Canadian BIM and Digital Twin Digest for December 15, 2022
- COP27 Reveals More Needs To Be Done To Fight Emissions
- Canada’s Parliamentary Complex Gets a Face Lift Thanks to Digital Tools
- New Research Project Involves AI-enabled Digital Twins for Built Environment
- World’s Biggest Digital Twin To Fight Climate Change
COP27 Reveals More Needs To Be Done To Fight Emissions
The built environment needs to do more.
At the recent COP27, a new climate costs agreement was signed, however, it was generally agreed we have more to do to reform our carbon footprint on the planet. The built environment has quite the challenge as it is a serious contributor to rising emissions.
The construction industry has some ideas. First, verbal commitments need to be acted upon. A carbon tax is a straightforward measure to attain a notable reduction of emissions. HVAC is another idea to easily reduce costs and emissions by bringing down CO2 and lowering energy bills.
We also need to reduce reliance on materials such as concrete and steel, as they have high carbon footprints. Wood is still a strong option, especially now with improved building treatments. Renewable energy needs to be a top priority and highly emitting industries need to be decarbonized.
What is needed is to diversify the energy mix. There needs to be a renewable base load energy source. In the end, a sustainable approach is needed for the energy and emissions issues.
To read more, click here.
Canada’s Parliamentary Complex Gets a Face Lift Thanks to Digital Tools
It will take ten years.
The restoration and expansion of the entire historic Canadian Parliamentary complex in Ottawa will be the largest project undertaken in the country. The estimated cost is billions. There will be over 600 engineers, construction companies, and designers from across the country involved.
HOK, along with other qualified suppliers has formed Centrus which will be working on the centre block for the project. HOK will be using a 3D BIM (Building Information Modelling) system called 3D Repo. The system will save time and money.
3D Repo will be used for many things, one being tracking changes to the geometry of the current 3D models. The system keeps all information from previous models so there is no data loss or corruption. 3D Repo also locally stores data in a cloud-based repository, enabling the team to trace BIM-related data throughout its lifetime so comparisons can be made.
By using this technology, visualizations for clients can be done alongside the engineering process, allowing effective communication for everyone involved.
To read more, click here.
New Research Project Involves AI-enabled Digital Twins for Built Environment
A new research project on digital tools and technology that can transform and enhance home development approval processes is underway.
AECO Inovationa Lab and four Canadian Universities, Carleton University, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), École de technologie supérieure (ETS) Montreal, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) are working together. The project, called AI-enabled Digital Twins for Automation of Regulatory Systems in the Built Environment, is a five-year, $1.32 million project funded by AECO and the Mitacs Accelerate Grants Program.
Aerial view of Toronto city with residential buildings and houses, Ontario, Canada.
The project will build on earlier research funded by RESCON. It will show how BIM and Digital Twins impact the entire building lifecycle. The project will also include improving BIM standards for the approval ecosystem. The project results will create better decision-making opportunities and encourage innovation and digital transformation in multiple sectors, including engineering, construction, government, and architecture.
Canada has some catching up to do, however. Canada must develop and apply standards for the digitalization of projects and assets delivery and management. This will be possible with willing and supportive academic and industry partners
To read more, click here.
World’s Biggest Digital Twin To Fight Climate Change
NVIDIA and Lockheed Martin Space are collaborating on a project for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with an earth-sized digital twin.
The digital twin is literally the size of Earth. The collaboration is building a 3D model to predict and show the temperatures of the ocean’s surfaces. NVIDIA will use its Omniverse platform.
With over 71% of the earth’s surface covered with the ocean, our atmosphere is affected and normal and severe weather can be predicted. Biologists and conservationists already use ocean surface data for tracking wildlife, monitoring reefs, and tracking commercial fishing.
Now, NVIDIA and Lockheed Martin Space will help NOAA by providing software systems and hardware to develop and display the data NOAA has collected.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) will be used by Lockheed Martin Space’s OpenRosetta 3D platform. NVIDIA’s Omniverse Nucleus will then convert the data into a Universal Scene Description framework. The data will then be taken and Lockheed Martin Space’s visualization platform, Agatha, will use the data and allow interaction with users in a 3D environment.
Such a system will help scientists better study climate change through ocean temperatures.
To read more, click here.
