- Sep 12, 2023
- 3 min read

On The Cutting Edge Of Industry

Earlier this year GCA joined forces with Aivia Group for a Roadshow in Melbourne to showcase the far-reaching application of drone technology, reality modelling and geospatial data visualisation in the place-making industry.

We arranged a series of networking sessions with a variety of businesses and professionals; planners, engineers, construction workers, real estate workers and academics to name a few.

There was plenty of insight and experience we wanted to share, but there was more to listen to and learn from around the table, i.e. understanding the current positions, challenges, and goals of the people we sat down with.

The topics that received the most interest were:

Solar & Glare reporting:

We demonstrated the potential of connecting geospatial datasets, CAD models and photorealistic rendering platforms to assess the glare and reflection of solar parks to determine their suitability within the environment.

For example, could the glare from a solar park hinder the line of sight of drivers on nearby roads at certain times of day? Or sports players in a neighbouring sports precinct? Could the glare of an expansive solar park even reach the line of sight of aviators, if there's a nearby airport? If we can virtually identify these issues early on, we can explore solutions for better town planning.

In one conversation, the point was raised that there is a wider application for this convergent technology; while there is an abundance of ways to study shadows cast by buildings, there is a lack of technology that can study the glare and reflection cast by high-rise buildings and large structures with glass/reflective façades. Could this be a problem?

I can recall driving out of the Melbourne CBD at 5pm – 6pm (sunset hours) during peak hour traffic and the blinding glare coming off high-rise buildings catching my eye and distracting me while driving on a five-lane bridge. If this is a problem on a larger scale, how can we converge existing technologies to identity and solve it for future city planning?

Real-time rendering:

How can the ergonomics, liveability and aesthetics of a town be tested more holistically during the planning stage? (Check out how Tecnomatix is simulating environments as part of their approach to ergonomic testing). Plus, how can we get live (and remotely accessible) updates on geospatial datasets for better project tracking?

Data management and optimisation:

Datasets are growing larger, so there is a need for better optimisation and data-sharing with stakeholders -online, quickly and efficiently.

Visualisation of hidden assets:

A drone can scan and recreate everything it sees on a (terrestrial) surface. But what about assets that are unseen to the eye? Everything from large-scale water and sewer infrastructure to small-scale residential air conditioning systems, how can we accurately visualise and analyse these projects? Is the technology already there? If so, how do we connect the pieces to get the results we want?

Image sourced from geospatial.blogs.com

The business values and goals that were prevalent in our discussions were:

Sustainability:

Where can these emerging technologies be adopted in business to increase sustainability across the board (processes, resources, products).

Accessibility:

How do we translate gigabytes of collated data into understandable and usable formats? How do we filter out what we don’t need and find what we do need? Then, how do we share our results with stakeholders through easy-to-use platforms?

Return on investment:

The multi-usefulness of one geospatial dataset has been proven to save clients time, cost and resources throughout a project’s lifecycle.

Research and development:

Where are the opportunities to prototype new technologies and workflows so we are constantly improving on what we deliver to people?

Of all the groups that we connected with, there was a shared ambition to be on the cutting edge of industry. Now we look for practical ways to collaborate and make it happen.

Overall there was some great questions and brainstorming, and the Roadshow was a success!