AECCafe Voice Industry Predictions 2021 – Part II

Industry predictions for 2021 launch from what technologies are in place, and which technologies have been relied upon during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even after the pandemic scare is over, industry professionals believe there will be a heightened need for technologies such as AR/VR/MR/XR to allow staff to collaborate remotely. Digital twins, remote working, off-site manufacturing, hybrid work situations and new ways of handling volumes of data are all predicted for the future, as fortunately they were already tools we could utilize before the pandemic.

Vectorworks

Dr. Biplab Sarkar, CEO, Vectorworks

“Here are the top trends in 2021 that I believe will play important roles in the AEC industry:

1. As employees return to the office buildings after the pandemic, more and more building owners would implement Integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) to efficiently use the office spaces, control the energy consumptions and occupancy aided by the IoT edge cloud.
2. The layout of spaces inside a building or the furniture layout in a space could be automatically generated using AI/ML tools. Conceptual design phases that generate the initial design variations will be well suited for the use of AI/ML technology.
3. Remote working will remain a major trend even after the pandemic is under control. AR/VR/MR/XR would gain traction for the building design and construction reviews as designers and field construction staff could collaborate remotely using this technology.
4. Software vendors will be investing in “Total Experience” that combines customer experience, employee experience, user experience, etc. I think software products and services would no longer be major differentiating factors. The linked experiences will determine the success of the products in AEC.”

Dr. Biplab Sarkar has been with Vectorworks since 2000. After first serving as a manager of geometry and rendering, he was the chief technology officer from 2008 to 2016. With 30+ years of experience developing CAD software, he was promoted to CEO in April 2016. As CEO, Biplab provides strategic leadership to the company by establishing and meeting company sales, growth and market share objectives. He continually seeks out technology innovations and evaluates the competitive landscape to ensure Vectorworks software remains a best-in-class CAD and BIM solution for designers in the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries. Biplab earned a Ph.D. in CAD and an M.S. in mechanical engineering at The Ohio State University. He also holds a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Bentley Systems

Adam Klatzin, Bentley Systems, Inc.

The transition from fragmented BIM workflows to digital twin workflows will continue. We will see a broader adoption of this transformational approach, beyond the forward-thinking infrastructure owners and operators, and large AEC firms. Combining and synchronizing various types of asset data—such as BIM, IoT, and reality data—will become more commonplace, and will drive market demand for digital twin applications that address diverse use-cases. We expect to see the ecosystem of technology developers who are creating digital twin applications continue to grow to meet the market’s need to create, visualize and analyze digital twins of infrastructure assets.

— Adam Klatzkin, Vice President, Business Development – iTwin Platform

Adam Klatzkin is Vice President, Business Development for the iTwin Platform at Bentley Systems.  His team is responsible for the vision, development, and user success of digital twin cloud services for infrastructure engineering.  He joined Bentley in 1998.  His previous roles have included leading various platform and product development teams including Senior Director of Construction Product Development.   In 2010 Adam co-founded The Engineering Essentials Company (TEEC), which developed SpecWave a software product to help architectural, engineering, and construction organizations intelligently manage their engineering specifications and related codes and standards.  Bentley acquired SpecWave in November 2012.  Adam holds a Bachelor of Science with honors in electrical and computer engineering with an additional major in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University.

ALLPLAN

Kevin Lea, SVP Product Management, ALLPLAN

During these unprecedented times, the construction industry’s reliance on technology has never been higher. The ability to efficiently share design data in both 2D & 3D forms is the life blood of every project, but to do so at a time when we have reduced human interaction, demonstrates the vital importance of both the quality of the data we create and the digital tools with which we chose to communicate.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we now see many design firms switching to hybrid business models by providing their teams the flexibility of both office and remote working. This flexibility is also providing comfort to business owners that no matter what crisis may arise in the future, projects and commitments can still be fulfilled whilst still delivering the quality of information their clients have come to expect. Underpinning such initiatives is of course the adoption of cloud technology.

Also, the challenges of upholding social distancing rules in construction is significant, and therefore the benefits of pre-manufacturing processes (especially in the precast market) has never been clearer. Off-site manufacturing is enabling construction to continue in a controlled manner by reducing on-site activities leading to both efficiency in delivery whilst supporting social distancing principals.

Now that digital processes are being increasingly adopted, significantly more data is being considered throughout the design and construction processes. From running cost studies on scheme options, investigating the ease of buildability in construction, through to the facilities management requirements of a building.

In turn, this presents technical challenges for software vendors to provide solutions on how to effectively manage such large sets of data for their customers. This is combined with the challenge of balancing computing power and performance. Computer power has not advanced at the same speed as we now expect. Even with modern 3D solutions, having to wait a few minutes between commands is not enjoyable for the user. Customers expect quick responses, even if the software is solving thousands of problems behind the scenes.

Embracing advancements with emerging technologies such as digital twins and the use of artificial intelligence therefore raises the question of how we practically handle large sets of data efficiently using the computer power available. We are addressing the topic of data handling and performance on two levels. The first is focusing on scalability and performance within the software. This improves the overall speed of how the software operates and how we intelligently handle data to provide an experience which is consistent for both small and large projects.

The second area we have focused on is the use of cloud technology. Cloud technology is the only practical way to handle and process extremely large data sets. This is not just about storing data, but also about how the data is processed. Certain tasks can be processed more efficiently using cloud technology, so our aim is to provide our clients with the right tools to do this, either locally or in the cloud. The flexibility to share data anywhere, anytime also comes from access to the cloud and is extremely valuable for dispersed project teams.

The adoption of cloud technology and understanding how tools like Bimplus can benefit projects are current hot topics and we will continue to bring the latest innovations of this nature to our clients.

One of those initiatives is to bring new workflows with structural analysis software via the new SCIA AutoConverter. This lets customers quickly and efficiently process an Allplan model into a structural analysis wire model using cloud technology. The benefit is that it produces a model exactly the way a structural engineer wants to see it, without the modeler requiring structural skills or compromising the coordination model.

Kevin Lea, SVP Product Management, ALLPLAN

Tags: 3D, 3D cities, AEC, architects, architecture, Bentley Systems, BIM, building, building design, building information modeling, CAD, Cloud, collaboration, construction, covid-19, design, digital twin, engineering, engineers, facilities management, generative design, infrastructure, Open BIM, reality capture, visualization

Categories: 2D, 3D, 3D PDF, AEC, AECCafe, ALLPLAN, apps, architecture, Bentley Systems, BIM, building information modeling, civil information modeling, Cloud, collaboration, construction, construction project management, engineering, field solutions, file sharing, IES, IFC, infrastructure, integrated project delivery, Internet of Things, IoT, MEP, mixed reality, mobile, openBIM, simulation, site planning, subscription programs, sustainable design, terrain, Vectorworks, virtual reality, visualization, Year In Infrastructure 2020

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