Media Release
24 May 2006
Local Companies Lead the Way in Traffic Software Development
On the 15th of May two locally based companies, Gabites Porter Consultants (GPC) and Forum8 (NZ) Ltd, signed a landmark
international agreement to integrate and jointly market their respective traffic and animation software packages.
The agreement was signed at the head offices of Forum8’s parent company in Tokyo, Japan and a demonstration tour of the
software through Japan, Korea and China generated significant interest in the two Christchurch firms. Both companies
hope to build on this international exposure over the coming months, and in the process, cement Canterbury’s reputation
as a leader in technology and innovation.
GPC is the developer of the transport planning software package “Tracks” while Forum8 (NZ) Ltd is the developer of the
virtual reality simulation software package “UC-win/Road”. Both companies have won major awards for their innovations in
software development and the agreement signed in Tokyo represented the culmination of a process to integrate the two
packages.
Tracks is widely used by civil engineers and transport planners throughout New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia to plan
transport and landuse systems. UC-win/Road will enable outputs to be taken directly from Tracks and turned into virtual
reality animations.
ENDS
About Gabites Porter Consultants
Gabites Porter Consultants provides a range of transportation, traffic, roading and planning advice to central and local
Government and private clients. It has built a reputation in New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia for high quality
technical performance, supplemented by award winning traffic planning software. For more information about Gabites
Porter Consultants please visit http://www.gabites.co.nz
About Forum8
Forum 8 (New Zealand) Limited is a software house specializing in Civil Engineering CAD (Computer Aided Design)
software. Their Japanese parent company Forum8 (Japan), markets and sells this software along with products they have
written. For more information about Forum 8 (New Zealand) Limited please visit http://www.forum8.co.nz/
About Tracks
Tracks is a software programme used by city planners and traffic engineers to plan urban transportation and landuse
systems. The programme provides:
- Modelling private vehicle trips, light commercial trips, heavy commercial trips, public transport services,
pedestrians, and cyclists
- Detailed assessment of road user costs, accident rates, and vehicle operating costs for cost benefit analysis
- Detailed quantification of environmental effects and accessibility
- Advanced tools for conversion of outputs into GIS compatible formats
- High quality illustrations showing vehicle volumes, network speeds, intersection movements, intersection delays,
network efficiency (LOS), and vehicle emissions (noise, Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Dioxide, and Particulate Matter etc)
[pictures available on request].
For information about TRCKS please visit: http://www.gabites.co.nz/tracks.html
About UC-win/Road
UC-win/Road is a real-time VR program that allows generation and use of 3-D virtual reality (VR) through simple PC
operations. Dynamic 3-D spaces can be controlled in real-time and the program can be used not only for road planning and
designing, but as a common language for those involved in consensus building in public projects and private developments
of a general nature. The superb VR generation features such as abundant visual options, and running and flight
simulations in diverse modes, are supported. The VR of UC-win/Road is highly effective in landscape evaluation,
discussion of designs and construction, examination of comparative ideas, and technical propositions.
For more information about UC-win/Road please visit: http://www.forum8.co.jp/english and select the UC-win/Road link in
the top right hand corner of the website.