It has been a fortnight since the last post, and what I have been doing is learning a new skill. People do not realise that data once digitized can be used or manipulated in many ways – at times, in a fashion not intended for originally. The most recent example is the move to utilise Aadhaar number-card as valid ID for entry into airports and other secure areas.
Aadhaar was intended as a pro-poor, enabler for better delivery of services and enhanced transparency in governance [The italics are words of R.S. Sharma, Director General UIDAI in 2011 - http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/uidai-clarifies-on-aadhaar/article2453509.ece]. Today, it is being perverted as an access card.
BTP, not only raw data, but software tools which are meant to handle digital data in a specific way can also be used in a totally different, originally unintended way. Thus I ended up working with SCARM – Simple Computer Aided Railway Modeller, a free software for easy and simple design of model railway layouts and railroad track plans.
The unique feature of SCARM is it ability to render the flat plans in 3D, so that the hobbyist is able to actually see where his intentions would end up in reality. The only chink is that given such a tool, a wacky mind like mine would think of what else, but mangling the output.
SCARM is a fantastic tool, the brainchild of Milen Peev. For such a cute, small software – 1.78 MB download (SCARM 0.9.25) – it is amazing what it can do. The interface is simple, yet intuitive. The controls are minimal, but are so well thought out that manipulating the tracks, roads and other objects is a breeze. The learning curve is the shortest I have ever seen in such a software, yet is curve is not steep at all. In 2 days, I could master it and in another two days think of new ways to manipulate the objects themselves – to create bizarre outputs.
To cut the long story short, here is the 10 days worth of effort (about 3 hours a day) in trying to create a version of Chennai in 3D visualisation.
I intend to write some tips and tricks on manipulating objects later, but here is a note about the scale used. The railway tracks and roads are TT Scale (1:450). The template of Chennai used is about 1:1500 or so – it is actually the OpenStreetMap by PlaneMad.
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Openstreetmap_Chennai_City_map.png]
PS: SCARM can be downloaded from [www.scarm.info]
Aadhaar was intended as a pro-poor, enabler for better delivery of services and enhanced transparency in governance [The italics are words of R.S. Sharma, Director General UIDAI in 2011 - http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/uidai-clarifies-on-aadhaar/article2453509.ece]. Today, it is being perverted as an access card.
BTP, not only raw data, but software tools which are meant to handle digital data in a specific way can also be used in a totally different, originally unintended way. Thus I ended up working with SCARM – Simple Computer Aided Railway Modeller, a free software for easy and simple design of model railway layouts and railroad track plans.
The unique feature of SCARM is it ability to render the flat plans in 3D, so that the hobbyist is able to actually see where his intentions would end up in reality. The only chink is that given such a tool, a wacky mind like mine would think of what else, but mangling the output.
SCARM is a fantastic tool, the brainchild of Milen Peev. For such a cute, small software – 1.78 MB download (SCARM 0.9.25) – it is amazing what it can do. The interface is simple, yet intuitive. The controls are minimal, but are so well thought out that manipulating the tracks, roads and other objects is a breeze. The learning curve is the shortest I have ever seen in such a software, yet is curve is not steep at all. In 2 days, I could master it and in another two days think of new ways to manipulate the objects themselves – to create bizarre outputs.
To cut the long story short, here is the 10 days worth of effort (about 3 hours a day) in trying to create a version of Chennai in 3D visualisation.
I intend to write some tips and tricks on manipulating objects later, but here is a note about the scale used. The railway tracks and roads are TT Scale (1:450). The template of Chennai used is about 1:1500 or so – it is actually the OpenStreetMap by PlaneMad.
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Openstreetmap_Chennai_City_map.png]
PS: SCARM can be downloaded from [www.scarm.info]
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