Apps

Zinc all mode communication platform gives construction teams the ability to share tribal knowledge and stay connected to people and information in real time. Zinc offers a secure way for construction workers to communicate via text, voice, video and push-to-talk, as well as receive important or urgent company messages and broadcasts. These features connect and engage employees so that everyone is safe, informed and productive on the jobsite.

3DR GCP is an Android app that integrates with Trimble Catalyst, a software-defined GNSS receiver and on-demand positioning service platform. Developed by Trimble, the service uses a small, lightweight, plug-and-play digital antenna to deliver high-quality satellite data to the 3DR GCP Android app so 3DR customers can capture ground control points and automatically transfer them to their corresponding projects in the Site Scan cloud for georeferencing and processing.

GRAPHISOFT® BIM presentation and communication app, BIMx® hyper-models incorporate 3D building views and 2D documentation sets, while providing an intuitive, game-like viewing experience on tablets and smartphones. With the new Presenter feature, architects can hand-pick the most expressive 3D model views or drawings and organize them into an animated presentation on smartphones and tablets. BIMx is avilable in the App Store and on Google Play. The BIMx Presenter feature is available to BIMx PRO license holders or by connecting through BIMcloud.

Products

Intel announced updates to the commercial drone ecosystem with hardware and software solutions for flight planning, project management and data handling software; three new payloads for inspection, surveying and mapping applications; and obstacle avoidance will provide more tools to capture, process and analyze data to make insightful decisions for businesses. The obstacle avoidance feature, UL 3030 certification and Intel Insight Platform cloud-based digital asset management system enables customers to store, share and manage the rich data that commercial drone systems collect.

Trimble and Kobelco introduced a Trimble Ready® option for select Tier 4 Final Kobelco excavators. Select excavators that ship from the Kobelco factory are now ready for the installation of the Trimble® Earthworks Grade Control Platform for excavators. Trimble’s SITECH® global distribution network provides installation services, personalized training and local technical support for the Trimble Earthworks Grade Control Platform installed on Kobelco excavators.

Software & In the Cloud

GRAPHISOFT® ARCHICAD 22 BIM software solution features a remastered Façade Design workflow, enhanced Profile Editor and includes Maxon's (R19) CineRender engine for stereoscopic or 360° spherical renderings; faster element reservation; and more precision when exporting building component information from composite skins and complex profiles - using OPEN BIM standards.

OnSiteIQ next-generation visual documentation and collaboration platform for construction projects leverages machine intelligence and computer vision to automatically map 360-degree walkthrough images to construction plans and provide remote progress, quality and safety audit capability to construction stakeholders. Subscribers submit floor plans to the platform, which are converted into a tourable model. On a weekly basis, the OnSiteIQ network of data collectors use high-resolution 360-degree cameras to tour and scan the relevant construction site. The OnSiteIQ platform automatically maps the walkthrough video data to the floor plan to deliver a 360-degree virtual walkthrough experience.

CM Labs Simulations’ Luffing Tower Crane (LTC) Training Pack is a simulation-based LTC training platform. Built on the Vortex Studio simulation and visualization software, the LTC Training Pack provides a structured set of scenarios to promote crane skills development. Load charts and lift plans build awareness of the crane’s capabilities and the tasks to be performed before starting operations. The LTC Training Pack also provides an expanded toolset for the training, mentoring and evaluation of student operators.

Oracle Construction and Engineering’s new Primavera Unifier enables users to perform earned value management (EVM) to better analyze the progress and performance of projects. The Primavera Unifier EVM capability allows users to leverage data from Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management to import multiple projects from Primavera P6 EPPM into a single Primavera Unifier project activity sheet, creating a consolidated view of the costs and earned value. Users can create rate sheets by resource and role with escalating rates and pull data from the activity sheet into the EVM module to display industry standard graphics in addition to various critical project metrics, including historical trending.

Video & Cool Stuff

Researchers at Switzerland's Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) have developed a new timber construction method using robotics that will allow them to more easily build complex wood structures.

The SmartDrive SmartIQ Speeding Drivers Snapshot for Truckersaggregates and anonymizes data from the SmartDrive database of more than 220 million analyzed and scored driving events to help fleets understand the inherent risks and costs associated with speeding, and highlights opportunities to improve safety and operational efficiency. The report, which includes an interactive map that shows speeding dangers on U.S. interstates, finds that drivers who speed are more likely to take other risks, be involved in near collisions and waste more fuel compared to their non-speeding colleagues.