Construction Tech of the Week | Airless Travel at 4,000 mph

That's right, 4,000 mph. Meaning it would take you less than two hours to get from New York to Beijing. I'll let you ponder that while Construction Digital explains the actual design of what could be the infrastructure of the future. 

"The system consists of an airless tube five feet in diameter lined with a series of super-conductors. These powerful magnets levitate a streamlined, six-person capsule...The absence of air or contact with the tube reduces friction and drag to nearly zero, meaning the 400-pound passenger cars can simply coast to their destinations once the desired velocity is reached."

With the idea's patent secured, some investors are eager to see a prototype while many skeptics question the feasibility of such a system. But there's no doubt the concept is intriguing...

"The system provides 50 times more transportation per kilowatt-hour than electric cars or rail transportation, and has variable speeds for local, domestic, or international travel. The company claims that the tubes can be built for a tenth the cost of high speed rail systems, and nearly a quarter the cost of a freeway."

Click here to read more about the transportation technology of the future

Construction Tech of the Week | SmartBidNet | Buildings Made of Sand

A German 3D designer is working to prove that areas like the Sahara could be much more productive than the piercing sun and sea of sand suggest. Markus Kayser has built what he calls the Solar Sinter, a machine that "uses photovoltaic panels to power a computer and the electromechanical workings of a 3D printer." And he dreams of it being used to manufacture large scale objects, like buildings, out of mere sun and sand. 

"I would like to see changes in the way energy is used which in this case means to use the immense power of the sun in a more direct way than just the conversion to electricity.  I think there is a basic logic, which is that sunlight is ‘powering’ this earth as a whole and that this energy can also be used to produce the products or even buildings." 

He envisions the material produced by the Solar Sinter replacing concrete as a building material, consuming less fossil fuels and water during production. The head of the machine concentrates sunlight on a tray of sand at over 1400 degrees celsius, melting the sand to form the 3D object design programmed into the computer. 

Click here to learn more about this solar and 3D printing technology

Construction Tech of the Week | SmartBidNet | Flying Jobsite Robots

They say "autonomous quadrotor helicopter technology" we say "flying robotos." In December, a six metre tower titled "Flight Assembled Architecture" was built out of styrofoam blocks by autonomous quadrotor helicopters. 

"Four robots worked on the project at any one time, relying on detailed blueprints and a motion capture system embedded in the roof to accurately construct the tower at a rate of 100 blocks per hour." 

This robot-executed "swarm technology" is far from consumer ready, but shows the type of technology we could see performing rescue missions and construction feats once down by humans at high risk. 

"Larger versions of the building robots, for example, could potentially be used in the construction industry to erect buildings faster and more efficiently, while significantly reducing the occupational health and safety risks for associated workers." 

Click here to read more about this technology 

SmartBidNet App Listed in ENR's Top Paid and Free Construction Apps

ENR asked Apple to query its developer community in a quest to help idenfity the most popular construction apps in the App Store. It was a tricky call...

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The Future of Construction Technology - What's Next?

20 years ago, companies were figuring out how to get employees an email address and to teach them how to use it. You probably had a microwave-sized beige box that displayed green letters on a black screen that held a few NotePad files and whatever pokey software you were assigned. Now you’ve got a thousand times more information in just your mobile telephone (which has also decreased in size since the first one you owned). To generalize technology’s progression, you could say it started out belonging to nerds, progressed to curious individuals with enough money, and is now a social black hole and basic necessity for any business looking to survive.

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BIM: What are your options?

The technology hot topic throughout the AEC industry these days is Building Information Modeling (BIM). Why? Because it's transforming construction projects from piecemail contributions of architects, engineers, and construction crews to an integrated process that takes place on one platform, from planning to completion. As a software company, we don't use BIM, but as big fans of technology, we highly recommend it. So we'll focus on the software part and provide you with a list of BIM options we've compiled through our network. If you're not already using BIM it will help you get your feet wet and at least allow you to see what you could be missing. You can also refer to the previous blog post from Barton Malow if you want a testimony of its capabilities. In no particular order:

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Where do you go for construction industry news and updates?

Blogs are no longer just for emotional teens and tech nerds. Professionals around the world are taking the time to summarize, review, and analyze current events and issues. Construction industry professionals are no different. I've compiled a list of some great construction-related blogs, why you might like them and why you might not like them. I hope you find one or more that can be of use. Please comment if you have any to add, I'm always looking for more. I also included a list of useful industry websites, most suggested to me by individuals in my LinkedIn network - gotta love social media.

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