The annual Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure Awards was held in Singapore this year at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Finalists and attendees gather to learn about the projects and ultimately to see who is awarded the winning distinction in each category. Categories include Buildings and Campuses, Road and Rail Asset Performance, Digital Cities, Bridges, Power Generation, Utilities and Industrial Asset Performance, 4D Construction Modeling, Reality Modeling, Mining and Offshore Engineering, Rail and Transit, Roads and Highways, Manufacturing, Water and Wastewater, and Communications and Utilities.
2019 was a banner year for Bentley’s Year In Infrastructure thought leadership conference, in its focused attention to what organizations need to manage increasing quantities and densities of data. Digital Twins were definitely the order of the day this year, with other technologies taking front and center stage in the form of acquisitions.
Dr. Anne Kemp OBE, UK BIM Alliance Chair, Fellow and Technical Director at Atkins, has received the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her contribution to the development of the UK’s smart digital economy.
Bentley Systems hosted its Spring Update Conference Call this week about the progress of the company, with a focus on Digital Twin technology. In addition were two product announcements and the acquisition of Keynetix, a UK-headquartered provider of cloud-based software for capturing, visualizing, modeling, and sharing of geotechnical data.
With OpenSite Designer, users can create intelligent 3D models for civil site projects complete with site information, terrain data, parking lots, building pads, driveways, sidewalk, parcel layout and related site features.
Digital Twins – are they taking the AEC technology world by storm? IDC recently noted that by 2020, 30% of global 2000 companies will be using data from Digital Twins to improve organizational productivity by as much as 25%.
According to the 2018 Gartner Hype Cycle, Digital Twin is a trend that is now approaching the “Peak of Inflated Expectations” and is estimated to hit the “Plateau of Productivity” within 5 to 10 years. Image courtesy of Gartner, Inc.
In an interview with Jon Fingland, general manager of collaboration solutions at Trimble, we talked about the need for digitization and transformation in the construction industry.
Trimble’s answer to the challenges and transition to digitization is Constructible, a purpose-driven approach to building construction – a process that coordinates and optimizes the entire design, build, operate lifecycle. Constructible links the work of each construction stage and helps to implement that work within businesses.
In Part 4 of our AECCafe Industry Predictions, certain trends are further supported by submissions – support for and increased use of more cloud-based technologies, mobile technologies, the movement toward more efficiency in the construction business,virtual reality and augmented reality, the further integration of GIS and CAD, and Digital Twins.
Image courtesy of CCCC Water Transportation Consultants, Ltd.
It’s exciting to predict what may be the technologies of the new year. Many of you have a finger on the pulse of what is up and coming and can share valuable insights with our readers.
Before the holidays I sent out a call for industry predictions for this year. So far, we have received a number of responses. This may mean that I need to extend this into a multiple part blog. Please get your submissions to me asap so they can be included.
2018 brought with it the realization and development of various technologies that will serve to move the AEC industry forward and in some cases, serve the concept of digital cities more widely. Digital Twin technology has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the coming years.
