Education estate management costs reduced

Bristol, UK 27th April 2017. The University of Bristol (UoB) and Bristol based software developer Altuity have today announced a significant R&D collaboration over the coming months which will enable educational institutions to dramatically reduce the complexity, time and costs associated with building and estate asset management. In a project, which is co-funded by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, they will utilise state of the art technology and techniques based on Altuity's software to provide users with the ability to create immersive photo-realistic environments, complemented by augmented reality and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Steve Voller, Altuity’s Founder, said:

"As much as 60% of a building’s life costs are incurred during maintenance, so this project is great news particularly for schools and MATs (Multi-Academy Trusts) looking for operational cost savings while delivering more value from their assets. This quantum leap will help ensure educational institutions meet current and future challenges – slight improvements on what is available today simply isn’t going to be good enough.

We’re excited to be partnering with the university as they provide significant access to academic and technical expertise in market changing technology - this complements our own software and ambitions very well.”

Professor Ben Hicks, Head of Engineering Systems and Design, stated:

“We have worked with Altuity on a number of fundamental research projects over the last three years and we are really pleased to be collaborating closely with them again in this new R&D collaboration. The approach that Altuity are developing builds upon a number of our research themes concerning CAD tools, mixed-reality systems to support through-life engineering and Engineering Informatics. We are very excited to be applying our state-of-the-art in collaboration with Altuity to create a new technology that has the potential to realise a step-change in usability, capability and, importantly, value for money for customers such as schools and colleges. Projects such as this are a key mechanism for universities to work with industry to translate research outcomes and ultimately realise a significant positive impact for society. The new technology will be a world-first for the sector and will help position Altuity as a technology leader in their field for many years to come.”

Altuity and UoB will undertake R&D into the disruptive use of 3D mobile technologies, augmented reality and BIM to help school business managers and bursars maintain assets and buildings. This will lead to the development of an affordable, easy to use tool without needing any specialist or technical expertise ensuring that it can be used by all of a building’s stakeholders.