Kanoo IT Brings Computer Games Technology to the Land Development Industry in the Middle East

The Intelligent Building Information Model (i-BIM) combines visualization and information technology to ease the management of complex data within a virtual 3D environment that mimics the real world.

 In Picture : From the left:Mohammed Abdul Aziz, sales manager, BIW; Sreekanth Karunakaran, Pre-sales manager, Kanoo IT; Thomas Cheah, CTO, Objective World; Muhannad Al-Durrah, CEO, BIW;Pankaj Bhansali, accounts manager, BIW; Zainab Hikmat, IT Manager, BIW;

Kanoo IT in Partnership with Objective World has completed the implementation of xD Land Development Explorer (xDLDE) to Bahrain Investment Wharf, a Bahrain based company focusing on developing land and infrastructure. xDLDE is a software for visualizing and managing information resulting from the land development design and construction process. Its core engine is an Intelligent Building Information Model (i-BIM) developed based on various concepts in computer games technology and used to simulate the real world environment.
“Computer games are complex and use diverse technologies such as computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and networking,” said Mr. Thomas Cheah, chief technology officer at Objective World.  “These technologies have pushed the envelope of computer software and hardware design, and when used appropriately, can create powerful business solutions, a concept which is the cornerstone of our Intelligent Building Information Model.”
Similarly to other Building Information Modeling solutions currently in the market, i-BIM is a centralized information repository that stores properties and graphic attributes related to the real world objects. However, in addition, the i-BIM supports behaviours that define how objects react to their environment. This makes it a perfect solution not only for managing project information, but also provides a natural mechanism to store, archive, and utilize company business knowledge, which enables simulations, situational and cost benefit analysis supporting both technical and business functions.
“The 3D environment of xD Land Development Explorer has significantly increased the visibility and usability of our land plot information,” said Mr. Muhannad Al-Durrah, chief executive officer, Bahrain Investment Wharf. “Land development often involves a great deal of information. xD Land Development Explorer provides us a visual interactive way of managing plot information, making relevant data available to the right people at the right time.”
The construction industry has been historically overwhelmed by fragmentation of information that leads to data redundancy and wastage, unproductive project collaboration, and prevents practical information reuse. “Our vision is to provide a unified platform for the complete facility creation and operation lifecycle, enabling seamless data transfer between stakeholders in the building lifecycle,” said Dr. Peter Key, chief executive officer, Objective World. “xD Land Development Explorer represents a pragmatic solution to aggregating and managing business and engineering data in a way that is focused on making it usable for our clients in operations and maintenance.”
“The construction and real estate development has witnessed an all time boom in Bahrain and around the region. We are bullish that there would be a lot of demand for this type of solution in this region,” said Mr. Waleed Kanoo, General Manager, Kanoo Information Technology. Objective World is also developing xD Building Conceptualizer, a software that focuses on conceptual design and rapid prototyping of buildings, also built on top of its i-BIM technology. xD Building Conceptualizer is targeted for release in early 2009.

Founded in 2006, Objective World (www.objectiveworld.com) is a MSC Malaysia Status company specializing in research, development and commercialization of software that manages and visualizes information over the complete lifecycle of buildings, facilities, and infrastructure. The flagship product, xD Building Lifecycle Enterprise Suite, comprises a range of seamlessly integrated modules which provide functionality from initial planning and conceptual design phase all the way through detail design and construction to facility maintenance and operations management.