Rapid changes in technology are making everyone do some thinking these days. Here are some of our favorite inspirations and insights from the week.

• AEC leading in AV? The construction industry hasn’t always rushed to adopt new technology, but that could be changing. In CIO Review, Sallah Palos of Sellen Construction makes a strong case that architects and builders are taking the lead in the development of visualization and immersive technologies. Forbes seconds that notion with an extended riff on all the good things that happen when BIM is paired with augmented reality.
• Fly right. Everyone’s trying to create a dependable autonomous drone these days, according to Scientific American. No coincidence, then, that a team in Australia claims to have developed the world’s smallest drone capable of steering itself using on-board AI. Hopefully it’ll get a chance to fly in and around the drone-friendly (and breathtaking) headquarters of Chinese robotics leader DJI in Shenzhen.

• Lay it on. 3D printing is still in its infancy—but it’s growing up fast. It seems like every other week someone’s laying claim to the world’s largest 3D printer, since print-size has long been a constraint on adoption. Limited printing materials have also held things back, but new options like metal, graphene, and carbon fiber are either here or coming soon according to our friends at Redshift. And ZDNet predicts that 3D printing will soon shake up business models in a range of industries, especially manufacturing, enabling it to become more distributed and efficient. In other words: this party is just getting started.

Credit: Jabil