Dubai plans to 3D print a quarter of all construction projects by 2025

Dubai’s population has grown exponentially in the last few decades, booming from 183,000 in 1975 to approximately 2.5 million in the present day. Housing a burgeoning population and commercial sector place an incredible burden on authorities to keep pace with change. To boost output, the Emirate of Dubai has announced that 25% of new buildings

AutoX launches a self-driving grocery delivery service in San Jose

From Amazon Go to Walmart’s Alphabot, grocery retail is being significantly disrupted by the fast-evolving technologies of automation and artificial intelligence. Now, startup AutoX is launching an autonomous vehicle delivery service directly to households. While other companies such as Nuro and Marble are designing and operating autonomous vehicles specifically for delivery, AutoX is utilizing preexisting

Mexico is building Latin America’s largest solar installation

While the current American government squanders time and opportunity in the pursuit of short-term profit by imposing disruptive tariffs and curtailing sustainability-focused goals, Mexico is powering ahead with a broad effort to generate up to 35 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2024. As a part of that transformative effort—until recent years, Mexico’s energy industry operated as an oil-forward,

Amazon Go opens a second retail location

Amazon’s march forward into brick-and-mortar retail continues with the opening of a second Amazon Go store on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Marion Street in Downtown Seattle. The store operates on the same high-tech principles as the Amazon Go pilot store that opened in January. With the installed Amazon Go smartphone app, customers swipe

Hilton is building its first modular hotel by San Francisco’s Airport North

Home2Suites, a subsidiary of Hilton, is currently constructing the brand’s first modular construction hotel. On August 15, executives from Hilton, Southern Hospitality Services, and Ashlar Development began construction of the project adjacent to San Francisco’s Airport North by placing pre-fabricated elements into position. Adrian Kurre, global head of Home2 Suites, states “staying at the forefront

Getting Personal With AI

FutureVision is R/GA’s trend-spotting division. FutureVision helps keep you connected with the latest information, making it easy for you to stay informed. Science fiction likes to show us a world where technology is so pervasive, it completely transforms our lives, for better or worse. Star Wars; Minority Report; I, Robot—all of these films feature sophisticated artificially

Blipper is using AR to ease interior navigation

Navigating vast infrastructure and retail hubs, as well as urban environments, can prove to be a daunting task. Blippar, a London-based technology company, is easing wayfinding in these environments through AR-technology. In 2017, Blippar launched ARCity – AR Navigation, an app that allows users to explore hundreds of cities across the world. The app runs

ETH Zurich produces an energy-free adaptable shading prototype

Chiara Vailati, a doctoral student at ETH Zurich’s Institute for Building Materials, has developed an adaptive shading system that functions without sensors or motors. The shading system is composed of multiple pairs of parallel wooden planks which open and close autonomously. The system can be installed as a type of pergola, or horizontally across a

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tests 3D-printed concrete barracks

A research team within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently 3D-printed full-scale concrete walls in an effort to create quick-to-assemble barracks for field housing, according to Engineering News Record. The project, named Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures (ACES), aims to engineer structurally efficient and safe concrete barracks with precast roofs and 3D printed walls. In their latest tests, they were able

Office Depot rolls out a new shared workspace

Last week, Office Depot opened its first co-working space, dubbed the Workonomy Hub. The first location of this service is located in the chain’s supply store in Los Gatos, California. The American office supply company owns approximately 1,400 locations servicing just under 30 million customers. According to Propmodo, Office Depot is offering their new co-working

This experimental concrete roof is half the weight of its peers

A research team led by Jamin Dillenburger, an assistant professor at ETH Zurich, has recently produced and installed a concrete ceiling shaped by 3D-printed sand formwork. Dubbed the “Smart Slab,” the 1000 square-foot ceiling is significantly lighter and thinner than comparable concrete ceilings. According to ETH Zurich, Dillenburger’s research group “developed a new software to fabricate the formwork elements,

WeWork slated to redesign UBS’s Lincoln Harbor campus

On July 30th, WeWork announced its large-scale renovation of UBS’s Weehawken, New Jersey Lincoln Harbor campus. WeWork’s renovation is largely focused on a 100,000 square-foot common space area. The company’s team of designers and architects relied on qualitative and quantitative data, employee interviews and spatial analytics to create their proposal. Similar to WeWork’s shared office

Marriott’s “Portal to Paradise” provides an AR glimpse of resort destinations

For the fastidious traveler, research and planning are essential first steps to a relaxing vacation. On June 19th, to provide the curious tourist a glimpse of potential destinations, Marriott Caribbean & Latin American Resorts launched the iOS application “Portal to Paradise.” The iOS app is an augmented reality simulation allowing consumers to explore eight of

Walmart announces the pilot automation of its grocery pickup service

On August 6th, Walmart announced the pilot launch of Alphabot, an automation system that will assist employees in filling online grocery orders. The rollout is a result of a two-year collaboration with retailing startup Alert Innovation. Walmart is testing the automated grocery pickup at its supercenter in Salem, New Hampshire. The new warehouse and grocery

Lowe’s is testing the use of VR and AR as a means to boost commercial sales

To compete with online retailers, brick-and-mortar retailers are turning towards augmented and virtual reality tools to attract consumers. Lowe’s Innovation Labs is experimenting with virtual and augmented reality to boost retail sales. Programs such as Holoroom How-To and Holoroom Test Drive allow users to visualize and experience products prior to purchase. The Innovation Labs are

Intercontinental Hotels and Baidu roll out AI-powered hotel rooms

The management of hotels, from general room keeping to office administration, requires scores of employees coordinated around the clock to service guests needs. Multinational-hospitality company Intercontinental Hotels Group is experimenting with artificial intelligence to streamline customer service across its hotels. In July, the company rolled out the AI hotel rooms for its Sanlitun, Beijing location,

Switzerland-based Imverse is generating virtual reality software with creative architectural applications

Imverse, a Switzerland-based 3D computer graphics company, is pushing forward with immersive virtual reality experiences with potential architectural applications. Imverse’s Elastic Time, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, is a mixed reality documentary experience that allows the user to see their own body hologram with unlimited freedom of movement. The volumetric 3D environment provides

Thinness pavilion stretches concrete to its limits

Syracuse-based APTUM Architecture has designed and fabricated Thinness, an ultra-light concrete pavilion in collaboration with international concretemanufacturer Cemex Global R&D. Concrete is one of the most ubiquitous construction materials in the world. Its advantages are many: it’s easy to produce, is remarkably strong, and can take on a variety of forms. It does, however, have one rather weighty constraint: it’s

The Centre for Fine Print Research is using a six-axis robotic arm for artistic 3D printing

The University of the West of England’s Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) is experimenting with a six-axis Mitsubishi Electric MELFA RV-Series to create 3D printed forms that move beyond simple CAD models and slicing algorithms. Unlike conventional 3D printers which deposit material according to rigid algorithms, the six-axis Mitsubishi robotic arm is geared for