ACCEPT at Digital Construction Week Wednesday, 15th November 2017

The ACCEPT project is nearing the end of its research and innovation programme which has the aim of bridging the gap between what we design and what we build by addressing construction related issues using state of the art technology. An ambitious target and the use of some of the most innovative technologies in the construction sector make the ACCEPT project one to watch for the future.

The partners behind ACCEPT come from a variety of backgrounds which enable the innovation to be developed using the latest technology whilst staying relevant to the construction industry. Our technical partners cover bespoke applications, augmented reality, BIM applications and database management. Our Industrial partners provide an overview of the construction industry with hands on experience from large and medium sized contractors and small to medium sized design consultants whilst our academic partners range from universities to dedicated research institutes. With the variety of expertise within the consortium, we wanted to shout about our research and innovation via a dissemination event designed to reach as many people as possible.

With Digital Construction Week (DCW) fast becoming, the go-to event for dedicated digital construction, engineering, design, manufacturing and operation, it seemed the perfect opportunity for ACCEPT to show off its’ innovation. Industrial partner, Ingleton Wood, contacted DCW and arranged to have a stand at the event, an opportunity to interact with visitors through workshopping sessions, speaking and publication opportunities.

The stand was designed and built to be reminiscent of a construction site using scaffold poles as the main structure and boxes to represent unfinished structure. The main driver behind this was to enable the ACCEPT system to interact with the stand itself. We achieved this by using the ACCEPT digital tools, namely the SiMaApp running on Google Tango tablets, which enables a BIM explorer to be used. This accurately locates users within the stand in the virtual world and the CoOpApp which runs on smart glasses, enables a hands-free experience. Alongside this we were also demonstrating the Dashboard on a PC which collected and displayed data from our workflow processes.

The event was well attended with visitor numbers far exceeding the previous year’s attendance and the ACCEPT stand was buzzing with delegates asking about the system. They were shown live demonstrations and digital overlays that enabled users to go into the ACCEPT system viewing connected documents and workflow information giving the same experience that a construction would have on site.

Elsewhere at the visualization seminar stage, Ingleton Wood’s Jason Page and Enterprise’s Jacques Delens’ Arnaud Dawans and Manon Brancart presented an introduction to ACCEPT showcasing how our innovation can help all members of the construction industry as an overarching experience designed to capture the true trend of innovation by incorporating the megatrends in digital construction showcased in the DCW show floor.

During the 2-day event our interactive workshop was a hit with delegates, especially Lean Lego which was demonstrated by academic partner, Fraunhofer Italia. Lean Lego is a game incorporating construction work phases and the benefits of ’just in time’ workflow techniques. This was a fun and interactive demonstration of the research incorporated into the ACCEPT innovation. In addition, Ferrovial Aggroman, held brainstorming sessions designed to explore the future of ACCEPT and the technology developed by the consortium over the last 3 years.

The future of ACCEPT is of yet, still undecided. We have brought together the ideas, incorporated cutting edge research and technology and come up with an innovation that has genuinely excited the industry. With our research project ending soon, it is up to us to take ACCEPT forward. Watch this space to see where we go from here!