Pretty Much the Biggest Digital Twin Ever

Weather-related disasters are increasing, so The European Space Agency just funded something that ten years ago would’ve sounded like a sci-fi film plot; the creation of Earth’s digital twin.

Obviously, creating a high-res model of our entire planet is a herculean effort, so baby steps are being taken. The first targeted region is the Mediterranean Basin and its “terrestrial water cycle.” With the two-fold vision of monitoring the global water supply and simulating natural disasters, lead scientist & author Luca Brocca of Italy hopes to “provide invaluable insights for sustainable water management and disaster resilience."

Hear From the Startup Behind the AI-Driven Camera That’s Obliterating Capture Time

Augmenting an already dazzling proprietary camera with computer vision, GPS, and artificial intelligence is like adding a jetpack to Michael Jordan’s back. And that’s precisely what San Diego-based startup Looq AI recently did for the surveyors, engineers, contractors, and asset owners.

By unifying their novel platform with their signature Q-camera, Looq AI has empowered professionals to capture infrastructure with unprecedented speed and accuracy, instead of one or the other. You can thank the survey-grade GPS, AI processor, four pristine-resolution cameras that comprise the Q-cam, and the boundless intelligence of its platform’s digital twins.

Linked below is AEC Magazine’s conversation with co-founder/CEO Dominique Meyer, PhD., on algorithmic processing, geometric awareness, resolution, accuracy comparisons, and much more.

LiDAR Hacking Autonomous Vehicles?

Many of you love the fidelity, the majesty, of LiDAR. Well, when it comes to self-driving cars, hackers do too. 

After extensive testing, researchers at The University of California Irvine have sounded alarms on “laser spoofing” in autonomous vehicles. In essence, its consequences could range from unintended emergency stops & swerves, to a full-blown hack-a-thon that would leave the LiDAR sensors …not sensing. Better found now than after widespread adoption though!

Drone Photogrammetry for Disaster Response

Is there a more meaningful purpose for new technologies than to enhance livelihood?

In 2022, Hurricane Fiona was the first of its class to register a direct impact on the Dominican Republic in 18 years. In response to the severe aftermath in the country, the United Nations collaborated with several agencies to ease housing and livelihood burdens, while bolstering community resilience to future disasters. Two secret weapons in the undertaking? Surveying and drones.

AEC Error of the Week

A general misconception - along with the otherwise superb Max miniseries Chernobyl - would have you believe the eponymous disaster of 1986 was due solely to human error. While negligence and ill-advised decisions were factors, the flawed reactor design was really the spark that became the flame. 

Would reality capture have guaranteed a meltdown-free existence for the infamous Ukrainian facility? One can’t know. But one can know that the pernicious problems would have been more evident, and therefore, more urgent. 

Podcasts, Media, and Mini Re/Caps