Aecom tool aids environmental checks

摘要

Aecom has developed a new digital platform to improve infrastructure owners' understanding of the ecological condition of a site by combining spatial data, remote sensing, audio, video and virtual reality. Through its dashboard, users can access and view site data, which includes changes to soil, air and water quality. This can in turn allow natural systems to be integrated into business decisions. The platform has been developed by Aecom's Natural Capital Laboratory, a 40ha living laboratory and testbed in the Scottish Highlands. Technologies tested include robotic rovers for soil sampling, drones to plant trees, artificial intelligence to reduce data collection and analysis costs, and satellites to capture aerial imagery and map habitats. Aecom sustainable development director Robert Spencer said: "What we're finding at the moment -certainly with some of the major infrastructure operators and owners, and some of the other extractive industries, water and energy clients - is that they have a lot of land and they don't necessarily know exactly even how much they have, down to the last square metre.