In this cross-industry collaboration between Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) and the Autodesk Technology Centre in Birmingham, England, we're solving the challenges NWG has maintaining water infrastructure. By employing advanced manufacturing techniques—such as laser scanning, reverse engineering, and hybrid manufacturing—NWG can work with its supply chain to repair broken parts and extend the operating lives of the assets they maintain. NWG is responsible for many assets that were manufactured decades ago, and the original design data is no longer available, causing excessively long lead times for replacement parts. As a result, the downtime for key national infrastructure water systems is prolonged and costly. We will show how this important collaboration between the water and manufacturing industries will reduce the downtime and extend product life, improving NWG's resilience, and ultimately saving money for customers.

In this session, we'll walk through an end-to-end cloud-centered workflow on using large point-cloud data for detailed design using ReCap Pro software and the Autodesk Construction Cloud platform. We will share simple tools to prepare surfaces, intelligently decimate large point-cloud data, publish to Autodesk Construction Cloud, and collaboratively extract design elements (like curbs, gutters, median, walls, ADA ramps, driveways, and drainage breaklines) and assets via browser and take them into detailed design technology like Civil 3D software to generate highly accurate surface models. Users can also publish the extracted features and assets to ArcGIS to use the information across the organization. This is a workflow the point cloud industry has been wanting for decades!

When a large-scale infrastructure project gets started, you'll need to use tools in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction Collection to work with your data efficiently. The information in this session will reduce the time it takes to process huge files, from processing LiDAR-based surface models in ReCap software to implementing Autodesk Construction Cloud workflows. Speed up open times, improve collaboration, and learn best practices you can use immediately. We'll dive into topics that include: determining when to break up files using Data Shortcuts, managing .mms files for large surface models, using Autodesk Docs software for data management, and adjusting AutoCAD settings for optimal performance.

El Corte Inglés, Spain's largest department store chain and one of the biggest real estate owners in Europe, has digitized 3,7M+ sqm of their portfolio. Point clouds, Revit and ACC were the main tools used. This session will show the process and learnings of this experience and the improvements made after two years of continued efforts. They include a content library on Unifi to manage 21.000+ families widely used across 100+ assets' models, establishing a BIM office that uses Docs, Design Collaboration and Model Coordination to review and validate models, and devising strategies to bring models from previous stages up to the latest standards. Beyond digitization efforts, the session will also present how the models are being put to use for many purposes and their applications for even more: store renovation projects, quantities extraction and cost control, fittings capacity control studies, area related applications, construction stage… as well as the technologies for each of them.

A cross-industry technology fusion! We used Autodesk Generative Design software to create an adaptive connector bracket for robot-operated 3D scans of ancient structures. ReCap software and Dynamo helped us study traditional construction methods and enrich our restoration efforts. This report covers our process in Autodesk Fusion 360 software, including entering design parameters and extracting constraints from the historical site. It explains how we turned the bracket's requirements into criteria for rapid iteration and selection, quickly finding the best solution. It also explains how ReCap processed robot-collected point cloud data to investigate architectural principles and features of ancient buildings in Southern China. Finally, it describes how Dynamo converted these insights into automated building information modeling (BIM) scripting, bridging historical knowledge with modern technology for efficient restoration practices.

A new metro Line, with 19 kilometers and encompassing 15 stations, a maintenance yard, and 2 primary substations, represents a landmark achievement in utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM). A large-scale infrastructure project has set a new benchmark for the industry by implementing a comprehensive BIM (Building Information Modeling) approach, encompassing all disciplines, including geotechnical engineering and laser scanning for connection stations with existing lines. The project has also standardized data using IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) and introduced a new standard for contractual items, including a new contractual measurement method. Automated analyses have been integrated into robotic processes, and a train dynamic models to ensure equipment installations has been utilized and with data management. These innovations have significantly enhanced project quality and established the project as a national reference.

This session will look at how Boustead Projects implements processes for monitoring and tracking prefabricated elements. It involves overseeing design approval before fabrication, as well as the real-time tracking of asset location and status with the use of QR codes. This real-time tracking facilitates the generation of accurate status reports for project stakeholders. For mechanical and electrical equipment required for testing and commissioning (T&C), each named asset is tagged with its T&C status, which is then documented in the intelligent model data. This data includes parameter values like equipment site label, site location, and system description, which are used for the respective unit on-site. Internally, Boustead Projects uses Assets to track the lidar scanning statuses based on rooms per level, keeping management informed about the progress of lidar scanning activities.

How can existing 2D data be reused, verified against the reality, and combined with 3D data in a holistic factory design or integration? With Autodesk Construction Cloud, Autodesk offers the possibility to realize this not just for buildings and infrastructure models, but also for new and existing factories, whereby the integration of machines and equipment as well as the use of reality data (point clouds) plays an important role. The objective is to increase the quality of plannings and integrations to a very high level to reduce or completely avoid unforeseen costs, delays or planning errors.

This case study will explore the first-ever commercial drone operations permitted within the rim of the Grand Canyon, and how the imagery captured was used to inform a critical water infrastructure project. Grand Canyon National Park, in Northern Arizona, is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It encompasses an impressive 278 miles of the Colorado River and adjacent uplands and averages more than 10 miles wide. To support work to modernize the Grand Canyon Water System—which serves thousands of residents and millions of annual visitors—we used drones, surveying, and LiDAR technology to acquire high-resolution orthomosaic images and point clouds. In this digital transformation success story, we also employed Autodesk tools such as AutoCAD Civil, ReCap, Revit, and other Autodesk products.

Human bone is a unique material that grows based on the mechanical loading applied to it. This can cause problems for astronauts, as the loading through their bones is reduced and conditions such as osteoporosis can set in. Surgical implants, which are often used to stabilize bone fragments following a fracture, can inadvertently create similar problems, by reducing the force transferred through the bone itself. This can permanently reduce bone mass and increase the risk of future fracture. This class will discuss the ongoing research into this problem, and will demonstrate how researchers are using generative design in Fusion 360 software to explore new designs for these implants that better aid the natural bone-recovery process.

Ever wish you could visualize real-world data without leaving the comfort of your own office? Sound too wonderful to be true? Well, it isn't. Sending crews into the field to measure and collect information about assets is time consuming and costly. But when you have street-level spherical imagery and colorized LIDAR (light detection and ranging) data at hand, you have the freedom to quickly, accurately, and cost-effectively create photorealistic 3D models for planning, design, emergency and disaster management, regulatory compliance, and asset management. We'll explore the collection process and business implications for street-level reality capture and examine 2 alternatives, such as Google Street View and CycloMedia. We'll also discuss practical workflows for municipal governments using this data, including design and visualization, with a focus on water asset management and pavement surface markings. Finally, we'll describe how to effectively integrate these data sources with AutoCAD Civil 3D software and InfraWorks software.

Join PCL and Esri to learn about PCL's innovative digital transformation of their construction processes. PCL is leveraging reality capture, GIS technology from Esri, and BIM from Autodesk to revolutionize project planning and execution. In this session, you will explore how this approach is being applied to PCL's largest buildings project, a $2B hospital in Vancouver, Canada, as well as how this project helped PCL directly improve project planning by using current and accurate site data to confidently manage excavation, site logistics, and trade coordination. Don't miss this opportunity to see how PCL is leading the way in the construction industry's digital transformation.

Due to their nature, rail infrastructure projects greatly benefit from the adoption of workflows based on intelligent models and point clouds to allow off-site analyses without the need of the physical presence on the field. FSTechnology, a division of the Italian Railways, set up this workflow based on an integration of Autodesk software—including Autodesk Construction Cloud, Revit software, and Civil 3D software—with Esri ArcGIS GeoBIM. We combined CAD, building information modeling (BIM), point clouds, and orthophotos with geographic information system (GIS) and game engine technologies and added the construction program in a browser-based 4D solution with issue tracking. This is not only intended to monitor the progress of the physical works being executed, but also to achieve better control during the maintenance phase of the railways. All these combined and advanced technologies help us to monitor the most-critical infrastructures like viaducts and bridges, and factors of environmental interest and relevance, supported by artificial intelligence.

Learn how high-resolution imagery products like True Ortho imagery, 3D textured mesh, 3D point clouds, and DSM/DTM can set the stage for designing the built environment, provide site-wide content at any scale, and help jumpstart any project. AI and machine learning help identify and extract raster and vector features that give context to the design. These AI features can include building footprints, impervious surfaces, vegetation levels, infrastructure locations, pavement markings, and more. These powerful datasets can be used as the source data for your design or can be further leveraged to create additional content like linear feature extraction, surfaces, contours, and 2D/3D project visualizations.

In this session, we'll walk through a complete workflow starting inside ReCap Pro software, and publishing a point cloud to the Autodesk Construction Cloud platform. We'll extract linear features and bring them into Civil 3D software so we can create a simplified but highly accurate surface model. From there, we will publish the linear features as as-built information to ArcGIS Online for everyone to use. This is a workflow you've been asking for!

Do you want to learn how to use laser scans in Autodesk's Model Coordination? This session will cover how Miron Construction has cut this process down from weeks to a few hours. We've been using laser scans for 10+ years and have recently started performing laser scanning ourselves. Laser scanning takes a lot of time and effort, and we were missing an efficient way to use the scans in Model Coordination. Linking the laser scan into Revit software and modeling over it is not easy and creates a lot of risk when coordinating with those models. If items are modeled inaccurately, all liability falls back on our team, which is something that Miron Construction's virtual construction team wants to avoid. This session will share how we are using PointFuse to elevate our building information modeling (BIM) coordination outcomes in Model Coordination.

Lighting design has always been a difficult discipline to communicate; it’s a challenge for clients and project teams to produce the lighting design in their mind’s eye. This is especially applicable with refurbishment of cultural arts and heritage projects, where the complexity and intricacy of such internal spaces makes the way in which light interacts with surfaces and finishes particularly difficult to convey. From the outset, we've been keen advocates of using visualization tools, such as 3ds Max software, to demonstrate the lighting approach with clarity and photometric accuracy, using a range of 3D mediums—from traditional “static” images to in-house developed interactive tools and experimentation in virtual reality (VR) to “show and tell.” In this session, we’ll provide an overview of these visualization processes through selected case studies of our heritage projects for the likes of Historic Royal Palaces UK, as well as University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.

The aging of bridges and increased vehicular traffic has made it important that elevated highway structures receive timely and accurate inspections. Today's procedures for inspections require special equipment, disrupt traffic flow, and expose inspection personnel to safety hazards. The advent of drones that can carry cameras in close proximity to elevated structures presents an opportunity to conduct inspections quickly, safely, and effectively. Towards this goal, this class presents an end-to-end system for robotic bridge inspection. The system creates flight missions; evaluates visual quality of data collection; generates 3D models; detects and localizes surface distresses in 3D; and generates reports complying with the requirements of highway agencies. We’ll share lessons learned from deploying this system on 30 bridge inspection projects in the United States and Japan concerning procedures for documenting, communicating, and following up on bridge inspectors’ recommendations.

Have you struggled with, “what do I do now that I have a point cloud?” It is a common question in the infrastructure industry. There’s an abundance of software that will assist in the post processing of point clouds into a working/usable format. If you have the Architecture, Engineering & Construction Collection, you have all you need. Using a "real-world infrastructure project," this class will walk you through the step-by-step process of post processing drone-collected photogrammetric data. Using products available within your AEC Collection (ReCap Photo software, ReCap Pro software, InfraWorks software, and Civil 3D software) surveyors and designers will be able to generate a working existing-condition drawing.

There are more than 20 million miles of underground plant in America. That's more than one football field in length for every person in the United States—and more are being put in every year. It is critical that engineers and designers have the best data available. Traditionally this has come from field visits, photographs, and survey points. As the cost of the technology decreases and the accuracy increases, we are able to provide designers with highly accurate, reality-based 3D models to work in. Accurate preconstruction data can reduce subsurface costs by almost 5 times! We will discuss using reality capture to provide point clouds, photogrammetric mesh models, panoramic photos, underground locates, and 360-degree photos to facilitate design. We will discuss the differences between the different methods under the circumstances in which we use them. Finally, we will discuss using them to generate line work and terrain models for use in AutoCAD Utility Design software. Also see: Designing Reality, Incorporating Point Clouds into AutoCAD Utility Design. This session features ReCap 360 and AutoCAD Utility Design.