Bentley Systems has unveiled a range of AI capabilities across its infrastructure engineering software applications and announced a new collaborative partnership with engineering firms and asset owners to develop the future of the technology
Speaking at the Year in Infrastructure conference in Amsterdam, Bentley Systems CEO Nicholas Cumins said AI is “poised to transform infrastructure”.
“Trustworthy AI, built on infrastructure context, can improve engineering productivity and transform workflows across project and asset lifecycles,” he said in his keynote address.
“The greatest challenge to delivering better and more resilient infrastructure is engineering capacity. The reality is, there simply aren’t enough engineers in the world to do all the work that needs to be done. AI promises a step-change in productivity that can help close this capacity gap.”
A global survey on infrastructure professionals released at the conference, conducted by Bentley in collaboration with law firm Pinsent Masons, engineering firm Mott MacDonald and consultancy Turner & Townsend, found that about half of respondents are either piloting AI or have already implemented it, with plans to scale its use across their organisations.
Key focus areas include boosting design and engineering productivity and automating documentation processes.
AI rolled out across Bentley product portfolio
Bentley unveiled next generation applications that accelerate the adoption of AI across project delivery:
- OpenSite+, the first engineering application leveraging generative AI for civil site design, is now in limited availability.
- OpenUtilities Substation+, a new application that brings digital twin and AI-powered capabilities to substation design.
- Synchro+, part of Bentley Infrastructure Cloud, is a next-generation, AI-powered construction application that redefines traditional 4D modeling. By shifting to a data-centric workflow, SYNCHRO+ streamlines construction planning and coordination.
“We have been creating a new generation of infrastructure applications built on digital twins, powered by AI, and fully connected to Bentley Infrastructure Cloud,” said Francois Valois, senior vice-president, Bentley Open Applications.
“They show what’s possible when AI is built for real infrastructure workflows and tailored to the needs of engineers.”
Bentley also announced new AI-powered search capabilities in ProjectWise, part of Bentley Infrastructure Cloud, designed to significantly reduce the time users spend searching for information.
Commitment to data stewardship
While ProjectWise’s new AI-powered search capabilities promise significant productivity gains, Cumins said Bentley recognises that innovation must be grounded on a foundation of trust.
He reaffirmed a commitment, first outlined at the 2023 Year in Infrastructure conference, emphasizing that respect for intellectual property is foundational to Bentley’s approach to infrastructure AI.
“Our users are in control of their data. They decide if it is used for AI training, and to what extent,” Cumins said.
“Our users’ data is their data, always.”
Only data that has been explicitly licensed or purchased for AI model training is used. This includes contributions from accounts that have agreed to supply data for the benefit of the broader Bentley user community. Users also have the option to fine-tune Bentley AI models with their own data, for exclusive use within their organisations.
Bentley has also introduced a Data Agreement Registry, an auditing system that provides visibility into how data was used to train Bentley AI models.
Shaping the future of AI-enable workflows
Bentley also announced the Infrastructure AI Co-Innovation Initiative, which will invite engineering firms and asset owners to shape the next generation AI-enhanced workflows.
Open to all Bentley users, the scheme will examine how Bentley APIs can evolve to better support AI use cases and explore new commercial models that reflect the evolving balance between AI-driven and human-driven work.
“For more than 40 years, we’ve helped infrastructure professionals and organisations become more productive through our software,” Cumins said.
“We welcome the creative ways our users are already combining our applications with AI – and we believe this is just the beginning.
“This is a pivotal moment. The opportunity to shape the future of infrastructure is in front of us – and we’re incredibly excited to collaborate with our users in this new way.”
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