Architects

Futuristic tech wish lists… what are you waiting for?

It seems you can’t browse an industry website today without hearing about some new app, software, or hardware package that is going to push the bounds on the traditional ways in which design and construction are done. Case in point, a recent BD+C article about Google Glass asked the question, “will Google Glass revolutionize the construction process?”
April 11, 2013
2 min read
66fb165d369555b84c421465 Futuristicwishlist

It seems you can’t browse an industry website today without hearing about some new app, software, or hardware package that is going to push the bounds on the traditional ways in which design and construction are done. Case in point, a recent BD+C article about Google Glass asked the question, “will Google Glass revolutionize the construction process?”

Leveraging Augmented Reality (AR), Google Glass will enable users (or wearers) to look at a jobsite today, overlay graphical data or BIM model images and visualize how the project will look tomorrow. It’s sort of like overlaying reality with trace paper… but way cooler.

Well, an architect in Australia is going to put the concept to the test to see if there is a real world application for this futuristic technology. Conceptually, it’s easy to see the many use cases for this type of technology within construction. Whether it plays out as a useful tool or not is a whole other story.

Over the years, I’ve had many a conversation on the topic of the ideal futuristic technology for the industry: the George Jetson jet pack or hoverboard, if you will, for construction. But I wonder, what technology are you waiting for? What is the one innovation, however far-fetched it may be, that would make your life so much easier? What would truly revolutionize the way you work? Care to share?

About the Author

Sasha Reed

As Vice President of Strategic Development at Bluebeam, Inc., Sasha Reed collaborates with leaders in the architecture, engineering and construction industry to guide Bluebeam’s technology, partnerships and long-term goals. She joined Bluebeam in 2007 and co-created the Concierge Approach, a distinctly branded process of customer engagement, product feedback and solution delivery to which much of Bluebeam’s success is attributed, and which today is replicated at every organizational level.

Sasha is known industry-wide as a “conversation facilitator,” creating platforms for exchanges necessary to digitally advance the industry, including the BD+C Magazine Digital COM Blog, which she authors and manages. She’s been a featured presenter at numerous national and international conferences, including the 2014 Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA), Federal Project Delivery Symposium and NTI Danish BIM Conference. Sasha also co-chairs the Construction PDF Coalition, a grassroots effort to provide a common industry framework from which to create and maintain construction PDF documents, serves on the City College of San Francisco BIM Industry Council, and is Advisor to the Board of Direction for the National Institute of Building Sciences BuildingSMART Alliance.

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