Image courtesy of Gehry Technologies Related Links: New Cloud-Based 3D Project Collaboration Tool Offered for Free Until Sept. 30 Gehry Technologies Website New Yorks Tallest Residential Tower Is Frank Gehry Demystified As more powerful processor cores are harnessed into cloud computing services, collaboration using massive data files is gaining in use and sophistication—especially in the design and construction disciplines that work in 3D files.One example is the latest launch from Gehry Technologies, which has gone to market with its GTeam platform following six months of testing. The firm calls it a cloud based 2D and 3D file management and project
Related Links: NYC Building-Energy-Use Reg Steps Toward Saving Energy Work Continues on Updated Commercial Building Energy Survey (subscription req.) SOM Website: Freedom Tower & BIM Wikipedia: Moore's Law Backgrounder Dept. of Energy SEED Program Computing power has grown 100 times over last 10 years, helping to create rapid and profound changes in the tools of building design and construction. But as sophisticated building- information-modeling tools help create ever more complex buildings, why aren't they doing more to design buildings that have greater energy efficiency?These were some of the key points—and challenges—that building experts outlined during Architectural Record's "Innovation Conference 2012"
Image by ENR An Aconex Field demo screenshot shows how issues are logged. When networked, the app then integrates with back-office databases. Related Links: Survey Shows That Mobile Tools Boost Jobsite Productivity ENR Readers Speak Up About Info Tech in Construction Acquisition of Vela Systems Puts Mobile BIM On Autodesk's Fast Track Field management apps for tablet use on jobsites are all the rage in the construction industry these days—with good reason.Tablets are rapidly replacing clipboards to become the device of choice for project managers who value their efficiency in documenting project issues, new research shows.Now Aconex, a provider of
Related Links: More Information About Autodesk 360 YouTube Video of Huntair's Use of Simulator Tools Autodesk is quickening the pace of its cloud-computing strategy shift with what it calls the industry's first "pay as you go" simulation service. Called Simulation 360, the cloud-based subscription offering promises to slash the costs of simulation testing for mechanical engineering projects, the results of which can make or break a successful job."We're packing it up in three different tiers," says Grant Rochelle, senior director of industry marketing for San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk. Simulation 360 is the latest offering sincethe company launched last spring its
Model-driven project delivery on jobsites could be taking a big leap forward with a license deal between project information management (PIM) provider Newforma and M-SIX's 3D software platform, called VEO.
Bluebeam Software has officially launched its new Revu iPad app in the iTunes App store .The tool enables users to access, navigate and annotate PDF files on the go. With Revu iPad, company officials say, comments and annotations display clearly and accurately so nothing is missed, reducing the ping pong effect of ambiguous communications.The company says Revu iPad officially expands Bluebeam’s platform solution, Revu for Windows, for use in other industries. “Bluebeam Revu iPad removes current barriers to productivity, and enables technical and mobile professionals to work without limits,” said Richard Lee, President and CEO at Bluebeam Software, in statement.
ENR's FutureTech San Francisco event attracted over 300 construction technology professionals who attended and participated in a day's worth of demonstrations of the latest and future uses of technology in the industry.During one panel discussion moderated by Isaac Sacolick, CIO of McGraw-Hill Construction, called 'IT From the CIOs Perspective,' CIOs debated some of their main issues in delivering the next wave of information technology services. They also offered tips on how to balance their firms' demands to innovate new systems with the cost to develop and support those innovations.One of the main points: If a firm is building unique applications
Related Links: ENR FutureTech Conference Agenda FutureTech for Jobsites? CIOs Need to See ROI First Jim Balding, CEO and founder of the architecture and design- technology research firm The ANT Group, has three passions: buildings, technology and improving communication. Balding will be among the presenters who will highlight game-changing technology at ENR's FutureTech conference in San Francisco on July 10. He recently chatted with ENR about key trends. Balding What's an emerging tech trend that will disrupt how the AEC industry works? One of the trends that's starting to emerge is digital fabrication. It [enables me] to model something, highly
Photo by Shutterstock/ENR Related Links: Six eDiscovery Vendors Reviewed by Gartner Research Tips For Data Retention Best Practices (Gartner Research) Map of State Laws Regarding Rules of e-Discovery Move To Limit the Cost of E-Discovery in Lawsuits Gains Support More Information Tech News from ENR All it takes is one e-mail among a few million under today's rules of e-discovery. Maybe one was an offhand joke about delays or an angry post to the construction manager telling him to buzz off about the crew's safety procedures (before somebody got hurt). Maybe the firm's outdated retention policy has created too many
Photo Courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology Augmented Reality is one of the hottest trends on smartphones, with applications such as Layar and Wikitude providing real-time text and graphics that augment whatever users see in their cameras' viewfinder or browsers.Architects and engineers are also working with AR, increasingly deploying more precise uses of the technology to integrate 3D graphics and models into real-world views or to facilitate total immersion in a design project.But since AR technology works with GPS coordinates that rely on a device's satellite access to pinpoint a user's location, many AR apps work best outdoors. For facilities