By definition, a city is a big place. And, as such, it is hard to stay on top of everything going on within its borders. There will always be outcomes to scenarios that couldn’t have been predicted, issues that arise from small details overlooked in the planning process.
But the city-state of Singapore is trying to rectify this issue and make sure no small details are overlooked again. What is their solution? To create a hyper-realistic virtual model of the island city-state, something they are currently in the process of doing.
With the help of the Prime Minister’s Office and Dassault Systèmes, a multinational software company that is at the forefront of 3D design, Virtual Singapore is well on its way to completion.
Virtual Singapore will incorporate information such as data about the climate, demographics, energy consumption, and building elevation, all the way down to small details like the location of trees.
If you ever played SimCity, a game designed by legendary game designer Will Wright, this probably seems pretty familiar to you. But Virtual Singapore is built for more than just entertainment.
“You can click on a building and see the surface of its roof, how much electricity it consumes. You can simulate how in the event of a gas leak or a bombing, the population could escape based on where people are,” said CEO of Dassault Systèmes, Bernard Charlès, in an interview with Tech Insider. “We have simulation engines for this.”
Virtual Singapore can be used for more than planning for emergencies or disasters, though. It can also be used to see how a proposed change to the city would affect it. Thus, helping to eliminate those tiny overlooked details that rear their ugly heads later on in the process, when issues become more expensive to fix.
The majority of the data being used to create Virtual Singapore was stored on siloed platforms, but Charlès hopes to eventually incorporate data directly from citizens, such as information from cars or fitness trackers.
Dassault Systèmes projects Virtual Singapore to be completed by 2018.
Related Stories
| Jan 8, 2015
Microsoft shutters classic clipart gallery: Reaction from a graphic designer
Microsoft shut down its tried-and-true clipart gallery, ridding the world not only of a trope of graphic design, but a nostalgic piece of digital design history, writes HDR's Dylan Coonrad.
| Jan 7, 2015
How you can help improve the way building information is shared
PDFs are the de facto format for digital construction documentation. Yet, there is no set standard for how to produce PDFs for a project, writes Skanska's Kyle Hughes.
| Dec 29, 2014
Startup Solarbox London turns phone booths into quick-charge stations [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
About 8,000 of London’s famous red telephone boxes sit unused in warehouses, orphans of the digital age. Two entrepreneurs plan to convert them into charging stations for mobile devices. Their invention was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
Hard hat equipped with smartglass technology could enhance job site management [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
Smart Helmet is equipped with an array of cameras that provides 360-degree vision through its glass visor, even in low light. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
New data-gathering tool for retail designers [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
Beacon technology personalizes smartphone messaging, creating a new information resource for store designers. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
Wearable job site management system allows contractors to handle deficiencies with subtle hand and finger gestures [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
Technology combines a smartglass visual device with a motion-sensing armband to simplify field management work. The innovation was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
14 great solutions for the commercial construction market
Ideas are cheap. Solutions are what count. The latest installment in BD+C's Great Solutions series presents 14 ways AEC professionals, entrepreneurs, and other clever folk have overcome what seemed to be insoluble problems—from how to make bricks out of agricultural waste, to a new way to keep hospitals running clean during construction.
| Dec 29, 2014
HealthSpot station merges personalized healthcare with videoconferencing [BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report]
The HealthSpot station is an 8x5-foot, ADA-compliant mobile kiosk that lets patients access a network of board-certified physicians through interactive videoconferencing and medical devices. It was named a 2014 Great Solution by the editors of Building Design+Construction.
| Dec 28, 2014
Robots, drones, and printed buildings: The promise of automated construction
Building Teams across the globe are employing advanced robotics to simplify what is inherently a complex, messy process—construction.
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 28, 2014
The Big Data revolution: How data-driven design is transforming project planning
There are literally hundreds of applications for deep analytics in planning and design projects, not to mention the many benefits for construction teams, building owners, and facility managers. We profile some early successful applications.