The session was moderated by DENG Yichuan, Associate Professor of the School of Civil Engineering and Transportation at South China University of Technology and Associate Director of the BIM Centre. LIU Hua, Director of the China Office of the World Intellectual Property Organization, simultaneously released the Technology Cluster section of the "Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023" at the meeting in synchronization with the Geneva headquarters. The panelists included SHI Zhongqi, Director of the Research and Development Center at National Science And Technology Institute Of Urban Safty Development / Shenzhen Technology Institute Of Urban Public Safety; Michael DOLAN, Head of Science and Research at FORTESCUE; WANG Aizhi, Director and CEO of Guangdong Constar Construction Group Co., Ltd; HE Guanpei, General Manager of Guangzhou U-BIM Construction Consulting Co., Ltd.; Andac LULEC, Senior Product Engineer & Integration Leader at LARSA, Inc.; Ozgur KUR? , Professor, Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering at Middle East Technical University (METU); YUAN Yixing, Senior Researcher at Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics, and Eddie HE, Technical Director at Parsons.They engaged in discussions on the subject of intelligent construction.
LIU Hua introduced that the "Technology Cluster" section of the GII 2023 presents three key trends: the eastward shift of technological activity centers, deep communication and cooperation between clusters, and enterprise-driven cluster development. In terms of rankings, China currently has 24 globally top-ranked technology clusters, making it the country with the highest number of technology clusters.
During the roundtable discussion, SHI Zhongqi stated that civil engineering is gradually shifting from the construction and maintenance of individual buildings to complex urban systems, and intelligent construction technology will play a greater role. Michael DOLAN introduced that energy companies can develop green and clean technologies through AI and promote their application in the construction industry. WANG Aizhi pointed out that intelligent construction promotes development, transformation, and upgrading, but from a management perspective, it is still relatively crude, and the production methods are relatively outdated, leaving significant room for development. HE Guanpei believed that intelligent construction is more of a degree of digital construction, and it is difficult to define it specifically at this stage. Andac LULEC expressed that different digital models have different risks, and a single model can be safer and more efficient for various functions. Ozgur KUR? also supported the theory of using the same model and introduced how BIM is moving towards a common language in the US construction industry, connecting different parts of the process. YUAN Yixing hoped that more young people from different fields could come together and form small entrepreneurial teams. They should start with market needs and practical feasibility, rather than purely focusing on scientific research. Eddie HE looked forward to a system that integrates the entire ecosystem, connecting data chains and combining all data with BIM.
Smart construction has emerged under the empowerment of artificial intelligence, and its core is to integrate AI technology into various aspects of building design and construction. The panelists unanimously agreed that intelligent manufacturing is triggering a technological revolution in the production methods of the construction industry, but the specific applications still face numerous challenges and opportunities. In the process of intelligent design, it is necessary to adhere to relevant laws, regulations, and technical specifications in the construction field while actively responding to customer needs to reduce costs and increase efficiency. In the field of intelligent construction, promoting data standardization is essential to ensure the standardization of data collection and enhance the credibility of data and algorithms.
