The future of AEC technology is decentralized and we won't have a single winner - we'll have many.
(And that's a piece of amazing news for the AEC industry as a whole!)
Here's why:
Over the last year and a half, I collected over 1000+ AI apps and solutions in the world's largest database for the AEC industry - the AEC AI Hub.
Just the other day, I added over 100+ AI apps to the Hub (!!) - and that is what sparked this post.
Looking at how many solutions there seem to appear every week, literally, it's easy to get 'tool fatigue' - meaning we want just the 'best' solution and are tired of seeing other options.
I get it - but this 'fatigue' comes with a big drawback - the lack of CUSTOM solutions for your exact situation.
This is why I have a hard time giving advice on the 'best AI app for the AEC' - because the AEC industry is incredibly COMPLEX:
• You can create a BIM model with thousands of data points.
• You can do structural calculations of bridge reinforcement.
• You can make 2D tags and dimensions on drawings.
• You can do architectural 2D renders for 10 years.
• You can do electrical circuitry of a building.
• You can be a facade designer.
And regardless how DIFFERENT and COMPLEX all these use cases are - today they are ALL expected to be done in a SINGLE APP - which is usually Revit.
(I know many use Archicad, Rhino, or even SketchUp, but Revit does take around 85% of the AEC market - which is I mainly refer to it.)
But Revit is a program with its core programmed last century - trying to solve problems of today.
And if even Autodesk CEO said in late 2022 that 'they won't be making a faster horse' - why are so many of us sticking to Revit being the ultimate BIM tool of the future?
Here's what I think will happen instead:
𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 '𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵' 𝘃𝘀. 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 '𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵'
With so many tools being browser-based, we no longer need to store all our BIM data in a single APP or a single FILE FORMAT - regardless if that's RVT, IFC or something else.
We can move on to store it in a single DATABASE instead (just look at how Speckle and Snaptrude work).
These apps remove the need for any proprietary file formats - everything's in ONE DATABASE.
But even with a single database, we will still have a very COMPLEX AEC industry - as illustrated in examples above.
That's why I think that we will use more technology and more apps - for niche use cases or geographies - while collaborating with common DATA.
(And not through a common APP.)
That's why I can't say what's the 'best AI apps for the AEC'.
But I can say what's the 'best AI app for YOU'.
So in summary:
Today, we pack everything inside a single APP or a single FILE FORMAT, and wonder why these old ways crash often on our computers.
In the future, we will have common DATABASES with multiple apps 'plugging into' it.
And this will allow for a lot more freedom in the way we make AEC projects.
Makes sense?
#ai #aec #singlesourceoftruth
