Courtesy Autodesk CEO Carl Bass discusses the new cloud-based features for Autodesk software to industry press at a company media event in San Francisco on March 27. Courtesy of Autodesk The 2013 edition of the Revit design suite was previewed at the event. Seeking to capitalize on the rise of cloud-based computing, Autodesk is offering a subscription-based software service as a complement to its extensive suite of design tools.The 2013 editions of Autodesk's Building Design Suite, Infrastructure Design Suite and Plant Design Suite, for example, would include basic access to the company's cloud-based Autodesk 360 service. The Autodesk 360 service
Photo Courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology Augmented Reality is one of the hottest trends on smartphones, with applications such as Layar and Wikitude providing real-time text and graphics that augment whatever users see in their cameras' viewfinder or browsers.Architects and engineers are also working with AR, increasingly deploying more precise uses of the technology to integrate 3D graphics and models into real-world views or to facilitate total immersion in a design project.But since AR technology works with GPS coordinates that rely on a device's satellite access to pinpoint a user's location, many AR apps work best outdoors. For facilities
Rendering courtesy of Ena Cheung/Thornton Tomasetti Investigators are using forensic information modeling to study structural failures, such as the 2007 highway bridge collapse in Minneapolis. Red color indicates steel corrosion. Structural engineers are harnessing technology's power to learn from failures and ultimately improve the built environment. New interactive digital databases—similar to YouTube, SharePoint and Wikipedia—offer the potential to improve codes and practice, agree engineers. With global engineering research, knowledge and failure data at their fingertips, designers are able to connect the dots as never before."We are on the brink of [an information] revolution," said engineer Santiago Pujol at the 2012
Bluebeam Software is pushing the envelope of collaboration, 3D and building information modeling with the latest upgraded version of its signature product. Revu 10 offers users more cloud storage integration, collaboration support and project communication.The Pasadena, Calif.-based company says new features include real-time collaboration with integrated cloud storage, hyperlink management, space definition for automated tracking in PDFs, 3D PDF creation and markup to 3D views. "The industry is ready," says Don Jacob, vice president of engineering for Bluebeam. The release follows extensive testing with power users and other beta testers who provided feedback to the company on specific uses for
Courtesy of Fiatech Matthew May, opening day Keynote speaker at Fiatech 2012. Related Links: Procurement Key Tech Goal for Fiatech in 2012 What are the secrets to innovation? How can the construction industry find new ways of innovating tools for the trade or to improve productivity? Sometimes, the answer is not in the black, but in the white space between the lines. You just have to challenge how you think about innovating.That's the word from Matthew May, a popular motivational speaker on business processes, who also writes a blog and columns for the small business website OpenForum.com. Sometimes, he says
By Tom Sawyer Insight-sharing about advancing the effectiveness of IT in project delivery is non-stop, focused and intense during breaks at Fiatech2012 in Miami, Fla. During formal sessions things really heat up. Related Links: Fiatech: Collaborating to Advance Technology and Innovation By any measure, 2011 was a great year for the construction technology consortium Fiatech, with over 20 active projects that year and 17 deliverables buttressed by industry advancements, says Ray Topping, PE, the director of Fiatech.Speaking at Fiatech's annual technology conference and showcase, held at the famed Doral Hotel Resort in Miami, Topping says 2012 is shaping up to
Courtesy of Balfour Beatty Data-rich information models not only can support exquisite representations of facilities, like this one of the Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, but more importantly, they can be used to study alternatives, and optimize design, construction, operations and maintenance for the lifecycle. Balfour Beatty PLC is stepping up its support of new software and digital tools that underpin full lifecycle use of building information modeling around the globe. A recent deal with Autodesk is a key part of the strategy.Chris Millard, head of systems integration for the 50,000-employee, UK-based infrastructure firm, says the goal is to expand
Rendering courtesy of Apple Lights On Maiden, N.C., data center will draw power from a 20-MW solar farm and 5-MW fuel-cell installation. Related Links: EDITORS' CHOICE & GREEN PROJECT: Facebook Data Center Apple is hoping to get a boost from the sun to power its rapidly growing cloud services.Having completed a $1-billion, 500,000-sq-ft data center in Maiden, N.C., in late 2011, the computing giant recently began construction on a 20-MW solar farm. Along with a new 5-MW fuel-cell installation, the company plans to use the farm to supply all the energy needed to run the facility.The data center, which was
Guest Commentary: There are nearly 70 million smartphones in use in the US (Quora Research), and by some estimates, tablets are set to overtake PC use. The mobile internet is burgeoning, devices and platforms are proliferating, and no businesses are more impacted by this digital revolution than those industry sectors that are inherently mobile. Architects and engineers particularly belong to that cohort of workers who can hardly be categorized as having “desk jobs.” They’re on the go when they’re on the job, often bristling with more than one mobile digital device. Google won’t disclose how many of its searches are mobile,
By Zlatko Batistich Roof-mounted air handling units feed outside air to supply ducts to deliver cooling for a unique data center located on the urban NJ waterfront that is cooled by 100% outside air. The U.S. Green Building Council is drafting its first set of standards for data-center projects as the growing sector has struggled to meet energy-efficiency benchmarks.The U.S. data-center construction market increased to about $15 billion today from about $5 billion in 2000. According to a study commissioned by computer software giant Microsoft, that number is expected to increase to $20 billion by 2020. But the amount of