A pioneering engineering app, developed in Edinburgh, has reached the final of the international industry innovation awards known as the 'Noise Oscars' last night, less than a year after being designed.

ifieldnotes is an artificial intelligence (AI) -powered note-taking App created specifically for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals to use onsite and/or 'in the field'.

Led by Edinburgh acoustics consultant Dr Shenzhi Su, iFieldnotes was named as one of four finalists in the 'Innovation' category of the John Connell Awards 2024 - one of the most-prestigious accolades for specialist noise-related industry experts and excellence - by the UK Noise Abatement Society (NAS) at its annual awards ceremony in the Palace of Westminster.

The App developed by Dr Su, an engineering and acoustics graduate of both Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh Napier universities, was one of only two Scottish projects featured during the event, and the only start-up business to be recognised.

Other finalists at the event were from large-scale, well-known engineering companies including AECOM and AtkinsRealis, leading educational establishments including the University of Salford, and Johns Hopkins University, and public sector organisations including Defra, National Highways, and the UK Health Security Agency - the eventual winner of the Innovation Award.

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The iFieldnotes App, which features a host of AI-linked functions is poised to launch commercially by the end of this year and there has already been strong industry and academic interest in its abilities to improve the quality, depth, accuracy, and speed of note-taking on-site. It is currently being final beta-tested before going on sale on Google and Apple stores.

The annual awards, widely known in industry circles as the 'Noise Oscars', are now in their 23rd year. According to organisers at the Society, they acknowledge 'the importance of the quality of sound in our lives, and champion vital advances in reducing the negative impact of unnecessary noise for the public benefit'.

Dr Shenzhi Su said: "If you are one of the millions of architecture, engineering, and construction industry-related professionals worldwide who still use pen and paper for taking notes out in the field, it is high-time to upgrade your processes - and we have the solution.

"There are other engineering note-takings Apps out there; but we believe iFieldnotes is an especially powerful tool, as it is AI-powered and specifically designed to meet the particular challenges faced onsite and in the field by anyone in the engineering, architecture, and construction sectors – three pillars that shape the built environment.

"It greatly enhances the quality of field notes while reducing the time typically spent onsite by half, making the job many times more accurate, efficient, less error-prone, and far quicker," she added.

"Being recognised in this way by the UK's hugely respected Noise Abatement Society is a massive feather in our cap, especially so early in the development of iFieldnotes and we as a business."

Prof David Waddington, the newly appointed President of the Institute of Acoustics said: "AI is going to transform the acoustics industry. We must not only be involved in that, but actively develop our work so that AI can support and deliver innovation and sustainable development.

"iFieldnotes is an important first step in what I believe will be an AI journey through acoustics for consultants and engineers alike," added Prof Waddington, who is Director of the Acoustics Research Centre at the University of Salford.