Cloud Services Command

RPS Smart Suite Cloud Services
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RPS Cloud Services

What does Cloud Services allow me to do?

The RPS Cloud Services command provides a connection between

  • Trimble Business Center
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • The ability to leverage other technologies including OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
  • To leverage RPS Object Reader / Writer technology to connect TBC data to AI or connect data generated using AI into TBC objects

The RPS Cloud Services command provides the ability to make written / scripted AI requests to “Ask Rocky” to

  • Create summary analyses of information available on the web
  • To carry out data analysis / mathematical operations (Adjustments, Optimizations etc.)
  • To provide data restructuring operations to make currently unusable data usable in TBC
  • To create data outputs for third party software e.g. Google MyMaps in e.g. GPX format
Examples of Cloud Services capabilities

The Cloud Services command has 4 main functions, those being

  1. To run commands on the RPS Cloud Services Server that have been written using AI based processes. These commands will run and execute in a similar way to other normal TBC commands, they are simply processing your data on the cloud server vs on your local computer. Commands that are provided here can be created at shotrt notice to solve user needs, without really disrupting the day to day development efforts of the RPS development team.
  2. Ask Rocky - this connects TBC data and objects to AI systems (ChatGPT and Claude) so that you can selecvt input data in the form of files or TBC object data (Points, Lines, Surfaces, Alignments, BIM objects etc.), and serve them up to AI technologies with user defined scripts (simple text instructions) to explain what you want to do with the data, and then return the results in pre defined formats that can either be reviewed (Excel, PDF, Image etc.) or imported back directly into TBC (DXF, CSV, LandXML, IFC etc.) as TBC objects. In this way you can leverage AI as a personal assistant to carry out time consuming tasks, that allows you to focus on getting the project completed on time.
  3. Create Objects - this provides fast and easy ways to create TBC object data from available data sources, with or without data conversion or data restructuring. For example copy and paste P,N,E,Z,D or Station, Offset, Elevation data into the spreadsheet interface, associate an alignment, define the layer and click Create Objects.
  4. Custom Scripts - When you have solved a problem using Ask Rocky, if youi feel that the problem will recur again, you can have Rocky create a custom script in Python format, that you can store in your Script library. You can then select those scripts here and execute them, the script is read, will request any input data or input parameters like tolerances, offsets etc defined in the script, and then serve the script up to the RPS Cloud Services server to process your information and return your results. The Cloud Services servers determine any extension libraries required, deploy your script code and execute the script using your data, and then return the results to you in a form that can be directly consumed by TBC or opened in applications like Bluebeam or AutoCAD or Excel etc. The power here is that there are no hidden AI costs to run large data sets on the RPS Cloud Services server, and no corporate IT barriers to address, nor any need for users to have any programming or sogtware deployment know how to achieve success. The processor can handle effectively unlimited data processing, and removes restrictions that may be imposed by AI platforms.

Examples of Cloud Services commands and functions incorporated in the first release include

  • Import an excel spreadsheet of Layer / Layer Group information along with all Layer definition properties (Color, Name, Protection, Layer Group, Linestyle, Lineweight, Printable Y/N, Display Order etc. and create Layers and Layer Groups in TBC automatically
  • OCR process coordinate and station / offset point tables captured with a clipping tool like snagit into TBC Point Data, using a reference alignment as necessary for the station / offset point data.
  • Convert / reformat unreadable Excel Spreadsheet data into readable data that can be used to create Points or Station / Offset Points, again using a reference alignment as necessary for the station / offset point data
  • Convert TBC point and line data into Points, Route Lines, Track Lines in GPX format for use in Google MyMaps in your browser on your PC or Mobile Device.
  • Reading Bentley GEN format data into Station Offset point data that can be read directly into TBC using the station / offset object creator function
  • Bird Bath Analysis of Surface Models
  • Raindrop Flow Path Analysis to review water fglow and drainage system effectiveness from surface models
  • Surface slope range and slope direction analysis for construction costing, construction challenges, and solar farm construction workflows.
Creating An API Key For Open AI / Anthropic Users

To use the Ask Rocky capabilities of Cloud Services, you will need an account with either

  • ChatGPT / Open AI or
  • Claude / Anthropic

Once you have an account with Open AI or Anthropic, you will need to generate an API Key that can be used inside RPS Settings to configure Ask Rocky to use your own personal account. This enables you to leverage the full power and all AI models, and levels of service that are provided by these providers. This puts the processing and associated use costs on your own personal account when using Ask Rocky to execute tasks for you inside TBC.

The following instructions explain how to generate the required API key from these systems for use in Ask Rocky.

To get API key for ChatGPT / Open AI

  1. Log in or Sign up: Go to the official OpenAI API Platform. If you don’t have a developer account yet, sign up using your email or a linked provider (Google, Apple, Microsoft) and complete the required phone verification

  2. Navigate to API Keys: Once inside your dashboard, locate the left-hand sidebar menu and click on API keys.

  3. Create the Key: Click the Create new secret key button. [1, 2]

  4. Configure Settings: Give your key a descriptive name (e.g., “Test Project”), choose your project assignment, and set your desired permissions (Default is “All”). Then click Create secret key.

  5. Copy and Save: Copy the generated key immediately. For security reasons, OpenAI will only show the full string (starting with sk-...) this one time. Paste it safely into a password manager or secure environment variable.

  6. Fund Your Account: Go to the Billing tab in your settings. The API operates on a separate pay-as-you-go model from ChatGPT Plus subscriptions. You must add a minimum pre-paid credit balance (starting at $5) before your applications can make successful requests.

Similarly to get the Claude / Anthropic API key:

  • Sign in or create an account: Go to the Claude Console or Anthropic Console and log in with your email or Google account. (Note: The API developer console is separate from a standard claude.ai consumer chat subscription.)

  • Set up billing: Navigate to the Billing section in the left-hand menu and add a payment method or credits (such as an initial $5 deposit) if required to activate your API usage.

  • Go to API keys: In the console, navigate to Settings → API keys (or click Get API keys from the dashboard).

  • Create a key: Click Create key (or Add a new key), give it a descriptive name (like “my-app-test”), and select a workspace.

  • Copy and store safely: Copy the generated key (which starts with sk-ant-...) immediately. It will only be displayed once and cannot be retrieved again later

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