Mastering Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2013

Chapter 24

Essential Hardware

While Autodesk^® Revit^® Architecture software is a fantastic design tool on its own, there's a great ecosystem of hardware that is a wonderful complement. When most people think of hardware for Revit, they're referring to the computer that's directly in front of them. But it's much more. How you initiate a design process can be as intuitive as sketching. How you interface with the model can be much more elegant than “drawing” with a mouse. As the design develops, navigating the Revit model can be much more graceful than commands triggered with a keyboard.

In this chapter, you'll learn to:

• Make use of the iPad to quickly capture design ideas for use in Revit
• Utilize Wacom tablets to improve productivity during design and design review
• Employ 3Dconnextion motion controllers to intuitively navigate Revit

iPad

Architects have long sketched in order to capture design ideas. And since the iPad (Figure 24.1) was introduced, a number of sketching and drawing applications have developed that allow designers to quickly and easily capture design ideas in a digital format.

Figure 24.1 A single photo from the iPad

Capturing Images

Initially the iPad didn't have a camera, which meant that you needed to import a photo or other background from another source if you wanted some context for your design. But now the iPad features a 5-megapixel camera for both still ...