Is DIGGS ready for AI?

by Allen Cadden, P.E., BC.GE, F.ASCE 

Catchy title, eh?  For the geotechnical world and everyone else, AI is a new and exciting challenge.  And as we have all heard, its value is directly tied to the data it is trained with.  That's where DIGGS -- Data Interchange for Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists -- comes in. If you have not heard of this over the past 15 years, this is the data structure standard initially developed through DOT and FHWA efforts and, for the past 7 years, managed and expanded by the Geo-Institute. 

As we have said many times, this is not a database of geotechnical data; this is a standard format that can be used to easily transfer geotechnical data -- boring, in-situ testing, laboratory, grouting, geophysical, pile, instrumentation, MWD, etc -- from one software tool to another.  Imagine how wonderful our life will be once we fully adopt this transfer format: when we collect the data in the field electronically, send it to the office and laboratory and then into our analysis, reporting,  and presentation tools, then into the field for bidding and construction use -- without ever having to manipulate it or pull info from a PDF.  Like AI, this is possible and likely to be a reality for the geotechnical community in the not-too-distant future.  Check out DIGGS at www.diggsml.org.

We have a very active group of followers that meet the first Friday of each month to discus application and advancements in the DIGGS world.  Please feel free to join us by sending a request at https://www.geoinstitute.org/special-projects/diggs/contact-us.  If you have a strong interest in how the schema works, check out our GitHub site.  Here you will find development information, documentation, and examples to help get you start down the DIGGS implementation path. 

We have several ongoing development efforts supported by the G-I Committee Special Project Fund. These include MWD, vendor support, deep foundations, geophysics, and instrumentation as well as general advancements within the DIGGS schema.  You are welcome to join any of these working groups as well.

Let's get AI-ready by standardizing our data transfer with DIGGS!

We’re planning to bring you a new DIGGS blog post every month focused on advances, new partnerships, and ways you can u,se DIGGS and its outputs! Also check out the DIGGS playlist on the G-I YouTube channel for application and training videos.