Expert Outlook
TECH, INFRA INVESTMENTS TO BOOST AEC SECTOR Mao Xunye
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Vice President, CHC Navigation
recent trend we have seen as a geospatial technology provider is contrary to conventional wisdom. There is a shift in technology focus — from work to people. This makes sense, as advances in technology have the potential to improve people’s efficiency. However, the solutions we design should be both purpose-fit and people-fit. For instance, GNSS RTK, which is implemented for many uses in the AEC sector, earlier had manufacturers competing over higher accuracy, more channels, longer radio distance, etc. But now that high precision is ubiquitous, the focus is on user-level innovation for better results — how well the technology interacts with the user and how quickly the user can master the technology. Maturing high-precision tech Devices are becoming smaller, easy to carry, and they operate like our personal gadgets. Work functions are better mapped out and users can follow logical flows of instructions for operations, quality assurance and quality control, and connect data to large project ecosystems. Nearly every field device and construction machine can now interact via Cloud and online collaboration systems. This past year has seen the maturation of high-precision tech that has the potential to integrate into the AEC sector. Further, the software has gotten smarter. It learns from past experiences, and so, the near-future surveyor will just set the objective and the software will work out the optimal process. The technology will get friendlier, and soon, with AI and advanced wireless tech, the surveyor will talk with the device.
Infrastructure investment Urbanization is an ongoing trend globally, and there is still decades of work to do. For instance, here in China, in 2020, the government released the new infrastructure policy, which is the main part of CNY 40 trillion ($5.6 trillion) investment blueprint, the largest-ever in history. The new infrastructure is focused around 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Industrial Internet, which will yield additional benefits for the AEC sector. The GDP is likely to grow at 2-3%, with infrastructure acting as a major contributor. It is encouraging to see similar things happening in other parts of the world. If a government simply prints money, the purchasing may not improve, and so, putting money into assets is a This past year better investment.
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The new super maturation of cities will be like a high-precision human body, with technology. sensors and feedback systems. So, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), AI, Autonomy and Robotics will all be standard. Big Data for design and construction will benefit from increasingly richer infrastructure data, and how AI makes sense of it. Even a chess champion cannot beat Google’s AlphaGo, so we might gain more efficiency if we can transcend human-only design, construction and operations. Need-based infrastructure The new infrastructure design will need to consider demographics. There are developed countries with growing segments of older citizens. Infrastructure will have to be more convenient, with better interfaces, visual aids, and faster medical response times. Sharing business environments with integrated infrastructure can bring high efficiency to public infrastructure. Remote collaboration, Augmented Reality and Big Geodata can help in modeling how businesses and residential complexes will use an area, which will help in designing the most efficient infrastructure.