In 2008, I tested out an augmented reality mobile app called Nearest Tube that allowed me to use my smartphone camera to navigate my way to the nearest London Underground entrance without having to unfold a giant paper map and confirm my status as a tourist. At the time, this seemed nothing short of magical. Five years later, thanks to Google Glass and many other solutions, augmented reality (AR) is finally getting the hype it deserves.At its simplest, augmented reality is the convergence of data, cameras, mobile devices, and live end users, creating a multi-dimensional, real-time, interactive virtual environment that

Photo from Autodesk University Holder Construction works with Autodesk Navisworks and other modeling tools to create 3D plans for site layout and logistics planning. This example is one part of a model designed to plan the work layout for an airport project. Slide courtesy of Turner Construction from Autodesk University Example of a metric that the Turner BIM team came up with to track their rate of effectiveness on clash detection with 3D models. Related Links: UK's BIM Mandate Driving Major Shift in Digital Tools Bentley: BIM Also Means Information Mobility Autodesk University 2013 BIM Presentation by Tyler Goss and

I have just returned from the compact, intensely urbanized city of Hong Kong. The construction industry there is a cauldron of activity simmering on the fires of competition, political change, shifting economics and demographics, and further heated by the rapidly growing soft and hard linkages to the industries and population of mainland China.These drivers are leading construction firms in Hong Kong to battle for advantage by leveraging process and technological innovation in a way that promises to set up the former British colony, with its history of internationalism as a crossroads of the Asian and Western worlds, as the hub

Related Links: Achieving Spatial Coordination Through BIM A summary of E.M. Rogers "Diffusion of Innovation" theory A publication jointly developed by three national mechanical, electrical and plumbing associations and released on Nov. 7 aims to elevate the playing field for specialty contractors foraying into spatial coordination through building information modeling. It promises to advance the state of practice by sharing practical, hard-won insights and implementation lessons from leading companies in the trades."Achieving Spatial Coordination Through BIM: A Guide for Specialty Contractors" claims to be the first guide for specialty contractors seeking to embrace BIM practices and technologies in their firms.

Related Links: Information Mobility Research Press Release Information Mobility Construction Market Research & Intelligence Mobility tools such as tablets and cloud services are yielding investment benefits for contractors and specialty contractors, according to a new research study by McGraw Hill Construction. But for many of the 300 contractors surveyed for the report—58% general contractors, 42% specialty contractors—significant gaps need to be addressed to leverage the tools for a better return on investment.Despite the rapid growth in the adoption of building-information-modeling tools among contractors, integration of BIM with mobile apps is still in its infancy, said Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president

Any sports fan can name players who, in one magnificent game or season, put their teams on their backs and carried them to victory. For many years, an analogous phenomenon has been played out in the construction industry. Very capable MEP contractors were often asked to assume the prime responsibility for a project by spearheading the traditional spatial coordination process, carrying less experienced and less competent project members through project completion. In this role of ad-hoc project coordinator, those MEP contractors saved many projects and spared the owners a great deal of expense and risk.Even so, the traditional methods and

Related Links: AGC Level of Development Specification AIA Contract Documents Enthusiasts of building information modeling have developed a standard specification that they say will help eliminate poor communication and misunderstandings within project teams using BIM. The 132-page document, coming out this summer, will offer users a common language for determining the specific content of design, construction and fabrication BIMs.The 2013 Level of Development Specification, which is being formulated by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) BIM Forum, will be available free of charge. It is intended as an attachment to any contract as an aid for practitioners to specify and articulate

The BIM Forum of the Associated General Contractors has released for public comment a draft specification for levels of development of building information models. Interested parties have until June 7 to comment on the draft, which has been under development for two years by a committee of about 20 people.The 132-page document defines and illustrates characteristics of model elements of different building systems at different levels of development. It is intended as a reference to enable practitioners to specify “with a high level of clarity” the content and reliability of BIMs at various stages in the design and construction process.

Courtesy of GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD 17 + EcoDesigner STAR will enable architects to produce energy-code-compliance reports, says GRAPHISOFT. Related Links: GRAPHISOFT Autodesk More than 300 ArchiCAD 16 users have signed on to test GRAPHISOFT’s expanded building energy modeling tool, called EcoDesigner STAR Public Beta.The BEM tool will be released commercially by the end of June as an add-on product to the upcoming ArchiCAD 17 building information modeling software. The direct BIM-to-BEM product will enable architects to perform energy-use simulations and to quickly produce energy-standard compliance reports, says GRAPHISOFT.“Our green strategy is to get the energy analysis and green design of buildings

Over the past two decades digital technology has only just begun to permeate the processes and infrastructure of the building industry.  While you may see iPads on today’s construction sites and high-resolution digital renderings plastered on the job signs out front, construction itself remains one of the human activities least transformed by the waves of technology sweeping through society.The manufacturing industry, for example, invests four times more in digital tools than do we in construction. There clearly is room to improve.  But I think construction is improving and buildings completed in years to come will benefit from three sets of