Last Friday, the #ConTechTrio aired episode 23 of the podcast in which James Benham (@jamesmbenham), Rob McKinney (@conappguru) and Josh Bone (@bim2thebone) discussed the latest construction tech news. Headliners last week included the 2016 JBKnowledge Construction Technology Survey launch, ConTechTrio podcast awarded Construction Junkie’s “Best Construction Podcast of 2016,” the world’s first “curve appeal” freeform 3D-printed house, Autodesk’s new acquisition, Twitter’s new AR/VR team and much more! Special guest Jeff Sample IT Director at the Gallegos Corp, also joined to discuss technology literacy within the construction industry.
The show kicked off with ConTechTrio news. James Benham announced the ConTechTrio podcast was awarded Construction Junkie “Best Construction Podcast of 2016”! In regards to JBKnowledge, the fifth annual 2016 Construction Technology Survey is now live! Take the 10 minute survey on how your construction company employs technology and receive a complimentary copy of the 2016 Construction Tech Report. In other exciting JBKnowledge news, the SmartBidNet User Conference will return to downtown Austin, TX on July 10-12, 2016! Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out the new JBKnowledge HoloLens and the HTC Vive featured on the podcast.
The JBKnowledge Twitter poll question from last week’s episode, “Do you perform your takeoffs with software or by hand?” – resulted in 67% Software and 33% By Hand. A new poll question was also highlighted on the show, that’s related to this week’s episode – “Does the learning curve of technology keep you from adopting new software?” The poll can be found on the JBK Twitter page and participants need only answer the single question with “Yes” or “No.”
In geek news, architecture studio Wimberly, Allison, Tong & Goo (WATG) designed the world’s first “Curve Appeal” freeform 3D-printed house. Microsoft is working to remove mice and keyboards from our everyday lives by developing products that track hand motions with high precision. Got a parking ticket? No worries, a 19-year-old created a free robot lawyer that has beaten 160,000 parking tickets – take that parking meters! Nabholz Corp is helping the future construction technology workforce by providing scholarships for students in the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Construction Technology program set to launch later this fall.
Also discussed on the podcast, AECOM and Trimble are teaming up for the world’s first real-world application of Microsoft’s HoloLens for the AEC industry. Procore is planning to integrate with Amazon Echo in a way that will allow construction users to check on a project status just by asking a question. An employee at Foojee is tracking his journey on transitioning from a Macbook Pro (desktop) to an iPad Pro (tablet) – check out his progress on the company blog.
Autodesk made headlines again, they acquired Cadsoft Computer GmbH, to enable EAGLE to publish their PCB designs directly to Fusion 360. In the world of AR/VR, Twitter is beginning to devote resources toward creating a dedicated AR/VR team. CallisonRTKL’s shared its plans to develop a technology that will regulate outdoor thermal comfort through shading, air movement, water circulation and a vegetated roof, called Xylem.
Also in terms of “going green,” the U.S., Canada and Mexico are going to boost their combined clean-energy generation to 50% of electricity production by 2025. LeicaGeo US has partnered with Milrem to launch a mini-machine, Pegasus Multiscope Rover, that will take GPS mapping and camera tech into places humans would normally not risk their lives or safety. The trio finished out their weekly tech news updates highlighting the booming US hotel construction and planning industry with 4,471 hotel projects underway — representing 40% of the global total respectively, according to Lodging Economet.
In the second half of the podcast, Jeff Sample, IT Director at The Gallegos Corporation, joined the #ConTechTrio to discuss technology literacy within the construction industry. Jeff has been heavily involved with IT for a majority of his career, however, he wasn’t exposed to construction IT until he was offered his current position at Gallegos two years ago. Jeff discussed the obstacles he ran into when trying to implement new technology within the construction industry – citing the differing levels of tech comfort as the main hurdle for adoption. He later went on to discuss his methods for training employees/customers on new technology and increasing the adoption rate within the industry. The ConTechTrio and Jeff wrapped up their discussion by highlighting Jeff’s favorite new apps and his advice on rolling out new technology internally to minimize pushback.
Tune into the #ConTechTrio podcast again this Friday for Episode 24, featuring Todd Wynne from general contractor Rogers-O’Brien Construction. Until then, you can catch up on past episodes of our construction technology podcast and even check out some bonus episodes via the links below!
Listen to the ConTechTrio Podcast on iTunes
Listen to the ConTechTrio Podcast on Spreaker
Download the NEW ConTechTrio Podcast App
Listen to the ConTechTrio Podcast on SoundCloud
Listen to the ConTechTrio Podcast on YouTube
