Google and CISCO to explore how data can transform digital building process

Tech giants Google and CISCO will be among the speakers at a special conference being held in Birmingham to showcase how new smart technology can be applied to digital building techniques.

Birmingham City University will host the Exploring Data Beyond BIM event on Wednesday 29 November at its Curzon Building in the Eastside of Birmingham.

The conference will look at the use of data in 3D building design and Building Information Modelling (BIM), with speakers from CISCO and Google providing key speeches on how their organisations are using the wide range of data available to underpin their work.

The event will highlight the range of sensors and smart devices available and how these can be used to learn more about areas and environments to transform how individual buildings, communities and entire cities are constructed.

Using data such as that held by the UK Met Office, climate information, environmental factors, and details of traffic systems can be studied to hand a significant boost to the creation of buildings to ensure they fit within the needs of the area and its residents.

The growth of smart technology in cities will mean that in the future key components such as buildings, vehicles and environments will have their own data sets with the potential to reimagine how digital construction is approached.

Professor Stephen Scaysbrook said: “With the government making the use of BIM a priority, the next step is working how to get the most of out of the vast amount of information we have on hand to make sure buildings meet the demands of their environments.

“If we can use all the data we have available to inform how we plan and building, then it could completely transform how we build entire cities and transport networks.

“It is fantastic to have Google and CISCO joining us to speak about how they have approached both storing and utilising the vast amounts of data they have and it could provide some key insights into how these processes can be applied to building professionals.”

The event will tackle three major points facing the industry:

• How sensor data can benefit building design and management
• Challenges of adding sensors to designs e.g. providing accurate instructions to suppliers to put a sensor in place
• How to collect, collate and understand sensor data and add value with the addition of external data sets.