AEC Delta Mobility

"Our project will define a new open-source ecosystem developed in collaboration with internationally recognised engineering practices and construction firms, and standardisation support from the UK BIM Alliance and Building Smart International.

The project will deliver an open specification and an open-source reference implementation for data exchange in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) but also support further development of paid for services to drive adoption, commercialisation and long-term support of this technology. Our unique approach is expected to streamline the design process for manufacturing, reduce delays and thus directly increase productivity on a wide variety of multidisciplinary projects. This solution will help engage manufacturers in the early design stages and result in the increased pre-manufactured value of build assets across the construction sector.

We aim to iron out the manufacturing process at the earliest possible stages of the design phase by streamlining the data workflow so that everyone involved from the consultants to the manufacturers can access the same data from a single source.

Accessing required data is currently difficult due different parties involved in a single project using different file formats. Companies also depend on a single supplier for products and services which can lead to financial losses, especially if something is no longer needed over the course of a construction lifecycle. Open standard Industry Foundation Classes aimed for interoperability, but that is not suitable for manufacturing or large-scale architectural and infrastructure projects.

To address the above issues, we propose a novel open-source micro-services online framework that will enable the industry to exchange individual object-level changes across various applications, regardless of data format. Instead of exporting a whole file over and over again, our aim is to stream individual design changes to whichever application is conformant with our newly proposed _""AEC Delta Mobility""_ specification.

To achieve this, we will:

1. Define a new common interchange schema that is open and shared across various systems;
2. Specify a new technology so that different architecture, engineering and construction applications can communicate easily over the Internet;
3. Validate the proposed specification by creating a working reference implementation that connects open-source Speckle Works and 3D Repo with proprietary systems.

This will create an ecosystem with in-built security specification to ensure encrypted data transmission and authorship verification. The entire system will be tested on three live construction projects in the UK with project partners BuroHappold, Rhomberg Sersa, HOK and Atkins."