Starting Off:
Last Friday, the ConTechTrio aired episode 77 of the podcast in which James Benham (@JamesmBenham), Rob McKinney (@ConAppGuru) and special guest host Jeff Sample (@IronmanOfIT) discussed the latest construction tech news. Headliners last week included the Fieldlens project management app, Komatsu and Trimble’s partnership, Mortenson Construction’s AR app, new Trimble Catalyst features and much more! Special guest, Burcin Kaplanoglu, Vice President of Telecommunications at Lendlease, also joined to discuss the future of Internet of Things (IoT) in Construction.
Shameless Plug:
Join the ConTechTrio LIVE in person for the second stop of the 2017 ConTech Roadshows in Chicago on August 22nd. Learn more about the next three roadshows and sign up for the Chicago roadshow before early-bird registration ends! “Thank you for the excellent and enlightening daylong seminar [at the ConTechRoadshow], I truly learned a wealth of information that has directed me into a whirlwind of research,” stated Steve Gencorelli, President of Gencorelli Engineering.
Tech You Should Try:
Fieldlens is one of the building industry’s leading project management applications. Fieldlens allows users to capture anything on the jobsite, sync posts to a cloud–based platform, and then distribute notifications in real–time. To learn more about Fieldlens and its features, watch the ConAppGuru on last week’s episode of Tech Tuesday discussing digital documentation.
Weekly ConTechTrio Twitter Poll:
Last Week’s Poll: How does your CEO support new technology initiatives? The poll resulted in 56% “A Lot,” 37% “Somewhat” and 7% “Not At All.”
This Week’s Poll: “Do you think that IoT will make an impact on the Construction Industry?“ Visit the ConTechTrio Twitter page and choose from the following options: “Yes – I Think So,” “No – Not Very Likely,” or “What’s IoT?“
Construction Tech News:
Industry Education, Insights & Trends
Elon Musk States He Gets Verbal Approval For NY to DC Hyperloop Tunnel
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announces via Twitter that he received verbal government approval for an underground Hyperloop Tunnel. The Boring Company is looking to run this Hyperloop Tunnel between New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and D.C.
Is Autonomous Navigation Technology Making Jobsites Safer?
Watch the Safe Insight episode below, with David Bruemmer, CTO of 5D Robotics, discussing how autonomous technology works and how it is transforming the construction job site safety.
South Miami Mandates Rooftop Solar For New Homes
Construction Dive explains in this article the importance of solar rooftops around the world. According to The Miami Herald, South Miami officials have delayed the vote to make rooftop solar panels standard on new homes. Read this article to learn more about this mandate on solar rooftops.
Integrating Wellness into AEC Company Strategy
This article from BuiltWorlds is a Q&A with Brett Walsh, Vice President of Human Resources at Graycor. Brett Walsh discusses how to bring health and wellness to the AEC industry. If you want to learn how to create a better culture for your company, you need to read this article.
Partnerships & Acquisitions
Komatsu and Trimble Partner on New API
Komatsu and Trimble have announced they are partnering together to create a new Application Program Interface (API) that will provide mixed fleet compatibility when using 3D construction site data.
Construction BI Announces Integration With Procore For “Power BI” App
The Power BI App by Construction BI now integrates with Procore. The Power BI App for Procore is built on top of Microsoft Power BI and provides over 40 dashboards and reports based on standard Procore data sets. Learn how to dashboard all your data here with the Power BI app.
The Fastest Drone on Earth Just Reached Speeds Over 163 MPH
Drone Racing League (DRL) engineers have created the fasted drone on earth that has achieved a speed of 163.5 mph on the 100 meter course, and recorded velocities of 179.6 mph over longer distances.
Emerging Technology
Google Glass Gets a Second Chance
Google Glass, the optical head-mounted display designed like eyeglasses is getting a second chance in factories. The Verge explains in this article how Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has announced Enterprise Edition of Google Glass. Read this article to learn why this device is much more successful as an enterprise play than as a consumer play.
Mortenson Construction is showing its commitment to virtual and augmented reality tools by creating an AR Mobile app. This AR app is being put to use on a $105 million dollar project in Seattle and allows users and future occupants to visualize and see what the building will look like many months before completion.
Mira’s Prism is a $99 Headset Vying to Become the Google Daydream of Augmented Reality
A Los Angeles based hardware startup called Mira has created an augmented reality plastic headset that is powered by a smartphone and only costs $99 dollars. Read this article to learn more about the Mira Prism and how it brings augmented reality into users homes.
High-Accuracy, On-Demand Positioning-As-A-Service Now Available With Trimble Catalyst
Trimble announced that the Trimble Catalyst now has the ability to give customers access to a Positioning-as-a-Service to collect geo-location data with either Trimble of other third-party apps on smartphones or tablets. To learn more about the Trimble Catalyst new features read this article.
[INTERVIEW] Burcin Kaplanoglu, Vice President of Telecommunications at Lendlease, Discusses The Future of IoT in the Construction Industry
In the second half of the podcast, Burcin Kaplanoglu, Vice President of Telecommunications at Lendlease, joined the ConTechTrio to discuss the future of Internet of Things (IoT) in the construction industry. Burcin was born and raised in Turkey and then moved to the US and graduated with his PHD in Construction Engineering and Management from Illinois Institute of Technology. [Fun Fact: Burcin has a twin brother that also works in construction industry.]
In the interview, Burcin explains what intrigues him most about construction and why he has chosen to dedicate his life to the AEC industry. Burcin and the ConTechTrio discussed successful tips to use when funding new technology, defined Internet of Things (IoT) and how sensors work, as well as, explained best practices to use when securing IoT devices.
Tune into the ConTechTrio podcast this Friday for Episode 78, featuring Gari Nickson, from GenieBelt discussing the state of construction technology in Europe.
Listen to the Podcast: Spreaker, SoundCloud , YouTube, iTunes
Follow On Twitter: @JBKnowledge, @ConTechTrio
