Hiroo Kasagi of managing director of workshop for sustainable community and facilitator of this presentation gave his final advice on the works for VDWC. On top of that, he mentioned about the facilitation for urban planning and even the concept for using VR and the advanced safety city creation for Olympic in 2020. He said about future urban planning "It is worth verifying the risks that we may face in any type of disaster, to check whether measures against disasters are suitable, and to quantify these results for the sake of gaining trust from countries worldwide".

Mr. Hiroo Kasagi
Managing director of workshop for sustainable community

FORUM8 Design Festival 2014-3Days   Venue: Shinagawa Intercity Hall
Day1  November 19(Wed), 2014  The 13rd 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud  Judgment Commitee
Day2  November 20(Thu), 2014  The 13rd 3DVR Simulation Contest on Cloud  Award Ceremony
  The 15th  UC-win/Road Conference  The 8th Design Conference
Day3  November 21(Fri), 2014  The 8th Design Conference
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Seminar Report

FORUM8
シミュレーション動的非線形解析構造解析/断面橋梁下部工仮設工上下水道/河川CALS/CAD耐震診断/補強建築設計サポート/サービスASPサービス橋梁上部工基礎工道路土工地盤解析維持管理鋼橋設計UC-1ツールズ紹介プログラム