Army Corps of Engineers Halts Work on Dakota Access Pipeline

The apparent decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to not grant an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe was announced via a tweet from the Standing Rock protesters in North Dakota. Evidently, the Corps has decided to conduct an additional environmental assessment seeking alternative routes. From the New York Times:

Spotlight

Wekaba Engineering

Established in 1981, WEKABA Engineering has grown into an industry leader, providing innovative solutions to various industries. Our strong Research and Development program focuses on both new product concepts as well as new production methods. Through the use of advanced technology systems, our design capability is enhanced with a view to satisfy the most complex customer requirements.

OTHER ARTICLES
Construction

Including STEM engagement in U.S. COVID-19 recovery efforts

Article | July 14, 2022

In addition to their core research work, many Federal science agencies have a mission to engage the public with current scientific research; educate Americans in science, technology, engineering, and math; and seed tomorrow’s workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the importance of providing tools for the public to evaluate scientific information, bolstering community science literacy, and engaging the public in conversation about scientific issues.

Read More
Engineering Tech

The latest on ICE's second UK infrastructure assessment consultation

Article | July 13, 2022

ICE Policy and Public Affairs recently launched a discussion paper and consultation on what should be in the second National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA). The work progresses the institution’s aims to influence infrastructure policy at a systems level. This autumn, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will publish its baseline assessment of the current state of key infrastructure sectors, along with proposals for the strategic themes and main priorities of the second NIA expected in 2023. Having been closely involved in both the establishment of the NIC in 2013 and the first NIA in 2018, our consultation asks what the core considerations of NIA2 should be – including net-zero, levelling-up and climate resilience – and explores which demand drivers have changed since the first NIA. Through this paper, we’re seeking to shape the wider infrastructure policy debate, consistently and over a number of years, by examining what our long-term infrastructure should look like – and most importantly, ensure it delivers the sustainable future outcomes we need it to. Look out for more updates later this year on ICE’s work in this area.

Read More
Engineering Tech

IoT and BIM for automatic performance recording

Article | August 25, 2021

As part of a Digipro project, ALLPLAN is working with three partners to research a system for automatic performance measurement using IoT and BIM. DigiPro focuses on the digitalisation of products, processes and business models in companies. As part of the German-Dutch INTERREG program Digipro, a project is currently underway that aims to automate performance recording on the construction site using IoT (Internet of Things) and BIM (Building Information Modelling). A consortium of four companies - BuildersMind, mangineers, Nijhuis Bouw B.V. and ALLPLAN - is working on a solution for automated construction site monitoring that documents construction progress in near real time. Promising results have already been achieved in an alpha test phase on two construction sites of Nijhuis Bouw in Enschede 2020.

Read More
Engineering Tech

AI in Real-World Robotics

Article | July 19, 2021

While experts debate the finer points of what constitutes a true general artificial intelligence (AI) and the various steps that can get us there, it isn’t in any doubt that robots are getting smarter –and learning how to make better decisions-- thanks to various AI-related systems. From the autonomous cars on our roads and the autonomous mobile robots in the world’s warehouses through to AI-powered machine vision systems, edge computing in manufacturing environments, and agricultural drones that can process huge amounts of data on the fly, AI greatly enhances robot performance by providing bots with intelligent decision-making capabilities based on an analysis of billions of data points coupled with neural network and deep learning strategies. Crucially, AI enables robots to be more flexible, while at the same time enhancing traceability across all types of automation processes.

Read More

Spotlight

Wekaba Engineering

Established in 1981, WEKABA Engineering has grown into an industry leader, providing innovative solutions to various industries. Our strong Research and Development program focuses on both new product concepts as well as new production methods. Through the use of advanced technology systems, our design capability is enhanced with a view to satisfy the most complex customer requirements.

Related News

Construction

TPM Achieves Autodesk Elite Construction Partner Status

Autodesk | December 09, 2022

TPM, a Southeast-based digital technology organization, has achieved Autodesk Construction Cloud Elite partner status that enables TPM to provide the complete portfolio of Autodesk Construction products and services to further support the Construction industry. This achievement bolsters TPM's ability to enhance the entire Project lifecycle from Design to pre-construction, Construction, and Facility Management, connecting and enhancing all members of a Project. This new partnership level supports TPM's Vivid Vision of becoming one of the leading Digital Transformation consulting firms serving Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing. To support this dedicated focus on Construction technology, TPM has promoted new leadership, including Jon Deming to Associate Director of Technical Solutions and Joel Hanneman to Director of Technical Solutions. In addition, TPM has added Scott Anderson as Technical Manager for Construction Technology. These changes come as TPM continues its investment in software and hardware resources to provide construction industry professionals with the best possible products and services. TPM is an Autodesk Construction Cloud Elite Partner with a portfolio that includes Autodesk's Build, Assemble, Building Connected, and more. In addition to its Construction portfolio, TPM also leverages TrebleHook, an AEC-focused CRM solution, and Leica Geosystems laser scanning hardware and reality capture services. With these industry-leading products and personnel changes, TPM is well-positioned to provide construction industry professionals with the support and services they need from concept through project closeout. "TPM has the vision to become a leading consultant in the AEC and Manufacturing space. Enhancing our 30+ year relationship with Autodesk to now be the highest level of Construction Certified partner only supports our vision. We are extremely excited about this achievement and the associated team members at TPM who will lead this charge." -Chris Fay, President of TPM. We are excited to have TPM join us as an Elite partner for the Autodesk Construction Cloud portfolio. Our focus is on building the right tools to maximize efficiency on every construction site to minimize errors, said Angi Izzi, Senior Director of Partnerships and Digital Sales, Autodesk Construction Solutions. It's imperative to provide scale to our construction customers with a well-enabled channel to help drive significant adoption. This significant investment in technology & partners maximizes our customer's ability to deliver high-quality projects within budgets, timelines, and with success. Partners within the Elite Construction Partner program are uniquely positioned to provide customers with clarity on their current tech stack, a deep understanding of how the continuation of technology adoption can increase their current capabilities and processes, and first-class implementation services to ensure all desired outcomes. TPM remains dedicated to helping construction industry professionals win more business, improve their designs, and deliver more work. With its team of construction experts, the addition of new products, and personnel changes, TPM is well-positioned to do just that. About TPM: TPM is a Southeast-based digital technology organization with a portfolio of industry-leading software, hardware, and services that helps Architects, Engineers, Contractors, and Manufacturers win more business, improve their designs, and deliver more work. About Autodesk: Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Our technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to more mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software helps our customers to design and make a better world for all.

Read More

Design,Engineering Tech

Hexagon introduces Elements to help engineers design increasingly complex products with system-level modelling

Hexagon | December 02, 2022

Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division has today introduced Elements, new simulation software that helps engineering teams understand the behaviour of systems that are becoming increasingly complex in modern products. Using the software, teams can evaluate the performance and feasibility of new design concepts quickly to inform more efficient product development and reduce risk and cost. Elements addresses the growing importance of integrated, multi-disciplinary system development and end-to-end workflows. Customers in every industry are demanding technologies that consider many physics domains and tackle mechatronics challenges in a robust way, fuelling a growing trend towards system-level engineering. Achieving this requires the integration of all relevant engineering disciplines, control systems, and third-party supplier systems to understand how the domains interact, and how a design decision in one discipline impacts others. Systems engineers can easily learn to use the Elements software, using its drag-and-drop environment to model any physics type or logic and analyse systems by intuitively connecting blocks – regardless of whether they represent electrical, hydraulic, mechanical components – to solve system-level engineering problems. It is based on the Modelica language, which is an open and widely used standard for building fast, flexible, and customisable models. Systems modelling is indispensable in the early design phases because little information is required – often a CAD model, equation, or lookup table is sufficient and a 3D mesh is not required. Elements further speeds up engineering development because it also ensures that system-level models compute quickly and efficiently by optimising equations and code for fast calculation, but with no loss of fidelity. As the design develops, and components and subsystems are detailed in specialist simulation software, the components can be routinely integrated into a larger system through full compliance with the FMI standard and Hexagon's proprietary SmartFMU technology. SmartFMU unlocks the Functional Mock-up Unit (FMU) for supported Hexagon products so that changes can be made directly in the Elements system-level model without having to go back to the specialist Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software and its expert user. This helps to avoid resource bottlenecks, time-consuming switching between applications, and versioning problems. Hexagon's roadmap will see its best-in-class CAE technologies readied for easy and productive use with Elements. At launch, the software provides SmartFMU connectivity with Adams multibody dynamics software and Easy5. Future plans are likely to include workflows with Cradle CFD thermal-fluid dynamics and Actran acoustic simulation products, among others. Both standard FMI support and the novel SmartFMU plug-and-play capabilities offer immediate value and address challenges of system complexity, including those for transportation electrification; for example: Helping automotive engineers to find optimal solutions to vehicle range optimization issues by considering a vehicle's energy use under different driving conditions, taking into account eDrive design, regenerative braking, climate control, ADAS safety requirements, and battery choice. Improving the flexibility and accuracy of industrial robotics by designing control systems that take detailed mechanical system vibrations and interactions from multi-body dynamics simulation into account. Right-sizing heavy battery systems in new eVTOL aircraft designs by helping engineers understand the power draw during take-off and landing, safety margins, and thermal management system controls. Implementing safer, more sustainable long-life battery systems by using Elements to design control systems that balance the improved performance of lithium-ion batteries at elevated temperatures with the impact heating has on cell degradation. Elements was developed in close cooperation with Maplesoft, building upon its powerful maths engine to optimise system equations and deliver fast efficient simulation to Hexagon's customers. "We are excited to begin this long-term collaboration with Hexagon, which has an impressive vision and track record of innovation. By combining the tried-and-tested Maplesoft system-level modelling technology with the extensive Hexagon CAE portfolio, engineers in many industries benefit from new productivity-boosting solutions that significantly reduce simulation effort." -Chris Harduwar, VP of Strategic Solutions at Maplesoft Mahesh Kailasam, General Manager for Design and Engineering Software at Hexagon, commented, Elements offers engineers an easy way to explore behaviour of systems quickly and find better solutions to problems using simulation, before committing designs to subsequent resource-intensive engineering processes. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Maplesoft, using its powerful and open technology foundations to realise synergies with our extensive Hexagon CAE ecosystem portfolio and deliver valuable capabilities to our customers. About Hexagon: Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications. Our technologies are shaping production and people related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future. Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division provides solutions that use data from design and engineering, production and metrology to make manufacturing smarter. About Maplesoft: Maplesoft is a leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions provide advanced tools and services for system simulation, calculation management, and systems engineering, helping organisations maximise the power of their engineering knowledge so they can complete their projects quickly and successfully. The Maplesoft product suite includes Maple, the world's most powerful math engine; Maple Flow, math software for engineering calculations; MapleSim, the advanced system-level modeling and simulation tool; and MapleMBSE, which supports a model-based systems engineering approach to requirements management. Maplesoft products and services are used in machine design, robotics, aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, and many other fields where engineers face complex challenges. Maplesoft is a subsidiary of Cybernet Systems Co. Ltd.

Read More

Engineering Tech

MobiDev Explains AI Application Development Stages for Business Owners

MobiDev | June 17, 2022

AI project creation is much closer to scientific research than it is to classic software development. Engineers often start the journey by diving deep into the business case and available data, exploring existing approaches and models. MobiDev overviewed how a typical AI app development process grows in five stages. BUSINESS ANALYSIS To prepare input, we need to consider the business problem. Businesses address app development companies with the business problem, and it's the job of the latter to find the intersection point of the business and the capability of AI. MACHINE LEARNING PROBLEM DETERMINATION The next stage is determination of the ML (Machine Learning) problem. This must take into account the technological capabilities of Artificial Intelligence subfields, such as Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Speech recognition, Forecasting, Generative AI, and others. DATA COLLECTION There are two main data types — specific and general. General data can be obtained from open-source data websites, so all we must do comes down to narrowing the scope of the target audience, putting emphasis on the particular region, gender, age, or other crucial factors. If the client has no data, yet intends to implement the AI component, there are six sources to draw data from. POC DEVELOPMENT A business owner may wonder whether the accuracy of the project would be sufficient. An AI engineer isn't always ready to answer this question since it could be a new niche. PoC comes to the rescue, showing the minimal accuracy that can be obtained. Most remarkably, binary decisions are 50% accurate, just like a coin toss. NEW ITERATION AND/OR PRODUCTION The next step after the first PoC can be a new iteration of PoC with further improvements or deployment. Creating a new PoC implies data addition, processing of cases, error analysis, etc. The number of iterations is conditional and depends on the project. AboutMobiDev MobiDev is an international software engineering company with offices in Poland and Ukraine. The company is focused on helping visionaries create their products. MobiDev invests into technology research and has years of experience building AI-powered solutions, implementing machine learning, augmented reality, and IoT.

Read More

Construction

TPM Achieves Autodesk Elite Construction Partner Status

Autodesk | December 09, 2022

TPM, a Southeast-based digital technology organization, has achieved Autodesk Construction Cloud Elite partner status that enables TPM to provide the complete portfolio of Autodesk Construction products and services to further support the Construction industry. This achievement bolsters TPM's ability to enhance the entire Project lifecycle from Design to pre-construction, Construction, and Facility Management, connecting and enhancing all members of a Project. This new partnership level supports TPM's Vivid Vision of becoming one of the leading Digital Transformation consulting firms serving Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Manufacturing. To support this dedicated focus on Construction technology, TPM has promoted new leadership, including Jon Deming to Associate Director of Technical Solutions and Joel Hanneman to Director of Technical Solutions. In addition, TPM has added Scott Anderson as Technical Manager for Construction Technology. These changes come as TPM continues its investment in software and hardware resources to provide construction industry professionals with the best possible products and services. TPM is an Autodesk Construction Cloud Elite Partner with a portfolio that includes Autodesk's Build, Assemble, Building Connected, and more. In addition to its Construction portfolio, TPM also leverages TrebleHook, an AEC-focused CRM solution, and Leica Geosystems laser scanning hardware and reality capture services. With these industry-leading products and personnel changes, TPM is well-positioned to provide construction industry professionals with the support and services they need from concept through project closeout. "TPM has the vision to become a leading consultant in the AEC and Manufacturing space. Enhancing our 30+ year relationship with Autodesk to now be the highest level of Construction Certified partner only supports our vision. We are extremely excited about this achievement and the associated team members at TPM who will lead this charge." -Chris Fay, President of TPM. We are excited to have TPM join us as an Elite partner for the Autodesk Construction Cloud portfolio. Our focus is on building the right tools to maximize efficiency on every construction site to minimize errors, said Angi Izzi, Senior Director of Partnerships and Digital Sales, Autodesk Construction Solutions. It's imperative to provide scale to our construction customers with a well-enabled channel to help drive significant adoption. This significant investment in technology & partners maximizes our customer's ability to deliver high-quality projects within budgets, timelines, and with success. Partners within the Elite Construction Partner program are uniquely positioned to provide customers with clarity on their current tech stack, a deep understanding of how the continuation of technology adoption can increase their current capabilities and processes, and first-class implementation services to ensure all desired outcomes. TPM remains dedicated to helping construction industry professionals win more business, improve their designs, and deliver more work. With its team of construction experts, the addition of new products, and personnel changes, TPM is well-positioned to do just that. About TPM: TPM is a Southeast-based digital technology organization with a portfolio of industry-leading software, hardware, and services that helps Architects, Engineers, Contractors, and Manufacturers win more business, improve their designs, and deliver more work. About Autodesk: Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Our technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to more mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software helps our customers to design and make a better world for all.

Read More

Design,Engineering Tech

Hexagon introduces Elements to help engineers design increasingly complex products with system-level modelling

Hexagon | December 02, 2022

Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division has today introduced Elements, new simulation software that helps engineering teams understand the behaviour of systems that are becoming increasingly complex in modern products. Using the software, teams can evaluate the performance and feasibility of new design concepts quickly to inform more efficient product development and reduce risk and cost. Elements addresses the growing importance of integrated, multi-disciplinary system development and end-to-end workflows. Customers in every industry are demanding technologies that consider many physics domains and tackle mechatronics challenges in a robust way, fuelling a growing trend towards system-level engineering. Achieving this requires the integration of all relevant engineering disciplines, control systems, and third-party supplier systems to understand how the domains interact, and how a design decision in one discipline impacts others. Systems engineers can easily learn to use the Elements software, using its drag-and-drop environment to model any physics type or logic and analyse systems by intuitively connecting blocks – regardless of whether they represent electrical, hydraulic, mechanical components – to solve system-level engineering problems. It is based on the Modelica language, which is an open and widely used standard for building fast, flexible, and customisable models. Systems modelling is indispensable in the early design phases because little information is required – often a CAD model, equation, or lookup table is sufficient and a 3D mesh is not required. Elements further speeds up engineering development because it also ensures that system-level models compute quickly and efficiently by optimising equations and code for fast calculation, but with no loss of fidelity. As the design develops, and components and subsystems are detailed in specialist simulation software, the components can be routinely integrated into a larger system through full compliance with the FMI standard and Hexagon's proprietary SmartFMU technology. SmartFMU unlocks the Functional Mock-up Unit (FMU) for supported Hexagon products so that changes can be made directly in the Elements system-level model without having to go back to the specialist Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software and its expert user. This helps to avoid resource bottlenecks, time-consuming switching between applications, and versioning problems. Hexagon's roadmap will see its best-in-class CAE technologies readied for easy and productive use with Elements. At launch, the software provides SmartFMU connectivity with Adams multibody dynamics software and Easy5. Future plans are likely to include workflows with Cradle CFD thermal-fluid dynamics and Actran acoustic simulation products, among others. Both standard FMI support and the novel SmartFMU plug-and-play capabilities offer immediate value and address challenges of system complexity, including those for transportation electrification; for example: Helping automotive engineers to find optimal solutions to vehicle range optimization issues by considering a vehicle's energy use under different driving conditions, taking into account eDrive design, regenerative braking, climate control, ADAS safety requirements, and battery choice. Improving the flexibility and accuracy of industrial robotics by designing control systems that take detailed mechanical system vibrations and interactions from multi-body dynamics simulation into account. Right-sizing heavy battery systems in new eVTOL aircraft designs by helping engineers understand the power draw during take-off and landing, safety margins, and thermal management system controls. Implementing safer, more sustainable long-life battery systems by using Elements to design control systems that balance the improved performance of lithium-ion batteries at elevated temperatures with the impact heating has on cell degradation. Elements was developed in close cooperation with Maplesoft, building upon its powerful maths engine to optimise system equations and deliver fast efficient simulation to Hexagon's customers. "We are excited to begin this long-term collaboration with Hexagon, which has an impressive vision and track record of innovation. By combining the tried-and-tested Maplesoft system-level modelling technology with the extensive Hexagon CAE portfolio, engineers in many industries benefit from new productivity-boosting solutions that significantly reduce simulation effort." -Chris Harduwar, VP of Strategic Solutions at Maplesoft Mahesh Kailasam, General Manager for Design and Engineering Software at Hexagon, commented, Elements offers engineers an easy way to explore behaviour of systems quickly and find better solutions to problems using simulation, before committing designs to subsequent resource-intensive engineering processes. We look forward to a long-term collaboration with Maplesoft, using its powerful and open technology foundations to realise synergies with our extensive Hexagon CAE ecosystem portfolio and deliver valuable capabilities to our customers. About Hexagon: Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications. Our technologies are shaping production and people related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future. Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division provides solutions that use data from design and engineering, production and metrology to make manufacturing smarter. About Maplesoft: Maplesoft is a leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics. Maplesoft Engineering Solutions provide advanced tools and services for system simulation, calculation management, and systems engineering, helping organisations maximise the power of their engineering knowledge so they can complete their projects quickly and successfully. The Maplesoft product suite includes Maple, the world's most powerful math engine; Maple Flow, math software for engineering calculations; MapleSim, the advanced system-level modeling and simulation tool; and MapleMBSE, which supports a model-based systems engineering approach to requirements management. Maplesoft products and services are used in machine design, robotics, aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, and many other fields where engineers face complex challenges. Maplesoft is a subsidiary of Cybernet Systems Co. Ltd.

Read More

Engineering Tech

MobiDev Explains AI Application Development Stages for Business Owners

MobiDev | June 17, 2022

AI project creation is much closer to scientific research than it is to classic software development. Engineers often start the journey by diving deep into the business case and available data, exploring existing approaches and models. MobiDev overviewed how a typical AI app development process grows in five stages. BUSINESS ANALYSIS To prepare input, we need to consider the business problem. Businesses address app development companies with the business problem, and it's the job of the latter to find the intersection point of the business and the capability of AI. MACHINE LEARNING PROBLEM DETERMINATION The next stage is determination of the ML (Machine Learning) problem. This must take into account the technological capabilities of Artificial Intelligence subfields, such as Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, Speech recognition, Forecasting, Generative AI, and others. DATA COLLECTION There are two main data types — specific and general. General data can be obtained from open-source data websites, so all we must do comes down to narrowing the scope of the target audience, putting emphasis on the particular region, gender, age, or other crucial factors. If the client has no data, yet intends to implement the AI component, there are six sources to draw data from. POC DEVELOPMENT A business owner may wonder whether the accuracy of the project would be sufficient. An AI engineer isn't always ready to answer this question since it could be a new niche. PoC comes to the rescue, showing the minimal accuracy that can be obtained. Most remarkably, binary decisions are 50% accurate, just like a coin toss. NEW ITERATION AND/OR PRODUCTION The next step after the first PoC can be a new iteration of PoC with further improvements or deployment. Creating a new PoC implies data addition, processing of cases, error analysis, etc. The number of iterations is conditional and depends on the project. AboutMobiDev MobiDev is an international software engineering company with offices in Poland and Ukraine. The company is focused on helping visionaries create their products. MobiDev invests into technology research and has years of experience building AI-powered solutions, implementing machine learning, augmented reality, and IoT.

Read More

Events