It’s Tuesday Re/Cappers, and we are downright giddy to recap a certain construction gap being filled, one that receives neither the attention nor the gratitude it should.
Danger. See, we might know what construction crews deal with: the dehydrating sizzle of summer, the unforgiving chill of winter, the relentless cacophony of machinery. The hours, the underpayment, the strain, pressure, and stakes. But we feel none of it. And when we see it, odds are it’s from a cooled vehicle, a heated building, or as a pit stop on a stroll.
But as you’ll see in a lead Re/Cap, construction is dangerous; in numerous, at times unpredictable ways. So to all those in the space, we simply wanted to relay how appreciated you are. You are the instance in which someone can say “you mean the world”, and be ever literal.
What’s Cappenin’ This Week: Why scan a factory when you can scan a foot? Plus geospatial for natural capital, gov’ment grants for semiconductor metrology, photogrammetry goes overdrive underground, and an AEC Error of the Week covering an infamous 1980s explosion.
Last week on 3Ding a 1,500-year-old temple, the AI & drone marriage, Dr. Digital Twin, a concrete white paper for a flatness revolution, and an AEC error of the week that travels to Deutschland for the worst layover EVER.
Carmina, the hand-crafted shoemaker founded in 1866, is embracing the technology of 2066.
Popular men’s lifestyle influencer Kirby Allison confirmed it, as he forewent the tape measurer and brannock device for a scanned, fully customized shoe last. Now let’s just see him wear the final product on a concrete job.
Every year, utility strikes kill hundreds, injure thousands, and cost billions. So one tenacious New Zealand company is getting to the bottom of it. Literally.
Reveal is transforming infrastructure Down Under, swiftly capturing as-built data from exposed utilities, chamber interiors, and surface models of the road corridor. It’s due in large part to the intrepid vision of CTO Tim Rastall, which entails no shovel or bucket ever touching a main again.Enjoy his expansive interview with Roads & Infrastructure Australia below.
Natural Capital’s heightened awareness from citizens, businesses, and policymakers, promising though it is, has one counterforce; woefully uninformed data.
Geospatial information’s accuracy, scope, and fidelity make it the closest thing to a panacea, as explained by an assistant professor from the Philippines and a Principal Consultant at ConsultingWhere. By way of case studies, GDP data, and economics, their collaborative article on GIM International details how we can use geospatial data to propel global living standards – any why we must.
Semiconductors might be to our 2024 life as dots are to Pac-Man, but that doesn’t mean they’re not without obstacles. Namely, defect rates and production yields.
But as a part of the CHIPS and Science Act, a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) earmarked $54 million on April 16 toward “projects that advance U.S. leadership in metrology standards, deploy innovative manufacturing metrologies, develop provenance technologies and establish research and development (R&D) testbeds for metrology.”
The Space Shuttle Challenger explosion was one of the most haunting moments of the 1980s.Despite warnings about the risks of a low-temperature launch, NASA management proceeded. Catastrophe followed, as did an investigation spearheaded by renowned physicist Richard Feynman.The findings confirmed cold as the culprit. In short, O-rings could not expand as intended in near-freezing temperatures, leaving gaps able to be penetrated by gas, which exploded the booster followed by the shuttle.Reality capture and digital twins would not have guaranteed a reversal of tragedy, even if available in 1986. But between thermal imaging capabilities on cold days, and crash scene documentation which could have drastically expedited and sharpened the investigation, the technologies showcase something – an ability to make bad decisions harder to make and harder to miss, with good decisions quicker to come. Had the precise temperature of and around the O-rings been known, does the error of clearing for takeoff still happen? Maybe.But not with the same odds.
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