Something that we’ve talked about quite a bit of late here at Geo Week News is this latest state of the AEC technology industry. To put it most simply, there have been stages to this space due to some of the unique factors keeping construction in particular relatively behind in technological adoption, but after a recent proliferation of various solutions from a wide variety of companies, we’re starting to see dominant players take over. Whether through acquisition or simply developing their own products, things are becoming more consolidated and it feels like we’re entering yet another new era in this age of technological adoption around the AEC industry.
Today, we’re looking at a few stories from our friends around the industry highlighting some advancements in this new era in a few different ways. We have one story featuring an interview with an executive stepping into big shoes for one of the major players in the AEC space. Then, we have a look at a rapidly emerging technology that has long felt futuristic but is starting to become reality. Finally, we look at one of the biggest names in the industry and how they are embracing the biggest trend across all industries – AI.
Industry Interview: Julien Moutte: The Successor to Keith Bentley
Todd Danielson | Informed Infrastructure
We start out with an interview conducted with Julien Moutte, who last year took over as the Chief Technology Officer with Bentley Systems. He replacing Keith Bentley, who is one of the founders of the company and has served as its CTO since the company’s inception over three decades ago. (For more on Bentley, read this interview Geo Week News conducted shortly after his retirement was announced.) This article is just a piece of a larger video interview Danielson conducted with Moutte, and goes over how the latter is feeling heading into this new position. Topics include the pressure that comes with succeeding a company’s founder and long-time CTO, how AI will work into the future of Bentley Systems, and initiatives around sustainability.
Recruitment, sustainability and safety: Are construction robotics the answer?
Dave Walsha | pbc today
For decades now, science fiction writers have obsessed with a future in which humans are regularly interacting with robots. We’re certainly not all that close to that reality, but in the construction industry robotics are becoming a bigger piece of life on a job site. These aren’t necessarily the humanoid robots described and shown in these novels and films, but many ground-based robots are coming to market at a time when the construction industry desperately needs these technological innovations to counteract worker shortages, environmental concerns, and more. In this article, Walsha outlines the ways that robots on construction sites can address some of the biggest issues plaguing the industry today.
Nemetschek Group Launches AI Innovation Hub
Aarni Heiskanen | AEC Business
The Nemetschek Group is among the biggest organizations in the AEC industry, owners of some of the most impactful software providers for BIM and other important tools used by those in the space. Because of that, it makes sense that they are heavily investing in AI and have created a “hub” to centralize their efforts around it. AI is central to almost everything most industries are working on right now, with the construction industry very much in the middle of that as well. This article outlines the key factors and goals that will come out of the Nemetschek Group’s Innovation Hub.
