How do we make buildings more resilient and weather-proof?  Can we model storm impacts based on artificial intelligence (AI)?  How do we prevent building collapses, especially in Florida where water and winds reduce the integrity of structures?  With so much climate volatility due to global warming, could AI be the secret sauce to help developers and engineers create sounder buildings?  

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have devised a new method of simulating storms using AI in an effort to create more adaptable and stronger buildings.  A recent study asserts that the simulations can accurately represent the trajectory and wind speeds of a collection of actual storms. The authors suggest that simulating numerous realistic hurricanes with the new approach can lead to improved guidelines for the design of buildings in hurricane-prone regions.

Scientists using real-life storm data with AI to improve building designs is groundbreaking.  Engineers and forecasters are increasingly reliant on the work that computers can do to streamline their efficiency.  The use of AI is most noteworthy in computer modeling for Florida in hurricane-prone areas.  Determining the level of wind that a building should be designed to withstand can be accomplished using AI.  Rather than attempting to mathematically build a storm from the ground up using bare data points, as current models do, machine-learning algorithms mimic actual hurricane data.  

With enough quality information to study, machine-learning algorithms can construct models based on patterns they uncover within datasets that other methods miss.  Those models can then simulate specific behaviors, such as the wind strength and movement of a hurricane.  Thereafter, developers, builders, and engineers can find the level of wind their proposed structure must handle based on its location and relative importance.

The sophistication of AI has dramatically improved and it continues to improve, and that’s critical to designing sounder, more durable structures.  Wind-resistant design can include things like concrete, steel frames, and impact-resistant glass.  Florida structures must be built stronger to withstand wind and water damage as evidenced by the tragic Surfside condo collapse.