Trendwatch Design & Manufacturing: August 12, 2020

Construction sites get digital twins – Virtual factory testing is having its moment – Detecting manufacturing anomalies – Brewing raw materials for bioplastics – Why 40 North bought GE’s stakes in 11 industrial startups

Buildots Raises $16m to Bring Computer Vision to Construction Management - Techcrunch 

The team is using hardhat-mounted 360-degree cameras to allow project managers at construction sites to get an overview of the state of a project and whether it remains on schedule.

Virtual Factory Testing Gets Its Moment in the Spotlight - Industry Week

What had previously been a theoretical testing option became a necessity during the pandemic.    

Instrumental Raises $20M to Scale its AI-powered Manufacturing Tech - Techcrunch

The startup installs its hardware on manufacturing lines, employing learning software to ferret out anomalies using data from small sample sets.    

Your Car Is More Plastic Than You Know. This Company May Soon Be Brewing Its Parts With Biology. - Forbes

A new partnership aims to brew the raw materials needed for greener bioplastics      

Why 40 North Ventures Bought GE Ventures’ Stakes In 11 Industrial Startups - Forbes

“The thesis was the industrial sector was overdue for innovation and changes in business models”