INTERGEO update

A number of Position Partners geospatial product and business development specialists attended the recent INTERGEO conference and exhibition in Germany. Gavin Docherty, our RPAS Product Manager, even got to fly the Intel Falcon 8+ in the drone demo area!

Positioning Group featured the concept of “The Intersection of Infrastructure and Technology” at this year’s INTERGEO exhibition — exploring the current and future demands on the infrastructure sector and how Topcon technology can increase productivity.
 
“Across the globe, infrastructure development and management of aging infrastructure assets is placing a huge demand on construction professionals,” said Ian Stilgoe, vice president GeoPositioning Europe for Topcon Positioning Group. At the event, Topcon focused on sharing products and solutions designed to enable the efficiencies required to meet the huge pressure in this sector.
 
“With increasing population density compounded by urban growth and modernisation in developing regions, the need for new infrastructure is growing exponentially,” Stilgoe said. “A gap in the available budgets to pay for the required infrastructure and the available resources to design and construct can be addressed by increases in productivity and reduction of waste in global construction practices. Integrating smart technology into construction is the only feasible way to meet this need.”
 
Infrastructure was a topic that was explored in depth as part of a joint presentation between Bentley and Topcon in the Smart Cities Solution forum. Topcon also partnered with Solius at the event to showcase innovative technology using a virtual reality dome.
 
Other talks and demonstrations from the Topcon team explored RPAS inspection and monitoring, mass data collection, and BIM collaborative solutions for buildings, infrastructure and smart city models.
 
The Topcon booth showcased the latest technology including the Elite Survey Suite, Topcon Delta Solution deformation monitoring systems, data collection software advances for the SmoothRide™ resurfacing workflow solution, and a new web-based service for integration with the MAGNET® Collage desktop mass data processing software.

New web-based access to MAGNET Collage

Topcon Positioning Group has announced a new web-based service for integration with the MAGNET® Collage desktop mass data processing software — MAGNET Collage Web. The web-based service is designed to simplify collaboration and sharing of 3D point cloud data.
 
“MAGNET Collage Web offers a sleek platform, accessible through a web browser, that integrates with the MAGNET Collage Office version to allow professionals to publish and share their mass data maps in a user-friendly and intuitive 3D web-based environment,” said Jason Hallett, vice president of Topcon global product management. “The solution offers more universal access to point cloud models by eliminating the need for installed software with high-performance computing requirements.”
 
MAGNET Collage is designed to offer a “single environment” solution for professionals processing and publishing data from laser scanners, mobile mapping devices, modern paving scanners, and traditional surveying instruments.
 
Hallett said, “This new integrated web service features fast loading point cloud visualisation combined with unique high-fidelity rendering to reveal precision data on demand. 

Topcon and Bentley strengthen integration and roll out Constructioneering Academy

Topcon Positioning Systems and Bentley Systems have announced further collaboration across their software platforms, along with a new Constructioneering Academy that they plan to roll out worldwide with support from local distributors.

MAGNET – Bentley integration

The MAGNET Enterprise Data Manager is designed to allow operators to directly access Bentley ProjectWise data with MAGNET Field, MAGNET Office or MAGNET Enterprise applications.

“The updates are part of our commitment to working with third-party software applications, such as the Bentley offering, to provide efficient data exchange and a seamless workflow environment,” said Jason Hallett, Topcon vice president of global product management. “When connected to MAGNET Enterprise from MAGNET Field, you can directly upload and download data from ProjectWise, allowing surveyors or machine control model-builders upload or download iModels or other project file types.”
 
The integration is designed to simplify data transfer from design to field, with the unique ability to read and import only the data users need for their projects.
 
“It builds upon our industry-first ability to offer ‘round trip’ iModels — sending them directly to field operators who can use and update them directly on the jobs site, and then send the updated iModels from the field back to Bentley ProjectWise,” said Hallett.

Constructioneering

The Topcon-Bentley partnership has also expanded with the introduction of a Constructioneering Academy. Constructioneering refers to a process of managing and integrating survey, engineering, and construction data, to streamline construction workflows and improve project delivery.
 
“The future of construction automation continues to move forward today with efforts like constructioneering. Together with Bentley we are helping reshape the traditional surveying, engineering, and construction workflows,” said Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems. “Our efforts are proving successful in several phases of project delivery, particularly in road resurfacing, but the opportunities to expand its benefits are tremendous. That’s a big driver for creating the Constructioneering Academy.”
 
Bentley Systems’ CEO Greg Bentley said, “The growing momentum in demand for infrastructure project delivery across the world, against finite resources including an aging construction workforce, makes ‘going digital’ imperative. We and Topcon, and early adopters of constructioneering over the past year, have become convinced that heavy civil construction can lead the way, starting by ‘industrialising BIM’ through digital workflows which make the work of surveyors, engineers, and constructors automated, continuous, and continuously more valuable, throughout the project lifecycle.

“Also over the past year, we and Topcon have advanced our digital co-venture to jointly deliver constructioneering technologies through instant-on cloud services, federating our respective connected data environments and applications,” Mr Bentley added. 
 
“The benefits of constructioneering, with digital visibility into efficient and effective project outcomes, are so substantial that I believe civil infrastructure projects can finally become bankable, attracting abundant private financing to fill the funding gap. The results can be significant—improved overall economic growth and quality of life!
 
“The challenge in going digital, now, is to motivate and empower the historically conservative engineering and contracting firms, so that people and processes can catch up with constructioneering technology acceleration. We and Topcon enthusiastically accept this responsibility, and are pooling our experiences in promoting and sustaining digital advancement. At Bentley Systems, our Academy programs have helped major infrastructure owners to onboard their consultants, contractors, and supply chains into BIM and construction digital workflows which benefit every project delivery participant. Topcon has likewise invested in advancing people and processes, and we look forward to applying the same resourcefulness and creativity in collaborating for Constructioneering Academies, as we have already successfully shown in our joint technical endeavours,” he concluded.
 
Constructioneering enables engineers to begin work with an accurate 3D model of current construction site conditions (as captured by industry-grade RPAS photogrammetry and laser scanners) which then can be processed into engineering-ready 3D reality meshes (by Bentley’s ContextCapture software). Cloud services convey the engineers’ work directly to construction processes in the field.

The resulting digital engineering models work with the 3D machine control that guides construction machinery. Compared to traditional workflows between design and construction in which data in the digital engineering models is often lost and inefficiently recreated, constructioneering provides seamless integration for constructible models that offer real-time updates and data exchange for improved efficiency and cost reduction. Topcon and Bentley will collaborate to create the Constructioneering Academy curriculum which will be implemented through existing learning centers located in Livermore, California (Topcon), Houston, Texas, and London, UK (Bentley). In Australia, Position Partners is working directly with Bentley Systems to establish Academy facilities locally.