How are advances in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) impacting current practices in the construction sector? What does the future hold of integrating emerging technologies into industrial operations – and are we ready?

These are just a few of the topics that were explored during the Connecting Emerging Technologies to Geospatial and AEC Workflows, a lively session held on Day One of Geo Week 2025.

Moderated by David Epps, Chief Technology Officer, Envision Construction, the session featured a panel of construction industry experts, including Ashley Crowder, CEO and Co-Founder of VNTANA, Chase Walker, Senior Simulations Engineer at Astec Industries, Accenture Technology Consultant John Niles, and David Stone, Northeast VDC Leader forDPR Construction.

The session began with a presentation by Crowder and Walker on a collaboration between VNTANA and Astec that deployed web 3D, AR, and other systems to enhance training and improve operation management. During the presentation, titled Mapping the Future: How 3D and Digital Twins are Revolutionizing Geospatial Technology, Crowder explained how her firm was tasked with helping Astec showcase its large-scale, complex equipment. VNTANA leveraged its technology to optimize 3D models and develop immersive experiences that have helped Astec train staff and clients, improve interactions with customers, and even make their maintenance operations more efficient.

“Having the ability to have this content anywhere on any device, super-fast, is a game changer, especially for interacting with clients or with dealers,” stated Walker. For staff training, he explained, VNTANA’s solutions help “to see the inside of the equipment, and then each feature is described in depth.” Moreover, he asserted, “we can now provide our sales guys, our dealers, with these showrooms where you can look at side by side equipment and explain advantages, disadvantages, why this thing is what you need. It’s just a great education piece.”

Building off this presentation, the panel tackled a number of issues related to the integration of 3D, AR, and AI in construction. They described their real-life, on-the-jobsite experiences with digital twins and AR, discussed how these technologies can be best integrated into existing workflows, and looked to how construction operations can continue to adopt these systems to maximize accuracy and efficiency.

One topic of particular importance to the panel was AI. “The creation of content is getting easier because of the AI help. They still need humans, but that content creation has been one of the biggest barriers to the whole industry,” Crowder asserted. She also emphasized the importance of making a business case for AI. “We need to show the value on the bottom line,” she stated, “and we’re actually seeing real great case studies of it improving business.”

Niles was confident that, going forward, more and more companies would adopt AI and related technologies. “As technology continues to merge, as it gets lighter, smaller, more powerful, and more capable, you’re going to see more adoption,” he said. “This is just the natural way of things.”

For his part, Stone was enthusiastic about the future of emerging technologies in the construction industry. “I look at how we’re exploring how to use the technology and how machine learning and AI are influencing how we deliver our projects, and I’m excited to see what’s coming,” he said.