Tech A section for information technology, construction technology and building information modeling//www.pjbjkak.com/rss/585-tech en-us Quantum Gravity Sensor Tests Point to Better Subsurface Mapping reina@btinternet.com (Peter Reina) By eliminating "noise" of unwanted readings, new sensor device developed at the University of Birmingham is more accurate and up to 10 times faster than current instruments, its developers claim. //www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53728 Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:19:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53728-quantum-gravity-sensor-tests-point-to-better-subsurface-mapping Feds Roll Out $12.1B in Infra Funding for Carbon Capture Tech, Pipelines White House seeks comment by March 18 on approaches to extract CO2 from sources and from the air, with $2B for new pipelines. Capture projects have strong critics, but DOE also funds $4M of planned Rio Tinto-Talon Metals nickel mine demo project in Minnesota. //www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53649 Sun, 20 Feb 2022 15:00:00 -0500https://www.新利luckenr.com/articles/53649-feds-roll-out-121b-in-infra-funding-for-carbon-capture-tech-pipelines Infrastructure Act Can Drive Digital Twins, Says Bentley Systems rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

Software firm leaders say funding law has encouraging boosts for upfront engineering and opportunities to expand construction and lifecycle digital twin use. //www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53597 Thu, 10 Feb 2022 01:00:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53597-infrastructure-act-can-drive-digital-twins-says-bentley-systems Materials Supply Start-Up RenoRun Secures $142M in Series B Funding < p >生长在三年内从50到500名员工, the building materials delivery service announced a significant financing increase from its latest funding round amid the company's continued expansion.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53548 Fri, 04 Feb 2022 12:00:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53548-materials-supply-start-up-renorun-secures-142m-in-series-b-funding
House Democrats' Bill Has $52B for US Chipmaking Facilities, R&D ichniowskit@enr.com (Tom Ichniowski)

After House approval, negotiators would aim to work out differences with Senate-passed version.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53495 Wed, 26 Jan 2022 16:58:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53495-house-democrats-bill-has-52b-for-us-chipmaking-facilities-rd
Suffolk Tech Accelerator Boosts Construction Startups jriceenr@gmail.com (Justin Rice)

The venture capital and technology investment arm of Boston-based contractor and real estate firm Suffolk started a startup accelerator to bring construction technology companies together to expand their networks and raise funding.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53231 Mon, 13 Dec 2021 16:29:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53231-suffolk-tech-accelerator-boosts-construction-startups Suffolk Demo Day Suffolk Technologies hosted its second annual Boost Demo Day, concluding a six-week program that supports tech startups focused on addressing industry challenges. The venture capital and technology investment arm of Boston-based contractor and real estate firm Suffolk started the startup accelerator to bring construction technology companies together to expand their networks and raise funding. Photo Courtesy of Suffolk
New York City Dept. of Buildings Explores Drones for Facade Inspections rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

New report sees potential for drone use in city building inspections, recommends further study of the issue before restrictions are lifted.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53115 Mon, 29 Nov 2021 18:41:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53115-new-york-city-dept-of-buildings-explores-drones-for-facade-inspections NYCDOBdrone.jpg Image Courtesy NYC Dept. of Buildings
Q4 Tech Report: Moving On to the Next Normal rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

At this point, well into the era of working with COVID-19, questions over remote work, remote collaboration and better awareness of the workforce on construction jobsites can seem like settled issues.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53029 Wed, 17 Nov 2021 14:00:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53029-q4-tech-report-moving-on-to-the-next-normal Gilbane With virtual collaboration now a standard practice, tech adoption has accelerated.Photo courtesy Gilbane Building Co.
Is It Time to Start Building a Space Superhighway? yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders)

NASA, U.S. Space Force compare space "superhighway" concept to U.S. Interstate System as they plan major investments to develop the infrastructure system.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53021 Wed, 17 Nov 2021 03:00:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53021-is-it-time-to-start-building-a-space-superhighway
Hilti Acquires Startup Fieldwire in $300M Deal rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

The move broadly expands the tool manufacturer's presence in the construction software space.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53015 Tue, 16 Nov 2021 14:20:00 -0500//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/53015-hilti-acquires-startup-fieldwire-in-300m-deal FieldwireApp.jpg Fieldwire's app is designed with building trades in mind, making sure that the latest documents and task lists are provided to field workers as needed. Image Courtesy of Fieldwire
Success of Infrastructure Digital Twins Begins with Open-source Technology

As was the case with BIM nearly 20 years ago, digital twins are now reshaping the built world in terms of how infrastructure is designed, constructed, and operated. 

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52880 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52880-success-of-infrastructure-digital-twins-begins-with-open-source-technology iTwinExample.jpg Image Courtesy www.itwinjs.org
ProjectWise—Now for Small-and-Medium-Sized Businesses

As one of Bentley Systems’ flagship applications, ProjectWise is well-known in the engineering, architecture, and construction (AEC) industry. In fact, many of the ENR Top 100 companies rely on Bentley Systems’ enterprise collaboration solution ProjectWise Design Integration.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52887 Thu, 04 Nov 2021 00:00:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52887-projectwisenow-for-small-and-medium-sized-businesses man at a computer on the phone
In a Bid for Better Data, Turner Takes Crane Sensor Companywide rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

Turner Construction has signed a multiyear agreement to deploy Versatile's CraneView sensors to project sites across the U.S.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52639 Tue, 12 Oct 2021 15:34:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52639-in-a-bid-for-better-data-turner-takes-crane-sensor-companywide TurnerVersatile.jpg Image Courtesy Versatile
Autodesk Releases New Water, Micro-Climate Tools, Construction Cloud Capabilities yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders)

Autodesk CEO says more open data sharing is the future of construction, while insisting Autodesk design products will not go away as a result of sharing those capabilities and data.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52591 Tue, 05 Oct 2021 14:06:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52591-autodesk-releases-new-water-micro-climate-tools-construction-cloud-capabilities
Gilbane and NeXtera Robotics Form JV to Boost Robots on Jobsites rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

Contractor will jump from pilots to full deployment of a jobsite robotics platform developed with robotics startup NeXtera.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52574 Mon, 04 Oct 2021 04:00:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52574-gilbane-and-nextera-robotics-form-jv-to-boost-robots-on-jobsites GilbaneNexteragravel.jpg The rover robots that make up the first iteration of the Gilbane-Nextera joint venture's robotics platform can document jobsites autonomously via 360° cameras and point cloud scans. Photo Courtesy Gilbane Building Co. GilbaneNexterastairs.jpg A variant of the rover robot uses treads and can climb stairs on its own. Photo Courtesy Gilbane Building Co. GilbaneNexteraImaging.jpg Nextera Robotic's neural networks can analyze and classify the visual imagery captured by the robots, providing marked-up documentation of work progress. Image Courtesy Gilbane Building Co. GilbaneNexteraMap.jpg Setting up the robots' documentation schedule is done through a straightforward interface based on the building plans. Image Courtesy Gilbane Building Co.
Procore Buys Levelset for $500M, Promises Payments and Lien Management Upgrades yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders)

Acquisition of construction payments and lien rights management technology provider is its largest ever and comes months after its $635-million IPO.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52540 Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:51:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52540-procore-buys-levelset-for-500m-promises-payments-and-lien-management-upgrades
Wind Turbine Inspection Drone Startups Gain Ground in UK reina@btinternet.com (Peter Reina)

As wind farms proliferate in more remote onshore and offshore locations, a U.K. startup is deploying self-piloting drones to survey turbine blades and transmit data for detailed images of damage using artificial intelligence.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52500 Mon, 27 Sep 2021 16:59:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52500-wind-turbine-inspection-drone-startups-gain-ground-in-uk WindDroneBug1.png Trials last October demonstrated the mobility and scanning capabilities of BladeBUG's Crawler robot. Photo Courtesy of BladeBUG WindDroneBug2.png The BladeBUG Crawler robot is tethered to an operator but controls its own positioning and scanning. Photo Courtesy of BladeBUG WindDronePercep1.png Perceptual Robotics' drones can plot their own trajectories while scanning turbines blades. Photo Courtesy of Perceptual Robotics WindDronePercep2.png Drone scanning can produce clear images of blade damage. Photo Courtesy of Perceptual Robotics
Inspection Tool FieldGenius Aims to Improve Workflows for Civil Construction rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone) < p > FieldGenius从徕卡呈规则带来的调查and inspection data from the field directly into InfoTech's Appia, bridging a gap in road inspections that can introduce errors and delays.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52458 Wed, 22 Sep 2021 18:24:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52458-inspection-tool-fieldgenius-aims-to-improve-workflows-for-civil-construction FieldGeniusscreen1.jpg FieldGenius works on a tablet and pairs with a GNSS rover, allowing for road surveyors to quickly capture points, lines, areas and volumes on site in a format that is easily ingested by InfoTech's Appia software. Image Courtesy of Leica Geosystems FieldGeniusscreen2.jpg FieldGenius workflows can also be exported into Google Earth, allowing for quick visualizations of field data. Image Courtesy of Leica Geosystems
Construction Tech Startup Versatile Secures $80M in Series B Funding Round rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

Crane-mounted sensor and jobsite intelligence startup Versatile announced on Sept. 14 that it has secured $80 million in Series B funding. This comes on the heels of a $20 million Series A funding round secured in December 2020.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52430 Thu, 16 Sep 2021 15:33:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52430-construction-tech-startup-versatile-secures-80m-in-series-b-funding-round ENR0421Gilbane2.jpg The CraneView sensor hangs below the hook and features a load cell and camera. It wirelessly reports crane pick data back to the cloud, where data analytics provide regular updates on crane utilization. Photo Courtesy of Gilbane Building Co.
Chicago Construction Tech Community Checks Out Latest Startups at BuiltWorlds Summit yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders)

Product demos by startups, networking and venture capital panels brought back a familiar, if masked, sense of collegiality Sept. 1, for demo day of the BuiltWorlds Summit 2021 at Chicago's Westin River North.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52362 Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:22:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52362-chicago-construction-tech-community-checks-out-latest-startups-at-builtworlds-summit AGC 2020 Workforce Survey Oded Ran, CEO and co-founder of Clue Insights, presents at the BuiltWorlds Summit 2021 in Chicago. Photo by Jeff Yoders/ENR
Army Corps Looks to the Cloud for Flood Modeling rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

Generating the best possible models of storm surge, flooding and coastal conditions has been a major goal of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52352 Thu, 02 Sep 2021 09:00:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52352-army-corps-looks-to-the-cloud-for-flood-modeling imagery_of_flood_levee-copy_ENRready.jpg Future planning for levees maintained by the Corps is driven by CSTORM-MS models.Photo courtesy USACE ERDC
Q&A: Bentley Systems' Claire Rutkowski on Remote Work, Burnout and the Hybrid Office rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

The tech firm's CIO talks with ENR about how a blend of remote and in-office workers will be the norm going forward, and how industry firms can adapt to this hybrid approach.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52346 Wed, 01 Sep 2021 15:12:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52346-qa-bentley-systems-claire-rutkowski-on-remote-work-burnout-and-the-hybrid-office ProjectWise365.jpg In response to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020 Bentley Systems made its cloud-based infrastructure design and collaboration software ProjectWise 365 available for free, waiving subscriptions for five months. Bentley CIO Claire Rutkowski says that while the technology to enable remote work and hybrid offices already exists, firms will have to adjust their management styles to this new long-term scenario.
Computer Vision Construction Management Platform Doxel Raises $40 Million From Insight, Others yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders)

Doxel uses computer vision to predict, track and monitor progress on construction sites. The startup recently raised $40 million in Series B funding.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52256 Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:54:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52256-computer-vision-construction-management-platform-doxel-raises-40-million-from-insight-others
Viewpoint: Today's Opportunities For Tomorrow's Digital Twins in Construction

Boston Dynamics' Brian Ringley offers a perspective on the industry's digital future, including the potential convergence of BIM, digital twins and robotics.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52213 Wed, 11 Aug 2021 21:07:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52213-todays-opportunities-for-tomorrows-digital-twins-in-construction BostonDynamicsRingleyViewpoint.jpg Photo Courtesy of Boston Dynamics
Senate Reviews Cybersecurity Threats to US Water Systems yodersj@enr.com (Jeff Yoders)

Officials and water sector professionals warned of ongoing cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s water and wastewater utility infrastructure at a Senate hearing on escalating cyber attacks against U.S. utilities and water-management organizations. 

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52173 Thu, 29 Jul 2021 13:07:43 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52173-senate-reviews-cybersecurity-threats-to-us-water-systems Rep. Mike Gallagher Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) right, and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) testify at Senate hearing “Addressing Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Facing Our Nation’s Physical Infrastructure” on July 21.Photo by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call Via AP Images
Commentary: Why BIM Needs Fewer, Not More, Dimensions Four experts share some concerns for the future of Building Information Modeling. //www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52136 Thu, 22 Jul 2021 17:28:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52136-commentary-why-bim-needs-fewer-not-more-dimensions MTA Aims to Bring Subway Tunnel Robotic Drill Rig to Bid rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

After a successful trial of a railcar-mounted robot to drill holes for tunnel cable racks, the MTA is putting together an open bidding process for vendors to further develop a robot drill rig for use in New York City’s subway tunnels.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52123 Tue, 20 Jul 2021 14:54:00 -0400https://www.新利luckenr.com/articles/52123-mta-aims-to-bring-subway-tunnel-robotic-drill-rig-to-bid MTASubwayRobot.png The prototype robot drills holes for cable trays in the rehabilitation of an NYC subway tunnel. Photo Courtesy of MTA MTARobotcab.png Crews can monitor the robotic drill rig at work from an adjacent subway car. Photo Courtesy of MTA
New Rendering Modes, Cloud Integrations in Archicad 25 rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone) The latest revision of the popular BIM design software Archicad includes improved rendering options and expanded asset libraries for designers and architects. //www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52097 Thu, 15 Jul 2021 13:29:08 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/52097-new-rendering-modes-cloud-integrations-in-archicad-25 ArchiCAD25_3_ENRready.jpg Archicad 25 brings better textures and shadows without the need for separate software.Image courtesy of Graphisoft Infrastructure Site Surveying Gets a Boost From Artificial Intelligence rubenstonej@enr.com (Jeff Rubenstone)

Finding accurate subsurface surveys of bedrock topography is a time consuming process that can be augmented with A.I., say experts sharing recent success stories.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/51929 Tue, 15 Jun 2021 18:33:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/51929-infrastructure-site-surveying-gets-a-boost-from-artificial-intelligence FutureTechBIMforSubsurface.jpg Image Courtesy EMerald Geomodelling FutureTechEMeraldGeomodelling.jpg Image Courtesy EMerald Geomodelling FutureTechTraceAir.jpg Image Courtesy of TraceAir FutureTechTraceAirHaulRoad.jpg Image Courtesy of TraceAir
Fenway Center Eyes Boston Air-Rights

The 1.3-million-sq-ft Fenway Center air-rights project in Boston includes a 90,000-sq-ft deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike next to Fenway Park.

//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/51924 Tue, 15 Jun 2021 06:55:00 -0400//www.pjbjkak.com/articles/51924-fenway-center-eyes-boston-air-rights QnectDesignDetailrev.jpg The steel connections on the Fenway Center's 90,000-sq-ft deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike were designed with the help of Qnect's cloud-based software. Image Courtesy of Qnect Fenway_Revised_ENRwebready.jpg The 1.3-million-sq-ft Fenway Center project is on track to become one of the first new air-rights projects to take shape on Boston's skyline in decades. Image Courtesy of Gensler