Andrew Anagnost, President and CEO of Autodesk gave the keynote at the general session of the second Autodesk University 2021 Virtual in October. He spoke of how customers and employees had to experience a decade of change in 18 months that some were not ready for. “Even before social distancing and remote – platforms were connecting consumers and producers, and mobile devices were bringing everyone together,” said Anagnost. “Sometimes it’s felt like technology has kept us apart. We saw human ingenuity at a greater pace and scale. We face uncertainty. You make things that make tomorrow a better place. Everyone here are innovators and solve big and small problems, and technology is a force multiplier of your ingenuity.
“What are digital twins and specifically urban twins?” This was the question is posed at the beginning of the webinar by Michael Jansen, founder and CEO of CityZenith in a recent webinar hosted by CityZenith and ABI Research. They are virtual replicas of buildings, infrastructure and physical assets, fully interconnected with the data in and around them. Digital twins can provide actionable insight for optimization in design, engineering, construction and operations through simulation and prediction of future outcomes.
At a technical session held at the Virtual Esri User Conference 2021, in July, entitled “GIS + BIM for AEC Project Delivery & Operations,” expert presenters Steven Santovasi, Erika Boccian, Rafael Lucero and Anthony Renteria provided a look at the value of BIM and GIS for project delivery as well as for other aspects of AEC, such as schedule data, asset lifecycle management and the features of the upcoming ArcGIS GeoBIM.
Recently, Bentley Systems presented a webinar entitled, “Using the Power of Digital Twins to Reimagine the Future of Infrastructure” at the EFCG Tech Leadership Conference online.
Presenters Steve Cockerell, Industry Marketing Director, Transportation, and Kat Flesh, Senior Director Transportation, both of Bentley Systems, spoke on their findings from working with some of Bentley’s most visionary users.
Kat Flesh, Bentley Senior Director Transportation
They provided an update on what has been achieved so far, and what is being planned by owners and supply chains of assets that support nearly every aspect of our lives today. For example, roads, rail and transit, bridges, water systems, and smart cities. Cockerell and Flesh also explored the innovative ideas that are shaping the infrastructure business for a better tomorrow.
Steve Cockerell, Bentley Industry Marketing Director, Transportation
“Population growth rates vary across different regions, but we’re still talking about 2 billion additional people on the planet in the next 20 to 30 years,” Cockerell said. “The United Nations predicts that the future of the world’s population is urban. Today, over 55% of the world’s population live in urban areas, but by the middle of the century that number will go up to 68%. In America, the number is already 80%, and I think this will place a huge strain on our infrastructure assets. Most of the impact will be on our roads and railways as these networks are the only way to keep our cities and countries moving.”
While Bentley Systems has had an Academic Program for some time, it has been reawakened, according to Katriona Lord-Levins, chief success officer at Bentley. “It has been brought into the times we’re in, and to meet the needs that we have to create a talent pipelines for our customers and ourselves,” said Lord-Levins. “Not only do we want to help students develop their engineering skills that will help them in the real world, but we also want to get people excited about the possibilities of the future.”
Digital twins can play a role providing accurate, reliable data – fit-for-purpose and useful across the water infrastructure lifecycle. Gregg Herrin, vice president, water infrastructure at Bentley Systems discussed in a briefing with AECCafe Voice the Dodge Data Analytics Water Report.
According to company materials from Cityzenith, 70% of the world’s carbon emissions come from cities, and digital twin technology may hold the key to reversing this.
Lamina Tower, Saudi Arabia
A recent Markets & Markets report estimated the Digital Twin market would grow from $3.1 billion in 2020 to $48.2 billion per year by 2026, at an annual CAGR of 58%. Digital Twin software is already revolutionizing industries such as Construction, Energy, Architecture, Aerospace, and Automotive & Transportation.
Dr. Nelson Ogunshakin, CEO of FIDIC, hosted the first of a series of webinars arranged by FIDIC’s committees, entitled FIDIC Covid-19 Webinar Series 2021 – Working in the New Normal. The webinars focus on a wider range of topics of interest to Member Associations and companies within the consultancy.
The Nightingale hospital in Harrogate will revert to its original use as a convention centre
More customers working remotely coupled with increased frequency in cyberthreats over 2020 has spurred the release of IMAGINiT Technologies Clarity 2021.1 suite of products including new security features.
An interesting by-product of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the reworking of technologies to fulfill requirements presented by the need to work remotely, as well as address the way we will work on face-to-face projects that are essential to the AEC industry. The need to visualize large amounts of data will propel the expansion from data acquisition to data analytics and business and operational insights. Office spaces of the future may be repurposed for additive manufacturing as the maker community takes off with more entry-level machines, making it more accessible to more people. Drones are becoming smarter, and more field personnel are able to make use of them.
