Arctuition’s ArcSite Modernizes The Early Stages Of Engineering With The iPad

Arctuition is hoping to take advantage of the iPad’s portability, flexibility and range of input options to bring meaningful improvements to an area of CAD and engineering that has remained primarily low-tech.

When engineering projects kick off, especially in the consulting engineering field specifically, engineers often have to go out into the field and figure out their plan by scouting the site for a project, taking measurements, drawing early sketches and putting together materials for proposals and early feasibility studies. This is where the new ArcSite app for iPad, which Arctuition launched today onstage at Disrupt NY, fits in.

“Consulting engineers and CAD designers are still using pen and paper products to gather data during site investigations,” ArcSite co-founder Charles Nivision explained via email.

With ArcSite, you can sketch directly and gather and organize field data all in one place, and since it’s aimed at helping with precision projects, it uses its own algorithms to translate hand-drawn sketches into technically precise geometric shapes.

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What ArcSite offers is precision drawing of lines, circles, arcs and even angles. The tech behind the app created by Arctuition actually anticipates what kind of shape the user is drawing and corrects those features in real-time as they draw. But in addition to being an advanced drawing app, ArcSite also includes native PDF editing, integration of photographs taken from their iPad’s camera or imported from the library, a full suite of editing features, and the ability to scale background images for advanced compositing.

Nivision says that Arctuition’s product is better than the competition’s offerings because it combines so many features in one place. The startup is also developing a cloud-based backend to support file syncing and document portability across devices.

As a CAD pro and mechanical designer with 25 years’ experience, founder Charles Nivision is well-versed in the needs of his audience. Arctuition sprung from a need he identified over the course of his work for a one-stop shop for the tools that are bundled in ArcSite, and the advent of the iPad, combined with new tech patented by Nivision and his team to power the app. Machine learning is a key ingredient of the app, and one that’s likely to get even more powerful as usage accumulates.

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After an open beta that begun on March 31, ArcSite is gearing up for launch, and is very happy with the early feedback it has received from its beta partners. The key to its success will be how well its algorithm can deal with a range of needs for different engineering products, and how quickly it can anticipate and prepare for changes in the market, as well as the realization by incumbents like Autodesk that this is the way of the future.

A free version called ArcSite beta is available today via the App Store, with a Pro SaaS version planned for a later launch.