Image Courtesy of Softree Softree Optimal ingests laser scanning, soil composition and the cost of cutting and filling dirt in various topographies and soil types to compute the path of least resistance (shown in red) for infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and pipelines. Related Links: VIDEO: SoftreeOptimal in Five Minutes A new corridor-based, infrastructure-alignment software product aims to automate optimal vertical alignment work by using topography data to compute the path of least resistance.Developed in collaboration with the University of British Columbia, Softree Optimal, created by Softree Technical Systems Inc., Vancouver, B.C., finds the lowest-cost vertical alignment for infrastructure
The latest in a series of reports about concerns over construction defects in the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge suspension span involves cracked welds in the girders that form the span’s roadway. Others that have emerged include suspect foundation concrete, rusted tendons in the skyway that connects the suspension span to Oakland, broken anchor rods, and corrosion on the main cable. Many of the issues were first reported by The Sacramento Bee.As a “fracture critical” structure, in which some vital structural elements lack redundancy or backup, the bridge would seem to be a perfect candidate for an installed system for structural
Courtesy of BP Drone weighs 13.5 lbs and can stay aloft for three hours. Related Links: FAA Appeals Drone Ruling as Use Soars FAA Drone Information Page The Federal Aviation Administration’s recent approval of BP’s flights of a commercial unmanned aircraft system (UAS), or drone, over northern Alaska, which began on June 8, is a step toward legalizing commercial UAS flights elsewhere in the nation. Until now, legal commercial use of UAS over land has been restricted to the military, law enforcement and scientists engaged in research and development.FAA spokesman Les Dorr says the agency is talking to commercial industries
Related Links: 3D Hubs global 3D printer network Recent conversations with Autodesk’s technologists, a tour of Autodesk’s “Pier 9” workshop on the San Francisco waterfront and an encounter with Carl Bass, Autodesk president and CEO, builds an appreciation for the company’s deepening interest in 3D printing.The workshop is a 27,000 sq ft, two-story structure housing 115 people on a pier near Autodesk’s San Francisco offices at the foot of Market Street. It opened last fall and has been equipped with offices, presentation spaces, a test kitchen, a Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor and a series of workspaces separately equipped for
ENR FutureTech is a growing event that showcases some of the most cutting edge thinking and practices regarding technology in construction practices. Now, the event is opening up to more ideas from you.The technology editors of ENR are issuing a call for presentations for the next ENR FutureTech event, slated for Dec. 11 at the Georgia Tech Conference Center in Atlanta.The entry form is here.Past year's presentations can be viewed here.If you have any questions, please send an email to: enr_web_editors@mcgraw-hill.com.
Energy-efficient buildings are not living up to their promise. The problem is serious, yet somewhat puzzling. Efficient building technologies are becoming more and more available; government regulations and company policies are supporting a drive for energy efficiency more than ever and building energy performance targets remain low. Yet when high-performance buildings are delivered they are not matching expectationsThe reasons for the performance deficit can be attributed to multiple issues. Building system and envelope modeling may be inadequate, possibly hampered by incomplete application of the tools—probably because they are not calibrated to actual operating conditions. Contractors may understand each building system
Image courtesy of Berkeley Research Group Related Links: Probabilistic Risk Analysis Generates Big Returns Construction CPM Trends: 4D BIM Claims Taking Off Virtual design tools are a real growth trend for illustrating delay claims in construction, say contractors and practitioners—with good reason.For one, adding a project's CPM schedules to the finished project's 3D building information model to create a 4D BIM as-built model is a much easier way to tell a complex construction story to a lay audience—and build a delay claim. That's in addition to the obvious perk of improving scheduling and optimizing site layouts, among other benefits."I call
Courtesy UC Berkeley Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley create a wearable device that maps a building's geometry and energy heat map. What began as a reconnaissance project for the military, developed into a new, wearable device, scheduled for field testing this summer, which quickly maps the three-dimensional geometry and energy efficiency of buildings.“Our focus was to recover the floor plans of a building in one walkthrough,” says Avideh Zakhor, professor of electrical engineering at the University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., whose research began as a Department of Defense project in 2007, with the goal of creating a
Photo Courtesy of Wilson and Company Ceremony Wilson and Co. and Kansas State University christened their UAV before its very first flight. Photo Courtesy of Wilson and Company While mapping a nearby landfill, Wilson and Co. officials used their UAV to document winter conditions surrounding a spillway at Tuttle Creek Dam, north of Manhattan, Kan. Related Links: Drones Find Their Way to Southeast Construction Sites Research Ramping Up For More Drones on Jobsites The Federal Aviation Administration is pressing its effort to restrict use of unmanned aerial vehicles after it lost a legal ruling regarding regulatory authority over smaller drones.
Parametric modeling is best known as the technology empowering the nimble geometric feats of many contemporary architects. This new generation of architecture is so reliant upon parametric modeling that designers like Patrik Schumacher, the director of Zaha Hadid Architects, argues that it constitutes “the great new style after modernism.” By his reasoning, and the reasoning of others, parametric modeling is enabling an entirely new type of architecture.Despite the exuberance, the building industry has been quietly struggling with parametric modeling. In practice, the models are difficult to produce and they often break. The breakages most commonly occur when the project’s design
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