BENGALURU: A Japanese construction technology firm and an Indian Institute of Science-backed data platform have joined forces to address a persistent blind spot in urban planning: the vast amounts of construction data that become inaccessible once a building project concludes.
Partnership Details
ONESTRUCTION Inc., a Tottori-based specialist in open-standard built environment data, and DataKaveri Systems, the commercial arm of IISc Bengaluru's Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate construction data into AI-ready urban data exchanges across Indian and Japanese cities.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the inaugural Japan-India AI Strategic Dialogue, a bilateral initiative to advance cooperation in AI and data infrastructure.
Technology Integration
Under the partnership, ONESTRUCTION's openBIM platform, built around the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) standard, will connect with DataKaveri's Intelligent Universal Data Exchange (IUDX). IUDX is already operational in 55 smart cities across India, covering urban mobility, utilities, environment, and public services.
The goal is to ensure that construction data such as floor plans, utility layouts, and asset histories flow securely into city-scale AI applications and digital twins, rather than being lost or confined to individual project silos after construction ends.
Industry Perspectives
Lucas Haywood, Vice President of Global Strategy at ONESTRUCTION, highlighted the potential for standardized building data to be useful in the context of everything else that describes a city. Ashok Krishnan, Vice President of Commercial Business and Revenue at CDPG and DataKaveri, described the construction industry as sitting on a goldmine of data that rarely extends beyond individual projects.
Future Plans
The firms plan to jointly explore AI use cases combining construction and urban datasets and pursue bilateral funding opportunities. They expressed hope that the model could be replicated internationally, enabling smarter urban planning and data-driven city management.
