VIP Networking HAPPY HOUR

Before the doors open to everyone else, this hour belongs to you. The VIP Happy Hour is an intimate, exclusive gathering for the speakers, sponsors, and select guests who make R-CON what it is. Smaller room, higher signal, and the kind of unhurried access to the right people that you simply can't manufacture on a conference floor. Relationships that take most people three days to build get started here in one hour. Come early. It's worth it.

TBD HAPPY HOUR

The official unofficial start of R-CON. Before the sessions, the demos, and the packed agenda take over. This is your chance to ease in, meet the people you'll be spending the next few days with, and get the kind of easy, unhurried conversation that the conference floor doesn't always allow for. No agenda, no presentations, no pressure. Just good drinks, good people, and the quiet realization that you're exactly where you're supposed to be. The week starts here and so should you.

REGISTRATION / CHECK-IN

Your R-CON experience starts here. Grab your badge, your first cup of coffee, and your bearings. The Boise Centre is yours for the next three days — get oriented, say hello to a few familiar faces (and a few you haven't met yet), and get ready for what's ahead.

welcome + opening remarks

Welcome to R-CON 2026!
‍RCN's Matthew Byrd officially kicks off R-CON 2026 with opening remarks + a welcome message.

panel discussion

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Presentation

The Vulnerability Advantage: How Human-Centered Leaders Build High-Trust Teams
‍In high-pressure, fast-moving environments like construction, leaders are expected to drive results while managing constant change. Yet even the best strategies and technologies fall short when teams lack trust, alignment, and clear communication. The real challenge isn’t capability, it’s connection. In The Vulnerability Advantage, Chelsea Husum shares a practical, human-centered approach to leadership built on five simple shifts that strengthen trust, improve communication, and drive real execution. Attendees will learn how to lead with curiosity, build credibility through authenticity, and create alignment across teams so change actually sticks. This session gives the R-CON audience actionable tools to reduce friction, increase engagement, and build high-performing teams ready to keep up with an evolving industry.

Presentation

Reality Capture Is Lying to You: Why Most Programs Fail Before the Data Leaves the Field
‍The technology has never been better. Sensors are faster, denser, and more affordable than ever. So why do so many reality capture programs produce data no one uses six months after closeout? After decades in AEC across North America's most complex infrastructure, the answer isn't the hardware. It's the strategy gap between what gets captured and what asset owners need. Geometry without intent isn't intelligence. A point cloud without a data model isn't a digital twin. A BIM deliverable not designed for operations is an expensive archive. This session examines patterns that undermine reality capture ROI: misaligned scope, data structures serving geometry over function, AI layered onto poor foundations, and robotics optimized for coverage over insight. We'll identify the decision points where trajectory gets set before the first scan. Not a product pitch. An unfiltered view from someone who's seen these programs succeed and fail at scale, and believes the industry can do better.

presentation

Leading Owner Enterprise Adoption of VDC & Digital Delivery
‍Across the built environment, VDC and Digital Delivery have matured technically — yet enterprise adoption by owners remains inconsistent. While contractors and designers have rapidly advanced BIM execution, many owner organizations still struggle to translate project-level success into scalable business transformation. This keynote explores what changes when the owner becomes the driver of digital delivery. Drawing from real-world experience leading VDC strategy inside a global consumer packaged goods manufacturer, this session reframes VDC not as a construction service, but as an enterprise capability that improves operational performance, safety, maintainability, and long-term asset value. Rather than asking “How do we do BIM better?”, this keynote answers a more important question: “How do owners lead transformation across an entire capital ecosystem?”

presentation

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presentation

When the Built World Goes Digital: Cybersecurity for the Reality Capture Era
‍Reality capture technologies such as LiDAR, laser scanning, drones, and photogrammetry are transforming how the built world is designed and managed. These tools generate detailed digital representations of buildings and infrastructure that drive critical engineering and operational decisions. As these datasets become central to project delivery, they also introduce new cyber risks. Intellectual property theft, ransomware, and supply chain vulnerabilities can disrupt projects and expose sensitive data. This session helps business leaders understand how to build practical cyber risk management programs to protect their organizations and the data they create. Even without a technical background, attendees will learn how to ask the right questions, evaluate risk, and make better cybersecurity decisions for their organizations.

panel discussion

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EXHIBIT HALL / INNOVATION VILLAGE / WORKSHOPS

Explore the latest hardware, software, and services shaping the built world — then go deeper. This year's conference features the all new Innovation Village, where emerging startups and breakthrough ideas take center stage and stay for the workshops that get you first-hand knowledge of the technology. Bring your questions. Leave with answers — and probably a few new ideas you didn't see coming.

Happy Hour

This is the one people talk about on the flight home. Every year R-CON throws a signature evening event that's part networking, part experience — themed, energetic, and genuinely unlike anything else on the conference circuit. Guards are down, passions are dialed up, and the conversations that spark in this room have a way of turning into the partnerships, projects, and ideas that define the next year. Don't miss it.

Registration / Check-in

You know the drill. Grab your badge if you haven't already, get your coffee, and pick up right where yesterday left off. You've got names to put to faces now, conversations to continue, and a full day of sessions and demos ahead. Day two has a way of being the one people remember most

welcome + opening remarks

The day starts with a welcome message to kick of the program.

panel discussion

TITLE TBAinformation coming soon!

presentation

From Reality Capture to Physical Environment Intelligence: Closing the $1.8T Data Gap in the Built World
‍Less than 1% of the built environment exists as accurate, usable digital data—driving over $1.8T in inefficiencies across design, construction, and operations. This session reframes reality capture from a project-based service into a scalable foundation for “Physical Environment Intelligence.” We’ll explore why adoption has struggled to scale, and how leading organizations are shifting from one-off scans to repeatable digital infrastructure that reduces risk, eliminates unknown existing conditions, and improves decision-making across the asset lifecycle. Attendees will learn how to position reality capture as a risk mitigation strategy, leverage negotiation tactics for validating existing conditions, integrate Scan-to-BIM workflows effectively, and evolve toward operational digital twins that deliver long-term value.

presentation

Mid-Stream: How a 7,000-Person Infrastructure Firm Is Actually Building Its Reality Capture Program
‍Most large infrastructure firms want the benefits of reality capture but struggle to deploy it consistently across a distributed workforce. This session shares the honest, two-year account of how CDM Smith's Digital Engineering Solutions group is building that capability across a 7,000-person global firm: the three-tier twin framework we developed to scale capture across disciplines and geographies, the organizational and investment realities we encountered along the way, and the technology workflow moving us from everyday field capture toward 4D Gaussian Splatting and Spatial AI. Attendees get a practitioner's field report, not a finished case study.

presentation

The Point Cloud Is Not the Deliverable: How to Turn Reality Capture into Better Outcomes
‍Many reality capture projects stop at data collection, leaving significant value unrealized. While collecting accurate existing conditions is important, the true return on investment comes from how point cloud data is leveraged throughout design, coordination, fabrication, construction, project turnover, and facilities management. This session will explore real-world construction case studies demonstrating how point clouds can be transformed from static datasets into decision-making tools that reduce risk, improve coordination, prevent costly rework, and create measurable project value. Attendees will learn practical strategies to maximize the usefulness of their reality capture data.

presentation

The Right Tool for the Right Job: A Survey Company's Take on the Reality Capture Ecosystem
‍Every new sensor promises to change the game... UAVs, photogrammetry, LiDAR, laser scanning, SLAM. But which one actually gets the job done, and done accurately? Aaron Byrd of Nexus 3D Consulting breaks down how a working survey company evaluates and adopts reality capture technology. Through real project case studies and real data, he'll cover why survey control still matters no matter how good your sensor is, how to verify accuracy instead of assuming it, and what to watch out for before you bet a project on the wrong tool.

presentation

Team vs. System: What AECO Leaders Get Wrong About Both
‍The Problem: Most AECO digital initiatives stall because leaders over-index on either "the system" or "the team," creating a fatal imbalance. One side results in rigid, stifling bureaucracy; the other in unscalable "hero-mode" chaos. The Approach: This session features a high-energy debate between Dr. Johnny Fortune (National BIM Standards expert) and Micaela Socci (Remote Talent Strategist). They will clash over five critical tension points: failure root causes, remote quality control, the utility of industry standards, hidden ROI, and the "Client Value" factor—what actually builds long-term loyalty. Key Insights: Attendees will leave with a diagnostic framework to identify if their firm is system-weak or team-weak. You’ll learn how to leverage remote talent without compromising standards and how to sequence people vs. process investments. This is a frank, practical look at the organizational "engine" needed to run the technologies showcased at R-CON.

lunch / product highligh presentations

You made it to the halfway point! Grab something to eat and let the ideas keep coming. Today's product highlights bring another round of focused presentations from the companies pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the built world. You might walk in thinking you know what you need. You might walk out thinking differently. Either way, lunch is good and the demos are better.

panel discussion

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EXHIBIT HALL / INNOVATION VILLAGE / WORKSHOPS

You've had a night to sleep on everything you saw yesterday. Now come back with fresh eyes and sharper questions. The hall is alive again and there may be at least one booth you didn't get enough time at, or one workshop you want to dig deeper into. The Innovation Village is still buzzing, the experts are still at their stations, and the best exchanges of the entire conference have a funny way of happening on Day 2. Get back in there.

Registration / check-in

The final day. Come in strong. The connections are made, the ideas are flowing, and there's still plenty left to see, hear, and do before R-CON 2026 wraps. Grab your coffee, track down the people you still need to talk to, and make the most of every hour you've got left in this room.

welcome + opening remarks

The day starts with a welcome message to kick of the program.

Presentation

How Gilbane Uses Reality Capture to Reduce Risk on Complex Renovation Projects
‍Complex renovation projects require a unique approach to reality capture. Unknown conditions, active operations, and constrained spaces increase a project’s risk and complexity. This presentation focuses on how Gilbane Building Company applies reality capture to provide clarity on challenging renovation projects.
Use cases highlighted in this presentation include clashing against point clouds and meshes, floor and wall flatness analysis, shaft opening and elevation verification, historic element documentation, MEP coordination, installation verification, and early identification of design discrepancies. The presentation also addresses the logistics and safety realities unique to renovation work, including scanning in dark, tight, and occupied spaces.
Attendees will learn practical workflows that turn captured data into actionable insights, improving coordination, reducing rework, and enabling confident decision‑making through complex renovation projects.

presentation

From Capture to Cognition: How Physical AI Is Transforming Reality Capture into Real-Time Intelligence
‍Reality capture professionals have long delivered accurate digital representation of the built environment through laser scanning, photogrammetry, and drone capture. But the industry is at an inflection point: the shift from static data collection to dynamic, intelligent systems powered by Physical AI. This session explores how Physical AI redefines reality capture by embedding intelligence into the capture process. Integrating sensors, drones, edge computing, and AI models turns periodic documentation into continuous, real-time site awareness. A key focus is the Internet of Drones (IoD) as a persistent capture layer - automating acquisition, enabling autonomous monitoring, and feeding high-frequency data into digital twins. Attendees will also see how alignment with ecosystems like NVIDIA's Physical AI strategy enables simulation, model training, and scalable processing. Applied use cases show how professionals can grow from data collectors into intelligence providers.

presentation

Mapping Your Career in an Unmapped Industry
‍The reality capture industry has grown rapidly, but career paths within it are anything but clearly defined. Unlike more established industries, there are few resources that reflect how careers *actually* evolve in a space like ours. This session reframes career development in reality capture as terrain, rather than a traditional ladder. It introduces a practical way to navigate a fast-moving, multidisciplinary industry where progress isn’t linear and job titles don’t tell the whole story. Through personal insights and industry observations, this talk addresses how to identify meaningful growth opportunities, make intentional career moves, and stay adaptable as the industry changes. Early-career professionals will gain a clearer sense of direction, while experienced professionals will leave with a renewed perspective on growth and momentum.

presentation

How a Bleeding-Edge GC Builds with Reality Capture & AI
‍Reality Capture and AI are everywhere right now, but most of the conversation is theoretical, aspirational, or coming from people selling something that might not even exist. This presentation approaches from a different angle: a tech-forward General Contractor that's been quietly building and deploying Reality Capture workflows and AI across our operations, development, preconstruction, and construction technology departments. We'll share what we've built: the equipment, workflows, the agents, the experiments that worked and the ones that didn't, and what it takes to operationalize and deploy this work inside the business. We'll cover how we approach finding new tools and use cases inside an active construction business, and what changes when AI meets the messy realities of construction data. We'll share where we think the real opportunities are in the next 12 months - for GCs, vendors, and for the broader Reality Capture community.

presentation

From Indoor Mapping to Living Digital Twins: Turning Buildings into Operational Intelligence Platforms
‍Most indoor mapping initiatives stop at creating a static 3D model, limiting the long-term value of reality capture. Meanwhile, buildings generate vast amounts of operational data that remain disconnected from spatial context. This session explores how indoor mapping workflows, including LiDAR, 360 imagery, photogrammetry, and VSLAM, can evolve into living digital twins that function as operational intelligence platforms. Attendees will learn how spatial capture pipelines can support facility operations, infrastructure planning, safety readiness, and asset awareness across complex environments. The presentation will share lessons from deploying indoor mapping at scale and explain how organizations can transition from visualization-driven mapping projects to integrated digital twins that support real-world decision making. Participants will leave with a practical roadmap for turning building data into actionable digital infrastructure for the built environment.

PANEL DISCUSSION

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extended exhibit hall & HAPPY HOUR

R-CON 2026 goes out the way it came in: with great drinks, great people, and conversations you won't want to cut short. Track down the people you meant to reconnect with, swap contact info with the ones you're not ready to lose touch with, and raise a glass to three days that moved fast and meant a lot. The hall closes, the badges come off, and the work you came here to do heads home with you. See you next year.

VIP DInner

R-CON 2026 goes out the way it came in: with great drinks, great people, and conversations you won't want to cut short. Track down the people you meant to reconnect with, swap contact info with the ones you're not ready to lose touch with, and raise a glass to three days that moved fast and meant a lot. The hall closes, the badges come off, and the work you came here to do heads home with you. See you next year.