DirectIndustry recently returned from Vancouver, Canada, where Bentley Systems hosted the Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards. This annual event, which celebrates the company’s major strategic announcements, showcased new products such as OpenSite+, introduced Carbon Analysis features, and revealed a highly anticipated partnership with Google Maps.
| KEY INSIGHTS |
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| 1/ Partnership with Google: Bentley Systems announced a strategic partnership with Google Maps. This collaboration integrates Google’s geospatial content with Bentley’s digital twin tools. 2/ OpenSite+: Bentley introduced OpenSite+, a generative-AI co-pilot built into the iTwin platform to assist engineers throughout the entire process, from concept to final design 3/ Sustainability: Bentley Systems’s new Carbon Analysis enables infrastructure companies to effectively measure and manage their carbon emissions throughout the project lifecycle and explore alternatives before decisions are finalized. |
The Year in Infrastructure (YII), Bentley Systems’ flagship event for the construction and infrastructure sectors, took place last week in Vancouver. DirectIndustry was invited to cover the event. This year also marked Bentley Systems’ 40th anniversary, a milestone for the publicly traded company.
To commemorate the occasion, the American software firm, which aims to make CAD software more accessible, announced several high-impact strategic moves. Bentley’s focus remains on empowering engineers with tools to visualize projects more realistically and solve problems before construction begins.
Infrastructure Facing Major Challenges
Infrastructure globally is confronting enormous challenges, including labor shortages and skyrocketing demand. In response, Bentley showcased a portfolio of products designed to help engineers improve infrastructure design, construction, and operation worldwide.
During his keynote, newly appointed CEO Nicholas Cumins highlighted these issues:
“Infrastructure worldwide is facing unprecedented challenges. Demand for better, more resilient infrastructure is surging, whether it’s expanding energy grids, modernizing transportation networks, or retrofitting existing structures to meet sustainable goals. These are massive undertakings requiring trillions of dollars of investments and decades of effort.”
Bentley Systems made a series of strategic announcements to tackle these significant challenges, further enhancing its product portfolio. Here are the 5 key highlights we selected:
1/ Partnership with Google Maps
One of the most talked-about announcements at this year’s Year of Infrastructure event is the strategic partnership between Bentley Systems and Google Maps. This collaboration integrates Google’s geospatial content with Bentley’s digital twin tools.
According to Cumins,
“Google’s massive scale of geospatial data is unmatched. When this data is combined with Bentley’s infrastructure engineering expertise, the result is an ecosystem where data can flow seamlessly providing users with the most comprehensive and actionable geospatial insights available.”
It’s about time! Google has spent the last two decades building a highly detailed and up-to-date digital twin of the planet. Their data includes live traffic updates, street views, immersive experiences, and detailed information about over 250 million places in more than 250 countries.
Bentley Systems, on the other hand, has been incorporating digital twins of cities, like Singapore, into its platforms such as iTwin. Now, with this partnership, Google’s rich, real-time 3D model of the world—covering millions of buildings —is available to developers, cities, and infrastructure professionals.
Yael Maguire, VP of Google Maps, highlights the potential of this collaboration:
“You all remember when Google Earth first launched and you could zoom into canyons and see skyscrapers in stunning detail. Now, developers can bring that same breathtaking realism directly into enterprise applications using photorealistic 3D tiles from Google Maps.”
Google Maps has adopted the 3D Tiles open standard, integrated with Cesium (a geospatial company recently acquired by Bentley), which will expand the use of 3D content for infrastructure planning and design. Google’s 3D imagery now covers over 2,500 cities in 49 countries. Developers can combine this content with their own 3D geospatial data using Cesium, enabling richer experiences for urban development and infrastructure projects.
For example, in a large urban development project involving roads, bridges, energy, and water networks, Google’s 3D geospatial data—combined with Bentley’s Cesium technology and the iTwin platform—allows stakeholders to visualize both existing and planned infrastructure in a real-world context. This visualization enhances decision-making, improves design and operational outcomes, and helps reduce the risk of service interruptions.
As Maguire sums it up:
“We want developers to create immersive, photorealistic experiences that transform workflows for architects, engineers, and urban planners.”
2/ Gen-AI in Infrastructure and the OpenSite+ Co-Pilot
Artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, is a major focus for Bentley Systems. According to Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins, infrastructure can greatly benefit from gen-AI:
“Artificial intelligence is transforming every industry, and infrastructure is no exception. The vast amount of data generated during the design, construction, and operational phases makes infrastructure an ideal area for AI to have a significant impact.”
AI is already being applied to analyze infrastructure assets—such as bridges, roads, dams, and water networks—to identify potential issues and recommend preventive actions. This reduces costly breakdowns and enhances safety. For example, AI is used in road maintenance to detect problems before they escalate into larger issues.
AI’s potential extends beyond maintenance and into the design phase. It can automate repetitive tasks like documentation and annotations, freeing engineers to focus on high-value activities. Moreover, AI can act as a co-pilot, offering design suggestions that improve efficiency—such as making projects more carbon-friendly and future-proof.
In this context, Bentley introduced OpenSite+, an AI-powered co-pilot built into the iTwin platform. This tool assists engineers throughout the entire process, from concept to final design, using natural language interaction.
François Valois, Bentley’s Vice President of Civil Infrastructure, showcased OpenSite+ with a live demo. Using OpenSite+, engineers can easily create new projects by integrating geospatial data from Google Maps and other open standards, then begin designing right away with AI support.
Valois explained how the co-pilot not only processes documents but also understands the design itself.
“Engineers can ask complex questions like: ‘Can I build a hotel in this area?’ The AI reads and interprets documents and provides answers. The users can not only type but also talk to the co-pilot, with their voice.”
The co-pilot can also assist in optimizing designs by analyzing various layout options.
“For instance, it can answer questions like: ‘Do I have enough parking spaces to meet zoning and design requirements?’ Using a neural network, the AI examines thousands of alternatives and suggests the best options, optimizing both cost and engineering standards.”
Engineers can then select from several proposals to apply to their designs.
Another key feature of OpenSite+ is its ability to generate production drawings, which typically consume up to 50% of a site design project’s time. The AI dramatically speeds up this process, ensuring compliance with standards and eliminating the need for manual drawing tasks.
OpenSite+ will soon be available across all infrastructure sectors.
3/ Bentley’s New Carbon Analysis Capability
Infrastructure contributes significantly to embodied carbon emissions. Sustainability and social impact are becoming increasingly critical in infrastructure development. New carbon accounting regulations in both the U.S. and Europe necessitate transparency for infrastructure professionals. This is where Bentley’s new Carbon Analysis feature emerges as an essential tool. It aims at enabling infrastructure companies to effectively measure and manage their carbon emissions throughout the project lifecycle.
Currently, many companies offer a variety of solutions for carbon calculation and reporting. But, according to Kelvin Saldanha from consulting firm WSP, the inconsistency in methods and tools for carbon accounting often leads to confusion and variability in quality:
“Reports are usually generated by carbon specialists, and they can vary in quality depending on the product lifecycle stage. As a result, projects can sometimes feel like guesswork. Standards like PAS 2080 are helping with this. Another key challenge is that a large amount of time is required to calculate carbon. It needs to go through a very rigorous takeoff process, including design population and data plans, before that data can actually be used in third-party software.”
Consequently, design teams may not fully understand their carbon footprint until the design reaches a mature stage. They, then, miss critical opportunities to reduce emissions early in the process. Yet, it is during the design phase that meaningful impacts on carbon footprints can be made.
Bentley Systems’s new Carbon Analysis is designed to provide transparency and streamline carbon calculations during the design process. Specifically, it provides insights into embodied carbon early in the design process, so that engineers minimize the environmental impact by exploring alternatives before decisions are finalized. For Saldanha, whose company has access to this capability, this innovative tool offers numerous benefits:
“Continuous calculations during the design process allow for accurate carbon reports to be generated much earlier in the project lifecycle. Since reporting is just a click away, updates to the design model can instantly show their impact on the project’s carbon footprint.”
The tool features 3D heat mapping capabilities and generates a comprehensive list of materials and their quantities, essentially providing a detailed bill of materials for all elements within the design. It utilizes intelligent grouping to help visualize material data through color-coded displays. This makes it easier to identify carbon-intensive components in the design. Professionals can therefore explore alternative design options and building materials to reduce the carbon score effectively.
Carbon Analysis also simplifies the reporting process by linking directly to lifecycle assessment tools, such as EC3, allowing for swift adjustments based on project specifics and material choices. This streamlined process significantly reduces the time needed to generate accurate carbon assessments, from weeks to mere minutes.
According to Bentley, the Carbon Analysis capabilities are available in the iTwin experience at no additional cost.
4/ Bentley Asset Analytics: Revolutionizing Infrastructure Management
Bentley Systems has made asset analytics a core focus with the launch of Bentley Asset Analytics, a product portfolio that leverages AI to assess and improve the performance of existing infrastructure.
According to Bentley CEO Nicholas Cumins, the goal is to cover a wide range of asset classes using cutting-edge data capture techniques, including IoT sensors, drones, dashcams, and more. The true power of asset analytics lies in its integration with digital twins—a “digital thread” that connects various data sources like sensors, satellite imagery, and enterprise systems to create a comprehensive view of infrastructure.
The main aim of Bentley Asset Analytics is to ensure infrastructure assets remain safe, reliable, and resilient. This approach is particularly critical for key infrastructure such as bridges, dams, and large transportation networks. Cumins emphasizes:
“Monitoring and maintenance are essential for long-term safety and performance, but most owners manage vast networks with tens of thousands of assets. Bentley Asset Analytics simplifies the process by capturing and analyzing data, helping streamline operations and maintenance.”
Bentley’s recent acquisition of Blyncsy, an AI-driven provider of roadway insights, supports these goals. Blyncsy’s platform uses crowdsourced image data and machine learning to assess roadway conditions and prioritize maintenance efforts.
Bentley’s VP of Asset Analytics, Mike Schelhase, highlights the platform’s ability to automate the management of complex infrastructure, such as lane markings, signage, and lighting.
“Blyncsy’s real-time asset inventory technology offers a fast and accurate way to build and maintain inventories at scale, cutting inspection times by up to 90% and improving efficiency.”
Bentley Asset Analytics is already being experimented with in cities like Fort Worth, Texas, where it helps automate the inspection of streetlights, road signs, and paint lines. The technology enables transportation professionals to focus on fixing problems rather than identifying them, leading to more efficient operations.
While Bentley Asset Analytics is proving effective in transportation, it has potential applications in other sectors, such as telecommunications. Telecom operators often face challenges related to data accuracy and asset assessment, leading to higher costs and delays. Bentley’s AI-driven solutions could help these operators manage their assets more effectively by providing accurate, real-time data.
5/ Openness is Key
This year, Bentley Systems emphasized the importance of openness in infrastructure projects. According to CEO Nicholas Cumins, organizations must be able to integrate external data sources, third-party tools, and their own analytics into their digital twins. He stated:
“Infrastructure projects are complex, involving multiple organizations, teams, disciplines, and stakeholders over extended periods. This complexity makes reliance on a single system or vendor impractical. An ecosystem that supports flexibility, integration, and interoperability across various tools is essential. Openness is not just a feature; it’s a necessity.”
Given the lengthy life cycles of infrastructure assets—such as roads and bridges, which can operate for 50 years or more—openness becomes even more critical. As the software and platforms evolve, ensuring systems remain open allows organizations to adopt new technologies and innovations while accessing and building on their historical data. Cumins emphasizes:
“Your data is yours always, and openness is about structuring and organizing data to make it queryable, analyzable, and reusable across different platforms.”
No single vendor can tackle the complexity of today’s infrastructure challenges alone. Cumins argues that:
“Working in silos with data locked in proprietary systems is no longer feasible. The infrastructure of tomorrow requires secure data movement between systems and stakeholders, integrating 3D geospatial data through partnerships like that with Google and seamlessly connecting asset data into the digital twin.”
Bentley’s Base Infrastructure Schema organizes and structures data so it can be effectively queried and analyzed across multiple platforms. This schema ensures that data is not only accessible but also understandable—whether it pertains to materials, structures, or subsurface data.
Cumins encourages the entire industry to adopt this schema.
Optimizing the Existing Infrastructure
Nicholas Cumins opened the Year in Infrastructure by highlighting a significant challenge facing the industry: a shortage of skilled engineers. This shortage is widening the gap between the growing demand for new infrastructure and the available workforce.
Given these challenges, the focus must shift from merely constructing new projects to optimizing the existing infrastructure. Over 95% of the infrastructure expected to be in use by 2030 is already in place today. Therefore, the objective for the sector is to enhance the resilience and efficiency of current infrastructure to meet future demands. Bentley’s key message is that software tools like theirs, can support engineers in effectively understanding and managing this existing infrastructure.
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