Technologists from Topcon Positioning Systems, Lenovo, and HP share how big data is influencing tomorrow's technologies, and offer insights into the Internet of Things (IoT), including ambitious projects already underway.

This class will discuss the lessons URS Corporation learned when dealing with a large project area covering over 37,500 square miles of the Navaho Nation. URS developed a workflow to apply the client's imagery and topographical data, which utilized over 3225 digital elevation models (DEMs) and 37 enhanced compression wavelet (ECW) files. Navaho Nation asked URS to develop several 3D fly-through educational videos displaying identified flood hazards over this model to show impacts on housing projects. Multiple teams developed data using geographic information system (GIS) applications. They then transferred the data to InfraWorks software to develop the product. The Project Team had originally intended to use 3ds Max software but transitioned to InfraWorks software due to its ability to auto project and symbolize the GIS data in 3D. This project was a huge success because of the ability of InfraWorks software to work with native GIS data.

You have accumulated asset data in your enterprise—now what? This class shows how utilities can use Autodesk® visualization tools to integrate with their smart meter systems to effectively manage smart meters in their network. The integrated solution demonstrates how you can use the power of Autodesk® Infrastructure Map Server technology to visualize various meter events and empower operations personnel to resolve issues.

The goal of this class is to demonstrate how contractors, like Kirby Engineering can leverage Big Data on projects. Kirby Engineering is currently harvesting information from the site team through QC checklists, Rfi submittals, drawing reviews, contract delivery and desktop audits on BIM 360 & Autodesk Construction Cloud. Kirby Engineering champion team would like to demonstrate the development of a business dashboard that would allow senior Directors make project decisions based on real data. Kirby team has set up an internal Data reporting team where ACC has proven to be central to the project data reported back. Other areas of focus include but are not limited to the use of integrations and tools to support data-driven decisions, such as Data Connector, PowerBi and ACC Connect. The class will be delivered by the customer together with Autodesk Customer Success team to demonstrate the importance of collaboration between construction customers and their technology partners.

This class will discuss pairing Microsoft Power BI with BIM 360 Field data to make informed corporate decisions.

Guy Messick of IA Interior Architects will tell the story of IA’s journey in discovering how creating data-rich workflows within a Revit system can transform the work of a global interior architecture firm and how we communicate to our clients and each other. In the last year, IA and Proving Ground have collaborated to implement a new data infrastructure for harvesting BIM data into a centralized and scalable resource. These methods have impacted IA’s ability to gain actionable insight in a wide range of metrics including deliverable quality and market benchmarking. He will share the discovery and specifics of how this technology has the power to fundamentally change the approach to engaging with our staff, clients and the AEC industry. Guy will be discussing real world issues like costs and funding, software, successful Revit strategies and visualizing data in Power BI.

This class is all about defining a common way to exchange data between different authoring tools. In the era of big data and with the increased complexity of projects, how can we ensure that the transfer of design data is consistent and with no data loss? There are way many attempts to come up with a common strategy for the industry, the reality is that usually none of them is what we are looking for. Let’s have a look together at what is already available (Speckle, BHoM, etc.), maybe is already what you need, and come up with some semantic strategy to define the language that works for your company (or that has worked for AECOM). We will finish up with some best practice on how then create add-ins, Dynamo custom nodes, and repositories to support the data exchange and how to use the power of Autodesk Design Automation to create data driven models in a click!

Network Rail is the owner-operator of the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland, and Wales, which includes 20,000 miles of track and 30,000 bridges, tunnels, viaducts; and employs more than 37,000 staff. In this new era of technology, Network Rail produces vast amounts of digital information and relies on terabytes of point-cloud data, 3D modeling, and instant access to information to help develop and maintain tomorrow’s railway infrastructure. In this session, we’ll show how Network Rail managed the challenge to move away from data drives and siloed working with large 3D scans and data sets. As part of their digital transformation journey, Network Rail used the Autodesk digital workplace and BIM 360 software as their collaboration platform to connect project teams to rapidly access big-data scans. Teams have instant access to the latest design software without the need for hardware upgrade or transportation of large data sets across project participants.

A variety of business trends have emerged in the past few years, including collaboration and co-creation, big data, the transformation of products into services, and sustainable design. New technologies are increasing the ability for businesses to connect together to take advantage of these trends, which is leading to accelerated adoption.

Your infrastructure projects are getting bigger and bigger, your alignments are becoming longer and longer, and your surfaces are detailed in billions of points. How do you manage this in AutoCAD Civil 3D software? Methods and procedures for parsing and simplifying data without losing critical accuracy are examined using an alignment that is 500 kilometers long and a surface that has 2 billion points. We will demonstrate the workflow and data organization, from data preview, feasibility analysis, accuracy checks, project setup, design optimization, quantity reports, and document production. Additionally, we'll examine critical settings and other tips and tools that enhance the performance of enormous AutoCAD Civil 3D projects.

In the big data and artificial intelligence era, Saipem's new business model considers innovation an integral part of corporate culture. Having a large amount of information available, and above all being able to count on a great calculation capacity that can improve decision speed and managing complexity, is one of the principles that will make digital and big data analysis increasingly essential in the present and the future. In construction departments, talking about data means a clash with the complexity of data usability and management. This class will showcase how Forge enabled Saipem to aggregate big data from different sources (SmartPlant 3D, Tekla Structures, Oracle, Navisworks software) to analyze them (Microsoft Power BI) and to get an updated data set of information applying a full BIM (Building Information Modeling) approach. This class will describe the steps toward getting Power BI dashboard directly in Forge, approaching the system architecture necessary for this integration.

Saipem is a large, international turnkey contractor in the Oil & Gas Industry. Construction department always faced problems regarding the real status of projects (in home office) and the constructability (on site), the integration between the 3D model and the data available was often outdated and completely disordered. The game is changing now: the use of Forge Platform allows Saipem to aggregate BIG Data from different sources (SmartPlant 3D, Tekla, Oracle, Navisworks and others) to analyze them (Power BI) and to get an updated dataset of information applying a full BIM approach. During the class the audience will be shown, benefits of the implemented solution compared with previously used ones, with a focus on feasibility, work front analysis, progress measurement, accounting and mechanical completion handling.

This class is designed to present the next level of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and big data for owner’s lifecycle operations. The presentation will introduce a truly cloud-based, 24x7 hosted, collaboration web service born from best practices in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry and focused on the owner’s lifecycle operations at an enterprise-level. The class will foster an understanding of the next generation of globally accessible, concurrent "big BIM data" and collaboratively flexible and infinitely scalable metadata schemas. The class will showcase past and present projects where this cloud-based collaboration has been used to illustrate how communication and problem-solving on complex projects can be improved for project responsiveness, quality control, access to the most up-to-date data, and overall project cost and schedule.

Following a 12-year planning period, HOK was commissioned with the design of the Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah, considered one of the largest aviation projects under construction in the United States. In 2017, the airport launched a new 740,000-square-foot concourse expansion to the ongoing project, bringing the total area to 2.3 million square feet, with a total construction cost to $2.8 billion. This provided HOK with the opportunity to realign its BIM Execution Plan with a brand-new set of design technologies supporting big data, including A360 Collaboration for Revit cloud service, FormIt 360 software, Dynamo Studio software, Revizto, and Enscape. Learn how HOK re-evaluated, strategized, and adopted new technologies to enhance the collaborative design process; and hear what hurdles and opportunities appear when the cloud is pushed to the limits by projects of colossal dimensions.

Small firms constitute almost exactly half of the fields of architecture. It’s always great to hear about all of the amazing scripts and tools that our peers from large firms are able to show off at conferences, but smaller firms often don’t have the depth of support staff (or the overhead hours) to dedicate to custom tools and add-ins, or even a support queue. Let’s talk about how the work of a BIM manager and technical support staff is different when we’re in a small firm. Not only are different tools needed, but also different workflows shine at different scales. Let’s talk about what works well in smaller offices, and what doesn’t translate down from larger practices. This class will be a lightly moderated discussion trying to find some consensus (or at least good debate) on how smaller firms function in the time of big data BIM. This roundtable was kicked off earlier this year at Midwest University. Takeaways from that discussion will be used as a jumping-off point.

Gilbane Building Company has long had an excellent Quality in Construction (QIC) program. We will discuss the elements of a successful QIC program and talk about why people, processes, and tools are essential to successfully providing value to the customer and enabling continuous improvement. We will review the benefits realized to date in our BIM 360 Field software implementation—anticipated benefits as well as unanticipated breakthroughs in knowledge sharing, business intelligence, and collaboration. Discussion will include relevant quality metrics and big data analysis, and we will cover how to find the story behind the numbers.

NVIDIA's Bob Pette, VP and GM of Professional Visualization and Mike Haley, Senior Director of Machine Intelligence for Autodesk, Inc., will share their insights on the Era of AI and how NVIDIA solutions are powering AI workstations, virtualization and cloud services to transform product development and design workflows with extraordinary results. Hear how deep learning is helping industries solve many big data problems and bring cities of the future to life.

There will be Q&A session after the talk and all attendees will be entered to win an NVIDIA SHIELD TV.

During this inspiring and informational opening keynote at the Connect & Construct Summit, you will hear directly from Autodesk Construction Solutions leaders, as well as some of the most creative and forward-thinking members of the construction industry. To continue the momentum, you will catch big data trailblazer Billy Beane, Executive VP of Baseball Operations of Oakland Athletics Baseball and Subject of acclaimed book and major motion picture “Moneyball,” explore how the power of data and analytics is transforming businesses of all sizes, in all industries, including construction. Construction professionals of all levels will walk away with valuable insights on the power of information and how it can transform businesses. This can’t-miss keynote will help you uncover valuable insights to deliver more successful projects and prepare your business for long-term success.

"One of the biggest hurdles in using an STL mesh model for a downward manufacturing application is the lack of geometry feature information in the STL file. This class will demonstrate how machine learning techniques can be applied to extract geometrical information from mesh models; and explain the process of building machine learning models, feature engineering for mesh data, and parameter tuning. We will also cover Autodesk Forge integration for data translation and viewing; and demonstrate how to use AWS cloud infrastructure such as GPU computing for big data and AWS Lambda for fast online predictions."

Cloud computing is impacting design and manufacturing. In this class we will survey the state of the art in cloud implementation patterns for both discrete manufacturing and process industries. Find out how technologies like Machine Learning (ML), big data, and Generative Design are shaping how products are brought to market and sold. Learn how you can drive innovation in every stage of manufacturing: Product Design, Production Design, Production, and Operations. You will walk away with an understanding of how you can use AWS Services and Autodesk products together to accelerate innovation, time to market, and develop new business models.