NEW YORK – The United States is leading the push for the global adoption of digital engineering, a recently published report states.
Joining its counterparts in the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union, Hong Kong and India, the U.S. is a driver for the adoption of digital engineering techniques and processes, according to the report from Asite, a cloud collaboration solution for the AECO (architecture, engineering, construction and operation) industry. These digital engineering techniques and processes have the capabilities to transform the AECO sector, the report states.
Projects across the U.S. are beginning to use new digital engineering technologies. Common technologies include tools that can improve planning and oversight on projects, such as high-definition photography, 3-D laser scanning, and geographic information systems, enabled by recent improvements in drone and unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) technology. All of these tools are said to dramatically improve accuracy and speed.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of our industry and has fundamentally changed the way we operate," said Chris Peters, senior vice president of Asite North America. "As our industry rebuilds and recovers, we need to be aware of the opportunity the pandemic has provided to adopt a more digital approach to working as we adapt to our new realities.
Governments around the world are recognizing the importance of digital engineering and are introducing initiatives to encourage innovation.
In the U.S., the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Building Construction (ABC) Initiative, led by the department’s Building Technologies Office (BTO), promotes advanced building construction techniques, such as off-site manufacturing, robotics, and the digitalization of building design and construction processes.
Although currently focused on the housing sector, the initiative seeks to improve construction productivity as a whole and ensure that assets are smarter, healthier, more sustainable, more resilient and more responsive to the needs of their users.
For more information, find the full report here.