Artificial Intelligence (AI) and The Construction Industry: The Story of Rabbit and Tortoise

We need more intelligence at every layer to cater for 24/7 intelligent data collection. Consequently, the development of “Edge AI”, computing boxes small in size yet powerful in computing that can host algorithms to filter the raw data to make it more meaningful information prior to be sent to cloud infrastructure for further machine learning and visualization.

AI – Friend or Foe?

Can AI really eliminate millions of jobs, wiping away conventional industries?

Sweet heart of venture capitalists as well as technology companies –startups to billion money giants, we are making progress in the sense of collecting and analyzing the data, but I am certain that our quest for the realization of AI has just started.

The biggest question in most of the board rooms today is what can we do with the data? Can I make millions of dollars more or save costs in the bottom line from these AI analytics?

Is AI a pure commercial or technical equation? Is there a cultural transformation element to the organization operation, as the focus gets shifted in the way priorities are made through the treacherous path of cleansing the raw stones to get the shine (insights) out of it, for it to provide any business value?

Enabling the Tortoise with Turbo Engine

At Arup, the mission has been clearly laid out – to be the digital leader in the built environment, firing up several initiatives that have to do with machine teaching, critical data modeling, data driven design and commercial business modeling. Initiatives are taken to enhance the asset quality and predictability in diverse core domains, from smart buildings, airports, cities, and energy to transport. Most of these cutting-edge initiatives do not just depend on the power of cloud computing; the secret ingredient being our domain expertise viz. structural, civil, MEP, digital and other multidiscipline experts who process the data from top-down and bottom-up to ensure whether it makes sense from the asset quality and business perspective.

Improving the commercial value is a common theme; it is the end of the means. We aspire to apply intelligence, built around forecasting / predicting by creating digital models that can anticipate the asset performance with variable environmental conditions and changing demography. AI in Arup’s world is the ability to keep enhancing these models through assisted teaching by our engineering expertise, pursuing the continuous mission of “shaping a better world” – may it be sustainable built environment that improves energy efficiency over longer timeframes, needing less maintenance or replacement or a sustainable city adhering to UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, this would not happen with Arup only.

Innovation is an Ecosystem Sport

Transforming the construction industry to perform better in terms of productivity, transparency, less consumption of resources, higher safety and sustainability would not be possible if it is just supported by a few commercial companies. This needs a collective genius, from regulators who need to transform quickly their outdated prescriptions, clients who need to make the bigger decision of doing the right thing for leaving a better world behind for our future, contractors who build the infrastructure that would leave a legacy behind, and finally engineers who make all the above practically possible!

AI the rabbit is the key to power up construction the tortoise with a turbo engine! We, at Arup, are working on “Total Design” towards that.

The moral of the story is obvious – rabbit and tortoise decided to come together, rabbit carrying tortoise on the land and tortoise carrying rabbit in the river to have a collective win.

At Arup, our collectively shared vision of shaping a better world brings the diverse experts to come together to energize the brain in creating AI for good.