Tees Business Tees Business Issue 16 | Page 22

22 | Tees Business Constructing a game-changer - Dr Jonathan Siddle and Garry Lofthouse, front centre, with, from left, KTN’s Ian Blakemore, Applied Integration’s Lee Raywood, and Teesside University’s Prof Nashwan Dawood and Dr Huda Dawood. New Zealand unveiling for Tees system set to “revolutionise” construction industry P I C TURES: DOUG M OO DY WORDS: DAVE ALL AN A ground-breaking system developed by North-East firm Applied Integration that could revolutionise the construction industry has received a global unveiling at a world-leading exhibition in Auckland, New Zealand. ArchiTrack, which the Stokesley firm believes will save millions of pounds and countless man hours on major construction projects, was unveiled at the International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality. The conference was attended by world- leading experts in virtual reality, augmented reality and building information modelling. Applied Integration, who specialise in providing cutting edge solutions to the petrochemicals, oil, gas and defence sectors, have developed ArchiTrack over the past two years in partnership with Teesside University. The firm believe they are “pushing the boundaries of innovation” with the development of the software tool which is designed to record the ongoing architectural changes with a building’s construction. ArchiTrack has been developed by Applied Integration after they joined forces with Teesside University in a two-year, government-backed Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). Designed to encourage businesses to improve their competitive edge and productivity through the use of emerging expertise and innovative technologies, KTP is a nationwide programme helping firms make better use of the UK’s knowledge, technology and skills-base. Software engineer Dr Jonathan Siddle, who recently joined Applied Integration on a permanent basis after leading the project as an associate on the KTP, presented ArchiTrack to the industry experts at the University of Auckland’s flagship science centre. Applied Integration also worked with academics within the university’s School of Science and Engineering on the KTP, which has moved ArchiTrack to the stage where it was ready for its grand unveiling at the prestigious conference Down Under. Dr Siddle, who has a doctorate in Computer Science from Teesside University, added: “The KTP has given me a great opportunity to apply my expertise to deliver a solution for a real-world problem – which has the potential to be such a game-changer within the sector.”