Trimble® gave attendees of its annual user conference, Trimble Dimensions, an inside look at the company's latest initiatives to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into construction workflows to help automate processes, improve decision making and enhance productivity. With an extensive hardware and software portfolio, vast domain-specific datasets and deep industry expertise, Trimble is driving meaningful and transformative innovation with AI.
Across its suite of connected construction solutions, Trimble showcased real-world applications of AI that are designed to improve customer workflows, helping to create more efficient, cost-effective and safer construction projects.
SketchUp® Diffusion [Labs], a generative AI-powered tool available as part of the SketchUp Labs Program, allows architects and designers to create rendered images that inspire the creative process, communicate their vision and build alignment faster. Diffusion generates visualizations in seconds based on a natural language text prompt or a preset style to describe how the designer would like their 3D model and the surrounding environment rendered.
The SketchUp Labs Program is a public beta program that enables SketchUp subscribers to try new innovative features and provide feedback. To access the features in Labs, you must be a SketchUp subscriber. To purchase, visit the SketchUp website or the Apple App Store.
ProjectSight®, Trimble's project management software for construction contractors, offers a new AI-driven capability that brings automation to project management workflows, improving efficiency and accuracy. This frees up construction professionals to spend more time on critical tasks. The new drawing import feature in ProjectSight uses AI to read and extract critical drawing information for improved project visualization.
Contractors can now access and install the software themselves by creating an account on the ProjectSight website.
Trimble LiveCount uses new AI functionality to automatically detect and count thousands of symbols on construction drawings, saving contractors from hours of manual, repetitive and time-consuming tasks during takeoff. The ability to automatically detect and count different types of receptacles and switches — the most common electrical items on blueprints — helps electrical contractors create estimates faster, easier and more accurately.
Trimble LiveCount AI functionality is available exclusively in the Trimble Accubid® Anywhere (named user) and Hosted Accubid Classic Estimating Essentials subscriptions. For more information, visit mep.trimble.com/get-in-touch.
In the field, Trimble is incorporating AI into the processing of reality capture data, helping improve decision-making by assisting and automating point cloud segmentation, classification and feature extraction. AI built into Trimble Business Center, a field-to-finish survey CAD software, expedites tedious, repetitive activities such as point cloud classification and feature extraction. From managing assets and inspecting roads, to monitoring stockpile volumes at construction sites, the combination of hardware and AI for automated feature extraction rapidly collects high-quality data, accelerates workflows and provides access to the information needed to make knowledgeable decisions.
"Trimble has a long history of helping customers capture, share and use construction data for more productive, collaborative and profitable projects," said Aviad Almagor, vice president of technology and innovation at Trimble. "Our goal is to help customers do more with less, tackle key industry challenges and thrive in an increasingly complex industry. By incorporating AI into customer workflows, we're enhancing decision making and creativity, while also automating repetitive tasks to unlock new levels of efficiency."
