At a recent press conference, AEM offered a glimpse into how Conexpo 2020 will showcase disruptive technologies and trends that will shape the future of the industry. These exhibits will give attendees a chance to learn about electric equipment, unmanned machines, predictive maintenance, and sustainability.
Tech Experience- Sustainable Building
AEM has partnered with MIT to showcase how the university is testing the infusion of carbon into concrete, offering a building as a potential battery storage. It has also partnered with The National Center for Asphalt Testing (NCAT), and the National Asphalt Paving Association (NAPA) to display new materials such as soil emulsions for the asphalt industry. As part of sustainable building, modular construction will also be a heavy emphasis.
Groups like Branch Technologies, a team of architects, mechanical engineers, mathematicians, and industrial designers, will have a piece of a 3D printed home they created on display within the Tech Experience. Another 3D printed house by Oak Ridge National Laboratories, the same group that brought the 3D printed excavator in 2017, will also be on display. 3D Printing will be demonstrated daily in the festival ground location.
Modern Mobility
To show how transportation and infrastructure will change, AEM has partnered with additional groups including The National Ready-Mix Concrete Association, and a group called The Ray.
The Ray will use medians and shoulders to transform Georgia’s I-85 highway system using pollinators and micro-farming to reduce or eliminate 37 billion gallons of gas used for mowing the highway. Other assets as part of The Ray’s testing will include solar roads, interchanges with solar farms, as well as bridges which produce wind power.
Smart Cities
AEM defines a “smart city” as “a city where sensors and analytics are able to transform information into digestible data, providing knowledge to work smarter.” To bring the idea to life, the group has partnered with companies like Turban to show how sensors are providing the tools to create smart cities. It has also partnered with AEM members like Komatsu to show how sensors on equipment, in a smart city, will transform into a smart jobsite.
The jobsite of the future within the city and how the equipment will communicate will all be on display.
Changes to Conexpo
Conexpo is expanding the 2020 show footprint to include the Las Vegas festival grounds located on the strip. The connected campus will include new and expanded transportation options including more buses to help attendees get to and from the show, and additional options around the show with more golf carts and pedicabs.
The 2020 show features 2,800 exhibitors in 2.6 million square feet of space, and 150 educational sessions.
Sessions are grouped into 10 tracks. Speakers include industry experts from across the country including Regina McMichael, Jim Colvin, and Jimmy Greene.
AEM's model "smart city" was on display during the press conference:
