Every week here at Geo Week News, we have been highlighting some of our favorite stories from around the internet that cover the geospatial, 3D, and AEC industries. Whether it’s a fascinating case study, insights from an industry thought leader, or deep dives into new tools, there is never any shortage of great writing and storytelling in this industry. So, below you can find links to three stories that we loved this week.
Women Will Shape The Future Of AEC—If We Make Space For Them
Anita Nelson | Forbes
Some of the most significant contributions to the world’s greatest cities can be attributed to women in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC). Emily Roebling stepped in for her ailing husband to engineer the Brooklyn Bridge, a New York City icon that set the standard for suspension bridge construction. British-Iraqi Zaha Hadid evolved traditional architecture by breaking convention, leveraging innovation and technology to create fluid, dynamic and avant-garde buildings. There are, and will be, more female trailblazers in AEC—if we attract, develop and enable women to excel in an industry that has only just begun to make space for them.
Lidar helps gas industry find methane leaks and avoid costly losses
Kylie Foy | MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Each year, the U.S. energy industry loses an estimated 3 percent of its natural gas production, valued at $1 billion in revenue, to leaky infrastructure. Escaping invisibly into the air, these methane gas plumes can now be detected, imaged, and measured using a specialized lidar flown on small aircraft. This lidar is a product of Bridger Photonics, a leading methane-sensing company based in Bozeman, Montana. MIT Lincoln Laboratory developed the lidar's optical-power amplifier, a key component of the system, by advancing its existing slab-coupled optical waveguide amplifier (SCOWA) technology. The methane-detecting lidar is 10 to 50 times more capable than other airborne remote sensors on the market.
How AI can help fix construction
Hari Vasudevan | Digital Construction Today
AI adoption is steadily growing, with the construction industry no exception. Today, 37% of construction companies use AI, up from 26% only two years ago. Despite that growth, however, the industry is among the five slowest adopters. The main hurdles include heavy reliance on manual labor, huge amounts of project data and thin margins. This makes it much more difficult for the industry to invest in new technology, causing a cycle where inefficiencies lower margins even more and leave little room for innovation.
