The Leica BLK2FLY, the autonomous flying laser scanner from Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, now has the ability to scan indoor spaces.

The new feature, which can be delivered through a free firmware update for existing customers, is designed to provide expanded coverage for complex scanning projects, including digital twins.

The BLK2FLY can now scan in areas without GNSS availability, opening reality capture opportunities in new settings and with new applications, including hazardous indoor areas like nuclear power plants.

Increased performance of the autonomous navigation system are said to heighten the sensor’s spatial awareness, allowing for obstacle avoidance in more confined spaces.

This new capability relies upon advancements to Hexagon’s visual SLAM system, providing real-time spherical imaging that improves the BLK2FLY’s operating range to a radius of 1.5 metres.

“The BLK2FLY, with its advanced autonomous UAV-based scanning, redefined reality capture workflows for multiple industries, especially digital construction, architecture, historic preservation and utilities,” says Pascal Strupler, business director autonomous reality capture at Hexagon’s Geosystems division.

“Digital realities are a crucial component of those workflows, and now that the BLK2FLY is able to scan indoors, users can create complete, comprehensive digital twins of buildings and structures.”

The BLK2FLY complements Hexagon’s terrestrial and autonomous sensor portfolio. According to Hexagon, when combined, they create complete coverage for any scanning project.

Users can also take advantage of Reality Cloud Studio, powered by HxDR, Hexagon’s cloud application that enables uploading of data to the cloud from the field using a tablet or smartphone to register, mesh and create 3D models of their data from the field automatically.

The post BLK2FLY gets autonomous indoor scanning appeared first on AEC Magazine.

HP has introduced the HP Z4 Rack G5, a 1U rack workstation designed specifically for server rooms and datacentres for providing 1:1 remote access for workstation users.

The HP Z4 Rack G5 shares many of the same characteristics as the HP Z4 G5 desktop workstation – up to 24 cores with the Intel Xeon W-2400 CPU and up to the Nvidia RTX 6000 Ada Generation GPU – but maxes out at 256 GB of DDR5 memory instead of 512 GB. It supports one dual slot GPU, including the new Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada or RTX 4500 Ada, or two single slot GPUs, including the new Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada.

With a 1U chassis, the HP Z4 Rack G5 earns is datacentre credentials by being significantly slimmer than its 4U desktop counterpart, delivering four times better density in a standard rack.

It has dual power supplies, where two 675W PSUs can be combined together, or one can be used for redundancy in the event of a failure. In redundancy mode, however, the CPU / GPU options will be limited.

The HP Z4 Rack G5 can be configured with the HP Anyware Remote System Controller, a remote out-of-band management solution designed to give IT managers the ability to monitor and manage workstation fleets through a single interface.

IT managers can remote in, power workstations on and off remotely, perform bare metal imaging (with multiple Operating Systems) manage inventory, and get hardware alerts and diagnostics info.

The workstation can also be used with HP Anyware (formerly Teradici CAS) remote access and collaboration software so teams can access the power of the Z4 Rack from any device.

The post HP Z4 Rack G5 remote workstation launches appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Nvidia has expanded its pro graphics line up adding three Nvidia RTX Ada Generation workstation GPUs to target visualisation, simulation, XR, AI and CAD workloads.

The Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada (20 GB), Nvidia RTX 4500 Ada (24 GB) and Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada (32 GB) fill the middle ground between the Nvidia RTX 4000 SFF Ada (20 GB) (read our review) and Nvidia RTX 6000 Ada (48 GB) (read our review) which launched earlier this year.

The Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada and Nvidia RTX 4000 SFF Ada are identical in their cores specs, and have the same number of cores (CUDA, Tensor and RT) and 20 GB of GDDR6 memory. However, they have different form factors and max power consumption.

The Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada is a full height, single slot GPU designed for standard workstation towers. It draws up to 130W via a 6-pin power connector.

Meanwhile, the SFF version is a low profile, dual slot GPU specifically designed for Small Form Factor and ultra-compact workstations. It draws up to 70W, directly from the PCIe slot.

The Nvidia RTX 4000 Ada is available in September with an ESP of $1,250.

Moving up the range, the Nvidia RTX 4500 (24 GB) is billed as the most balanced GPU for the majority of workloads. The dual slot card has a max power consumption of 210W and is available in October with an ESP of $2,250.

The Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada has a max power consumption of 250W and needs a 16-pin CEM5 PCIe connector. According to Bob Pette, VP professional visualization at Nvidia, it is for those that need performance that is closer to Nvidia’s 6000 class GPUs, but don’t necessarily need 48 GB of frame buffer memory. Pette adds that the dual slot card delivers a huge performance leap over the previous generation Ampere RTX A5000 and A5500.

Compared to the RTX A5000, Nvidia says the RTX 5000 Ada has 1.6 times the graphics performance, twice the rendering performance in commercial renderers and three times the rendering performance in the Omniverse RTX renderer, which takes advantage of Nvidia DLSS 3.

DLSS 3, short for Deep Learning Super Sampling, boosts performance by using the Tensor cores in Ada Generation GPUs to generate entirely new frames without having to process the graphics pipeline (read our Nvidia RTX 6000 Ada Generation review for more on this).

Meanwhile, for the datacentre, Nvidia has announced the Nvidia L40S Ada GPU, which is effectively a passively cooled version of the Nvidia RTX 6000 Ada but clocked a little higher.

Up to eight Nvidia L40S GPUs can be accommodated in an Nvidia OVX reference server. Compared to the Nvidia A40, Nvidia says the Nvidia L40S Ada is up to 2.4x faster in commercial renderers and up to 4x faster in the Omniverse renderer.

The post Nvidia RTX 4000, 4500 & 5000 Ada Generation GPUs launch appeared first on AEC Magazine.

AMD has launched the Radeon Pro W7600 and Radeon Pro W7500, a duo of ‘mid-range’ desktop pro workstation GPUs built on its RDNA 3 architecture.

The new graphics cards are designed to target ‘medium’ workloads for 3D CAD, visualisation, video editing, and digital content creation. They follow on from the ‘ultra-high-end’ AMD Radeon Pro W7800 and W7900 which launched earlier this year (read our review).

The Radeon Pro W7600 and W7500 are both full height, single slot GPUs, so are designed to fit in standard desktop tower workstations and not small form factors (SFFs) / ultra-compacts.

In terms of their performance profiles and price, the new GPUs seem well positioned. However, it feels like AMD could be limiting their potential reach by not giving at least one of them a low-profile form factor, which rules them out of SFF and ultra-compact workstations.

Read what AEC Magazine thinks

Both GPUs come with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and four DisplayPort 2.1 Connectors, the latest version of the digital display standard. According to AMD, this means the cards are future proofed for next gen displays in terms of refresh rate, pixel resolution and colour bit-depth.

The Radeon Pro W7500 offers 12.2 TLOPs of peak single precision performance and has a total board power of 70W, so can operate with PCIe slot power alone. It costs $429.

The Radeon Pro W7600 offers 19.9 TLOPs of peak single precision performance and has a total board power of 130W, so needs a 6-pin connector. It costs $599.

Both GPUs comprise multiple unified RDNA 3 compute units (28 on the W7500 and 32 on the W7600). Each compute unit has 64 dual issue stream processors, two AI accelerators and a second gen ray tracing (RT) accelerator. According to AMD, RDNA 3 offers up to 50% more raytracing performance per compute unit than the previous generation.

There is growing software compatibility for AMD RT accelerators. In addition to DirectX Raytracing (DXR) and Vulkan ray tracing, for which there is direct support, AMD’s open-source toolset HIP, is helping software developers automatically translate their existing Nvidia CUDA code bases.

In terms of the competition, AMD compares the AMD Radeon Pro W7600 to the similarly priced Nvidia RTX A2000 (12 GB) and the AMD Radeon Pro 7500 to the Nvidia RTX T1000 (8GB). The company claims better performance in CAD applications Solidworks and PTC Creo and the AEC-focused real time viz tool Twinmotion. Both Nvidia GPUs are available at similar price points, but the Nvidia GPUs are compatible with both standard towers and SFF / compact workstations.

What AEC Magazine thinks

The roll out of AMD’s new generation RDNA 3-based pro GPUs comes straight out of the workstation graphics playbook. Start at the high-end and then move down the range.

With the new Radeon Pro W7500 and W7600 AMD is looking to target a specific part of the workstation market – the mid-range $350 to $950 dollar segment, which it describes as the largest piece of the pie.

In terms of their performance profiles and price, the new GPUs seem well positioned. However, it feels like AMD could be limiting their potential reach by not giving at least one of them a low-profile form factor. Small Form Factor and ultra-compact workstations, such as the HP Z2 Mini and Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Ultra, represent an increasingly big slice of the mainstream workstation market, not just on desktops but in racks for remote graphics deployments.

AMD could be choosing to focus more on getting these pro GPUs out in the market via specialist system builders, such as Armari and BOXX, who tend to only sell tower workstations.

Alternatively, perhaps AMD feels there is less need for a low-profile form factor pro GPU going forward. As Jimmy Holbert, director of Radeon Creator & workstation strategy at AMD pointed out in the press briefing, AMD’s APUs (CPUs with integrated GPUs) are starting to have an impact in the entry level pro GPU market. With rumours of much beefier models coming next year, could AMD plan to extend the reach of its APUs into the mid-range?

In addition, by configuring both of the new GPUs with 8 GB of memory, it looks like AMD could be limiting where these cards can be used. While 8 GB is currently sufficient for most CAD and BIM workflows, many real time visualisation or GPU rendering tools can easily use more memory, especially at higher resolutions. And that’s without considering multi-tasking workflows, where an architect might model in Revit and render in the background with Lumion or Twinmotion.

Look out for a full review soon.

The post AMD Radeon Pro W7600 and W7500 workstation GPUs launch appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Trimble SketchUp’s 3D Warehouse, the free 3D model library, has made it easier to find models, through a new visually-driven search function called Image Search.

Users can now take a photo of an object or drop and drag an existing image into the 3D Warehouse’s search bar, and AI will sift through millions of pre-built models to find matches. The new feature is designed to help architects and designers more easily specify new products for their designs.

“3D Warehouse used to be entirely based on keyword search, where you had to type in exactly what you were looking for in order to generate the right match,” said Steve Guzman, product manager for 3D Warehouse.

“3D Warehouse Image Search eliminates that requirement, allowing users to overcome language barriers and incorrect search queries by matching images with models.

“Now, designers can more easily source 3D models or find alternatives for their clients who are often looking for very specific objects to incorporate into their designs.”

As well as user-generated models, Image Search results include real-world objects from building product manufacturers and parametrically configurable objects.

On top of Image Search, users can now easily search, filter, and download materials and texture swatches by simply typing the name of the material into the search bar and clicking the Materials tab.

The post SketchUp 3D Warehouse gets visual search function appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Topcon Positioning Systems has introduced Aptix, a new integration-platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) designed to optimise how heavy civil construction projects are managed.

Aptix integrates Topcon solutions with multiple third-party applications with a view to automating and orchestrating data connections between the office and job site, streamlining processes and generating insights for construction teams within one platform.

Aptix automates and orchestrates the distribution of data, including machine control files, constructible models, project schedules, and reports on actuals. It shows, in near real-time, the location of machines with the ability to aggregate as-built data from mixed fleet telematics. It provides real-time reports on people, materials, machines, and carbon dioxide emissions, creating greater visibility for carbon footprint and sustainability initiatives.

According to Topcon, one of the key differentiating features of Aptix is its ability to automate the distribution of constructible models and scheduled task changes. The company explains that these frequent changes make it difficult to keep management teams, operators and other stakeholders updated with the most current information.

Aptix addresses this by integrating with industry-standard applications, including Autodesk Construction Cloud and Microsoft OneDrive. Through these integrations and others, Aptix actively monitors file updates within Autodesk Build, Autodesk Docs, BIM 360 and Microsoft OneDrive, and as soon as a constructible model or schedule change occurs, it automatically distributes these updates to all key stakeholders, ensuring that operators have access to the most up-to-date models and scheduled tasks and that project managers have the most up-to-date reports.

“Without up-to-date, accessible, and actionable information, construction teams will always struggle to communicate and collaborate,” said James Cook, director, partner integrations at Autodesk Construction Solutions. “With Aptix’s integration of Autodesk Construction Cloud, teams can ensure critical information is accessible to all the stakeholders that need it, helping companies more easily build and collaborate.”

Jason Hallett, vice president and general manager, Topcon Integration Services, said, “By automating previously manual processes, Aptix eliminates time-consuming and error-prone data entry, allowing construction professionals to focus on more strategic tasks. Project managers can make better, more informed decisions by having real-time visibility into project progress and potential roadblocks. We are confident that Aptix will optimise how construction projects are managed, providing a powerful new tool for construction professionals looking to improve their project management processes.”

The post Topcon to streamline heavy civil construction workflows appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Edward Williams Architects, a London-based contemporary design led architectural practice, has upgraded its IT infrastructure – moving from an on-premise server to a hosted solution from virtual desktop infrastructure provider, Inevidesk.

Architects at the practice now have more flexibility to work on high-performance software like Revit and Enscape using any hardware, and at any location, such as clients’ sites.

The practice’s entire IT infrastructure is now hosted securely offsite in Inevidesk’s London-based datacentre. According to Inevidesk, this will boost the agility and resiliency of the business, while improving office space.

“The office is still a critical part of our working life, but harnessing [Inevidesk] vdesks means we’re able to get rid of a clunky server and gradually shift from workstations to laptops, freeing up space in our office and enabling our team to work easily from anywhere,” explained Edward Williams, managing director.

“Working within a virtual desktop environment also helps to improve our overall business security. We can block personal computers trying to connect to it and are safe in the knowledge that our practice’s data is hosted securely in the cloud.”

Inevidesk’s service is provided by ‘pods’, with each pod usually containing seven ‘vdesks’. vdesks use AMD Threadripper Pro CPUs for their high clock speeds and all have dedicated GPUs – the Nvidia T1000 for Revit (and similar) and the Nvidia RTX A4000 for more demanding software, such as Enscape. The company also offers a visualiser level option with dedicated CPUs and more powerful GPUs.

Caption: New Courtyard Housing in Stratford, courtesy Edward Williams Architects © Agnese Sanvito

The post Edward Williams Architects invests in cloud workstations appeared first on AEC Magazine.

BrainBox AI, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, has launched the Autonomous Decarbonisation solution suite, which it describes as an end-to-end sustainability platform for commercial and retail real estate portfolio owners.

The decarbonisation solution is designed to directly address the 38% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted annually by commercial buildings by measuring, reducing, and offsetting them, thereby supporting building owners in their journeys to net zero and carbon neutrality.

“Your building is currently emitting 30% more GHG emissions than it should. That stat is scary but solvable” comments BrainBox AI CEO Sam Ramadori.“Our new solution suite not only grants commercial and retail real estate owners the capability to measure their emissions, but autonomously implements optimisation strategies that can reduce emissions by up to 40%. Our award-winning AI technology pinpoints and addresses both operational and environmental inefficiencies in buildings in real time.”

This software uses deep learning, cloud computing and custom algorithms. It can be used to generate a ‘full scope 1 & 2, audit grade GHG assessment’ powered by the building’s data and trusted emissions factors to help identify operational inefficiencies. In addition, individual building analysis compares a building’s energy usage intensity (EUI) to other comparable buildings with a view to demonstrating energy and emissions reduction potential.

BrainBox AI’s autonomous AI-tech can also be layered onto existing heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. According to the company, it learns, modulates, and optimises building HVAC systems, resulting in a reduction of operational carbon emissions by up to 40% and a decrease in energy costs by up to 25%.

The software can also access ‘high quality carbon credits’ through a voluntary market. The virtual marketplace supports multiple types of options like carbon-capture technology, nature-based solutions, and renewable energy projects.

“What we are hearing from our customers and the market is that measurement without action is not nearly enough to get us where we need to be” said Omar Tabba, Chief Product Officer at BrainBox AI. “With this new product category, not only can we autonomously reduce carbon emissions using our AI technology, but we can also offer the tools to accurately and precisely measure where operational optimisation can take place and offer clients a solution to explore and take part in the voluntary carbon markets – all in one platform.”

The post BrainBox AI unveils Autonomous Decarbonisation Suite appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Preoptima has launched its ‘Carbon Twin’ software for creating dynamic carbon replicas of as-designed and as-built assets.

The cloud platform and API combine transparent and geolocated carbon coefficient data with real structural modelling, regulatory compliance, and accurate material quantities to create Carbon Twins that facilitate ongoing optimisation and embodied carbon avoidance of building designs.

Users can import their own geometry or use the built in generative design tool to analyse ‘hundreds of thousands of low-carbon design iterations in minutes.’

According to the climate tech startup, unlike other life cycle assessment (LCA) software which requires material quantities information to perform an assessment, Preoptima’s early-stage material quantities generation lowers the barrier to entry for all building stakeholders to mitigate the carbon in their projects.

Other new features include the integration of building services (MEP) and operational energy modelling using UK and US grid decarbonisation scenarios.

Preoptima expects the software will be able to model all required building systems and types, as well as existing buildings by the close of this year.

The post Preoptima introduces Carbon Twins appeared first on AEC Magazine.

Data and how to unlock its true value in the construction industry, will be the key theme for nima’s inaugural virtual conference on 2 November 2023.

The event will include a day of online learning with live keynote talks and panel discussions on topics shaping the industry with a focus on data, advancing technologies and sustainability.

“The nima Virtual Conference will bring together inspirational strategists and real-world practitioners, to help turn theory into practice,” said nima chair, Anne Kemp. “The value lies in how data is used rather than simply how much data is available.”

The conference will be held in an immersive environment, where the audience, speakers and exhibitors interact through a virtual platform.

There will be four keynote speakers and four practical learning sessions, all focused on unlocking the value of data and how to use data to meet today’s urgent information management needs.

Registration for the free nima virtual conference is now open.

nima was previously known as the UK BIM Alliance, the independent, not-for-profit organisation. The name was changed in September 2022 to reflect the shift in focus of UK government and industry discussion about digital transformation in the built environment.

The post nima virtual conference to focus on data appeared first on AEC Magazine.