AEC Tech
A robot called MULE does the heavy lifting of cinderblock on a jobsite. Robotics for repetitive construction is catching on with large and small contractors alike. Images and video: Construction Robotics
The machines address trade labor shortages, as well as worker wellbeing and safety.
Photo: Bluebeam
The latest version of the company's flagship tool focuses on accuracy, speed, standardization....
A national survey of contractors and building owners finds a large portion of respondents unhappy about how data are shared by project teams. Charts: e-Builder and Dodge Data & Analysis
A new survey finds that contractors and owners differ about the urgency of getting to single, sea...
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Image by ZMorph3D from Pixabay
More manufacturers now include this production process in their factories.
Photo courtesy Prescient
Prescient combines 5D software, clever engineering, and advanced robotics to create prefabricated...
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Matt Gough, Director of Innovation and Work Winning, Mace Group
From building prefab factories in the sky to incubating the next generation of AEC tech startups,...
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No humans necessary. A transfer platform slides under the car's wheelbase and positions the vehicle to be parked automatically in a basement of 500 Walnut. Image: Westfalia Technologies
This is the first “palletless” system that Westfalia Technologies has installed.
Enhanced data transmission will make virtual reality more effective, but 5G adoptions will increase gradually. Photo: Pexels
Virtual reality, Internet of Things, robotics, and drones will all benefit from enhanced data flo...
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The 20,000-sf Oracle Construction and Engineering Innovation Lab in Deerfield, Ill., replicates an actual jobsite, and allows visitors to walk through five different stages of construction work, to test new technologies and training techniques, or to share best practices with peers. Photo: Oracle
The Oracle Construction and Engineering Innovation Lab allows visitors to walk through five diffe...
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Darren Bechtel (second from right) with his Brick & Mortar Ventures team (from right): Kaustubh Pandya, Curtis Rodgers, Alice Leung, and Austin Yount. Image: Brick & Mortar Ventures
Brick & Mortar Ventures has struck 16 deals in past 20 months.
Dane Stokes, a Design Technology Specialist with ZGF Architects, shown with floor sensors that were used to capture occupant circulation data for one of the firm’s projects. Photo: ZGF
Computational design lets ZGF Architects see patterns that renderings and even models can’t show....
XCON 2019 to focus on collaborative partnerships and what works in digital construction
Photo: Pixabay
The most important benefit of offsite construction, when done right, is reliability.
Photo: SuitX
Guidelines, common terminology, and testing methodology are needed, says expert.
Photo: Pixabay
Investors could reap big payoffs in an industry that experts say is ready for automation.
A new report on how contractors collect and use jobsite data is based on responses from 187 companies. Image: Dodge Data & Analytics
Information is power, but are contractors collecting what they need to make better decisions?
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As part of its four-year phased construction to Butler University's Gallahue Hall and Holcomb Building, Pepper Construction overlays imagery of where new utilities and buildings will be onto drawings and maps of existing structures. Pepper has been creating 3D models of underground utilities on jobsites since 2017. Image: Pepper Constructon
Overlaying new installs and site surveys add precision to the construction process.
Builder’s Almanac a free informational resource that organizes technology by construction workflow.
The free online resource aims to eliminate subjective bias from the contech software evaluation p...
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Courtesy Aleksandar Pasaric/Pexels
Could there come a time when buildings will become less about bricks and mortar and feel more lik...
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A crew member with BAM Construction (second from right), working on that contractor's King's Cross project in London, demonstrates how he correlates the installation of mechanicals with laser-scan models he accesses from the cloud, a process that Autodesk and Leica Geosystems developed. Image courtesy Autodesk
The software goliath sounds the alarm about the urgent need for productivity improvements to addr...
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Photo: Harsch Shivam/Pexels.com
About half (42%) say their firm is “on par” with their most-direct AEC competitors.
Mortenson, a top-20 nonresidential contractor, is teaming with Built Robotics to make upgrade kits for earthmovers used on Mortenson's renewable energy projects. Image: Built Robotics
The partners will focus on equipment used for earthmoving in wind and solar projects.
Rendering: Reconstruct Inc.
Reconstruct’s AI and digital twin capabilities provide indoor/outdoor views for project stakehold...
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Illustration: Adobe Stock
Instead of debating about whether machines can design, why don’t we ask, What if they could? How...
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Photo: Christina Morillo via Pexels
ABC members increased training spending 45% from 2013, according to a new report.
Construction teams and facilities managers can now drill down into rich BIM data in an easy-to-use 2D interface or 3D environment. Rendering: PlanGrid
One of the construction industry’s most widely-used mobile technologies makes critical data acces...
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A rendering of the 70-acre Seaport San Diego redevelopment, for which the owner's rep Gafcon is applying Digital Twin technology to manage the construction process. Courtesy Gafcon
One leading owner’s rep is pushing that idea with its “OneModel” BIM-sharing approach.
Jesse Devitte is among the coterie of savvy venture capitalists who saw gold in those AEC hills. McKinsey & Company estimates that investors pumped more than $10 billion into “contech” startups between 2000 and 2017. Illustration: Cathy LePenske, BD+C
Jesse Devitte is among the prescient venture capitalists who’ve bet on the AEC industry finally c...
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If and when AI drives the entire process of design, construction, and operation, buildings could become exponentially smarter with resources, money, time, and performance. Illustration: stock.adobe.com/SMSka
If and when AI drives the entire process of design, construction, and operation, buildings could...
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NBBJ's Design Performance Group leaders, from left, are Nate Holland, Peter Alspach, and Margaret Montgomery. Image: NBBJ
The firm also wants to advance energy efficiency in its projects.
