Google Earth to Revit

[sakar_deepak]

Hi friends

I have to design a building on a hilly site. So, i need to create a model in Revit of this hill topography showing contours and site features such as trees.

I have explored this forum and you tube to find a way to import it from Google Earth in to Revit. I came across so many ways of doing it and so many things like using flux with dynamo, sketch up, import in AutoCad, .csv file and so on that i am confused about what way i should adopt. 

What is the recommended way to create it ?

Thanks 

[sureshchotrani]

I would ideally export the model in Infraworks 360 http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/infraworks-360

[RDAOU]

Hello @sakar_deepak 

I think it is up to you to pick and choose based on your knowledge with those software. You are not going to learn Dynamo or download and start using sketch up just to transfer a Google Earth to Topo?

Personally I am not the guy who works on topo surfaces usually we get them from Civil 3D ... but I have assisted some of my coworkers to do it using Dynamo...However, there is this cool App for Revit which might help you do what is needed. Check it out on Autodesk App store

https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=4910606560103189779&appLang=en&os=Win32_64

[rudi.roux]

Hi @sakar_deepak, 

Hope you are well!

CADtoEarth is or has been the preferred choice for a while among users to achieve what you are looking for, also mentioned by @RDAOU.

THIS POST served as a solution for another community member. (3x useful links included). 

Then, regarding topo surfaces, here is another BRIEF POST which served as a solution which might of future use to you. 

I hope this helps! 

[Anonymous]

As what I understand you wanted to create the actual topography of the site where your building will sit on. I don't think you can create the topography from just google earth or can create it accurately from google earth. The way we model a topography from an existing site, we would get the survey points first from the surveyor and then plot those points in revit as a topography element. 

[sakar_deepak]

Dear @rudi.roux and @RDAOU 

I imported surface in revit from 'Cad to earth' ; but it inserts just a flat surface with no thickness !! No mass !!

What is wrong ?  ( Just for your information, Google Earth has stopped working since 11th January 2017. Now Cesium is to be used.  )

Dear @Anonymous you are right. But let us see how this app works. It is good if it is reasonably accurate.  

Regards

[Anonymous]

Ok. How we do it is like this.

We take a surveryor's drawing which contains usually just survey points but sometimes also contour lines which is a 3d polyline elements.. these are drawings that had points in it that have an xyz value.. the z value determines the eleveation of these points.. Now revit cannot plot the topo element with just points in cad it needs the 3d polyline contour lines so if I the survey drawings doesn't have contour lines I have to do it manually. How I do it is I create a 3d polyline and draw lines connecting the points. It is a tedious task but this is where revit will extract the information necessary to plot the topo element. Particulary the vertices of the 3d polyline which will have the same xyz as per the survey points.

When you already have the contour lines link it up to your revit file and now you can create a topo from this.

R,
Z

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[RDAOU]

Hey @sakar_deepak

1. I had no idea Google Earth stopped and is no longer supported by google! Appologies.
2. Cesium does not support topographic contour lines; so it won't work for you
3. You first mentioned that you need contour line and now you state MASS; Massing of a site is a totally different play
4. To my knowledge Google Earth was the only public mapping engine providing Topographic data for free... Hence, if you do not have an electronic file with the Surveyed data, you are not in a very good situation. There is no point discussion which software to use as the input data is not there to start with. Your option would be to get a surveyor or contact the nearest Cadastral Department
5. There are some National Sites (Country specifc) which offer Topo maps and CSV files for those maps which one can download/Extract

example:

If in Canada http://geogratis.gc.ca/site/eng/extraction 

If in the States https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic/

6.   and some University sites (requires that one is a student in that university to use services) 

7.  there are also paid service example Digimaps http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/digimap/home ... and this is how it works Digimap12.pdf

Appologies but I will step back on this post - Too many cooks spoil the dish 🙂 so best of  luck

[sakar_deepak]

Dear @Anonymous 

Thanks for the reply. I know this way of doing. Ultimately one will have to do the same. 

Here i am exploring how to extract the same from Google. If you google you will find many videos showing you doing the same thing.

Following is one link for your perusal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrIZGcPvSDY  

Thanks

[sakar_deepak]

Dear @RDAOU 

Appologies for not making my point clear.

This link will show what i want. I want this with contour lines.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrIZGcPvSDY

Google Earth is not working in the 'Cad to Earth' pane window. Though Google Earth is working if you run Google Earth dieerctly in independent window. 

If Google Earth is not working with 'Cad to earth' app , does that mean this app is not useful any more for any purpose ?

Thanks 

[sakar_deepak]

Dear @sureshchotrani , Do you have a video explaining how it is done in Infraworks ?

Thanks

[RDAOU]

@sakar_deepak

1. Yes, in such case the app is more or less useless untill Cesium starts providing Topo Data.
2. Infraworks doesn't generate X Y Z points on it's own from nothing or from a flatened image...you will still need Topographic Survey to be input into the software

[rudi.roux · Accepted solution]

Hi @sakar_deepak, 

HERE IS A VIDEO which you might find useful. (Topography from Infraworks to Revit using Rhino & Excel).

Hope this helps! 

[sakar_deepak]

@RDAOU 

Attached is a screenshot showing Autodesk products. What is 'Online Map Data' product , is it useful in my case  ?

Thanks

[RDAOU]

@sakar_deepak

I believe it works similar to Google Sketchup...Haven't used it before. Im not sure if but I think it produces can produce a point cloud which you may be able to import to AutoCAD C3D...more or less similar to the workflow in Infraworks

Did you try if google sketchup still works or you don't have it?

[sakar_deepak]

@RDAOU

No, not yet. 

[RDAOU]

@sakar_deepak

I ve just tried it and it is works ... will post the screencast once it is uploaded

[sakar_deepak]

Thanks @RDAOU

[RDAOU · Accepted solution]

@sakar_deepak

Screencast below...

[ToanDN]

Excellent demonstration @RDAOU! 

To be honest, I prefer this method over the CAD to Earth app.