EarthCam, the leading provider of construction camera technology and services, introduced today at ENR FutureTech new live camera integration capabilities to aid remote collaboration and upgrade building information modelling (BIM) practices for the construction industry.
With EarthCam’s new Control Center 8 (version 8.65) integration, either live or recorded video streams from construction cameras with can be seamlessly incorporated with model overlays. Teams can now collaborate and view live camera stream overlays synched with their models. If the live camera view is moved or zoomed in on architectural details, the alignment is immediately updated, and vice-versa. This live camera integration is now an option for all EarthCam’s clients.
Many forward thinking Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) teams are already using EarthCam’s camera systems to synch high quality imagery with their BIM environments. Turner Construction, Hunter Roberts and many other companies are already using EarthCam’s unique and powerful toolset to organize actionable data and make critical decisions.
“I would say I use it on most jobs,” explained Andy Kim, Director of Virtual Design & Construction at Hunter Roberts Construction Group, “For me EarthCam is a no brainer. We have been satisfied and happy with what EarthCam is doing especially with this BIM model integration. I definitely want this on more projects.”
“We’ve been working with the most innovative VDC teams to develop these new features”, said Bill Sharp, Senior VP, Product Development & Strategy for EarthCam. “In response to input from teams in the field, users are telling us that they need up-to-the-minute live data. They’re telling us that this new ability to put real-time information at everyone’s fingertips is giving them a major competitive advantage.
“It’s been very useful to be able to zoom in and see what everyone is working on without actually going there, particularly early in construction when things are more open,” said Jamie Meiser, VDC team leader at Turner Construction, “It’s great to be able to track progress on the job, and also to get some nice time-lapses at the end.”
EarthCam is also introducing ‘Direct Align’, a new feature for EarthCam’s VR Site Tour software for 360° jobsite walkthroughs. Direct Align adds a new level of control for image comparison against 3D/4D Models. EarthCam’s AI-driven ability to quickly and precisely align jobsite camera and 360°images with associated BIM models is already unique, and Direct Align augments this with a manual image alignment option for an even greater degree of control to take on the most challenging image comparison and overlay tasks. Super-imposed virtual “x-rays” of work in progress, and timeline navigations now can isolate critical events during a project with even higher precision.
Harnessing live data sources and accurately placing them within BIM models to merge the as-designed with the as-built streamlines management of schedules and answers questions about clashes in near real time even for remote teams.
The construction industry increasingly demands that technology companies collaborate to reduce friction and to create comprehensive integrated solutions to support successful project management. These types of multifaceted, collaborative ways of organizing actionable information are set to become the new norm for leading VDC teams. EarthCam’s radical new integration with Autodesk builds on partnerships that the company maintains with other industry software leaders such as Procore, PlanGrid, Rubicon and Triax to serve the construction industry with the strongest, most valuable solutions.
To learn more about EarthCam’s software and services for the construction industry visit our virtual booth at ENR FutureTech from October 13-16, or at https://www.earthcam.net/vdc/.
ABOUT EARTHCAM
EarthCam is the global leader in providing webcam content, technology and services. Founded in 1996, EarthCam provides live streaming video, time-lapse construction cameras and reality capture solutions for corporate and government clients. EarthCam leads the industry with the highest resolution imagery available, including the world’s first outdoor gigapixel panorama camera system. This patent-pending technology delivers superior multi-billion pixel clarity for monitoring and archiving important projects and events. EarthCam has documented over a trillion dollars of construction projects around the world. The company is headquartered on a 10-acre campus in Northern New Jersey and maintains offices worldwide.
Projects documented by EarthCam include: Hudson Yards, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Los Angeles SoFi Stadium, Las Vegas Allegiant Stadium, Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center, LaGuardia Airport, TWA Hotel at JFK Airport, Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Panama Canal Expansion, Qatar Rail, The Jeddah Tower, 56 Leonard Street, 432 Park Avenue, Whitney Museum of American Art, Louvre in Abu Dhabi, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, One World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty Museum, and the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.