Leveraging the Power of A.I. to Analyze Massive Amounts of Construction Data

Today’s digitized workflow creates enormous amounts of data from a growing number of sources, which makes it difficult to keep track of. By converging live jobsite cameras, AI, and 360° reality capture with Navisworks and Revit models, a powerful multifaceted model emerges making it easier to organize actionable information more efficiently.

The importance today of Building Information Modeling or “BIM” is indisputable, it improves productivity, reduces conflicts and changes during construction with clash detection and ultimately saves time and money. Recent advances have put up-to-the-minute BIM information into the hands of teams in the field via mobile and handheld devices also for instant verification and clarification of as-designed conditions. BIM is all about visual representation and communication - infusing live cameras onsite brings an entirely new level of richness in information and verification into the environment and completely changes the collaborative landscape. 

This natural extension harnesses live data sources available onsite and merges them with upstream BIM information to merge the as-designed with the as-built, further streamlining management of schedules and changes on the fly and answering questions about buildability, environmental variables and clashes in near real-time. Beyond the benefits to the project team on-site, Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) teams can leverage EarthCam cameras on the jobsite to gain a greater insight into the project process using real-time media. 

Whether cameras are capturing images 24 hours a day incrementally or being triggered by onsite reality capture walkthroughs, all of this imagery has much more value when it’s turned into actionable data. We are doing this today by capturing surrounding metadata (location, orientation, historical and current weather, and telemetry from other sensors) and also by letting the technology assess the imagery and extract data from it. For example, we are using AI and Computer Vision applications to look for and classify vehicles and construction equipment onsite, we are then using this data to trigger events, update logs or even catch illegal dumpers. EarthCam is leveraging the power of AI to analyze the massive amounts of data, which is then incorporated into 3D or 4D models. All imagery is data and data is powerful. 

The current industry demands that technology companies collaborate to reduce friction and create one comprehensive solution to support successful project management. With EarthCam’s software support for Autodesk BIM 360, users can geo-tag images, video and immersive 360° photos to the 3D design space to be viewed within the model for analysis. Users can leverage the extended functionality on the Forge Viewer Toolbar to compare the completed project to the architectural model, highlight areas of interest directly on any image, and share as an RFI, observation or change order.

Through the integration of the visual content, the model becomes a framework that provides for a collaborative single-source environment for the entire project team. Going one step further, by automating the reporting processes using image recognition, EarthCam is creating a path towards eliminating waste and supporting a lean culture. Through this visual information, the benefits of saved time and expenses are quickly realized. 

To learn more about EarthCam’s Autodesk BIM 360 integration and how the company is creating better lives through visual information, visit www.earthcam.net/autodesk. 

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