Thirty years ago, construction projects involved a great deal of snail mail, phone calls to landlines, stacks of blueprints and a few Rolodexes. Today, microwave-sized desktop computers are a fading memory, and customized project management software comes to the rescue at least once a day. There’s also a 40 percent chance readers will view this article on their smartphones.
The construction industry wasn’t always so progressive. During the last 10 years, industry professionals started to see the benefit of paperless plan rooms and automated systems. Now imagine what technology will be used in the next 50 years. From holograms to self-sufficient robots, developing technology suggests what a construction site of the future might look like.
ImagingThere’s much debate about whether people are likely to pay more for 3-D TVs and IMAX theaters, but advancements in imaging technology are proving to be more than a luxury outside of the entertainment industry.
Zebra Imaging of Austin, Texas, provides holographic images for the
Department of Defense. The images, printed on dark plastic poster board, come alive in 3-D when exposed to light from an LED flashlight. The military uses these prints to train soldiers who can literally walk through renderings of streets and buildings before traveling abroad. Imagine the benefit of walking through an entire proposed structure, prior to construction, and taking a portable 3-D model onsite, via a flat piece of plastic that requires no battery or software. This could help eliminate the need for paper plan files and bulky scalable models.
In addition to printing static 3-D images, researchers are working on transmitting dynamic images and achieving realistic holographic presences—in high resolution and full color—that can stream as seamlessly as a video file. Picture a jobsite where the next phase of construction is projected in 3-D—so it can be edited and adjusted on the go—and utilized by workers to visualize the end result of the task at hand. It essentially is BIM projected at life-size proportions.
Robots
Current automated machinery and equipment is being outfitted with advanced GPS and productivity monitoring software to keep operations on location and on time, as well as to generate feedback. More companies are investing in machinery that can report when it needs maintenance, when the job can’t be finished or when a task has been completed. This already cuts out costly quality assurance mishaps and maintenance time. Imagine the implications of an even smarter machine that not only admits it’s broken, but also takes on the responsibility of getting fixed.
Google’s most recent experiment, self-driving cars, are now being tested on public roads. Using detailed maps, cameras, sensors and some intense laser range finders, the cars are built to navigate traffic without a human operator. Such technology could come in handy when applied to heavy construction machinery.
On a smaller scale, and already available to the construction industry, snake-like “hydras” designed by
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University engineers can independently shimmy up buildings in place of tethered construction workers and provide imperative structural and safety feedback. Additionally, remote control machines are being employed for minor tasks such as concrete finishing and painting; eventually, the remote control part may be rendered obsolete.
Greenery
As environmental impact regulations tighten, green technology is proving to be a competitive advantage when LEED and government incentives are involved. The trend toward low-impact development combined with the need to keep costs down is producing innovative alternatives to how the industry builds and uses energy.
Caterpillar and
Komatsu developed hybrid construction vehicles that are beginning to appear on jobsites, and scientists at the University of California just received a grant for a two-year study of these vehicles that could result in a greater emphasis on energy efficiency in construction machinery.
The
U.S. Green Building Council is also in the process of developing the LEED 2012 standards, which are rumored to be more technically strict, with an emphasis on automated systems. This could mean integrating more efficient automated systems from pre-construction through post-construction—connecting everyone, from the jobsite worker to the utilities installer to the building manager, involved in the construction and maintenance of commercial development projects throughout their lifetime.
Mobile Devices
Tablet computers, smartphones and laptops built to withstand a 10-story drop are just the beginning of what employees will be using in 20 years. Devices are being equipped with the hardware to withstand all jobsite hazards without the bulk of a cell phone circa 1990, and software will further connect employees and their devices from the jobsite to the office. Worksite blasts and safety warnings will be sent with the touch of a button using applications like
Jobsite123’s CrewBlast. Subcontractors could review and edit their plan files onsite from a Windows tablet using Cloud Takeoff, while the general contractor simultaneously reviews them from the office.
Project documents could be viewable via goggles such as those pioneered by snowboarding outfitter Recon Instruments, overlaying the document with surrounding GPS information and recording audible assessments made by the wearer. Bluetooth technology could be incorporated into goggles, gloves and tools, with the information registered and recorded by the wearer and then transferred to an online cloud to be viewed later from a computer or mobile device. Time and productivity feedback would no longer need to be solicited, but rather recorded automatically and viewed upon request.
Mobile applications like iOS5’s latest innovation Siri, a virtual assistant that responds to voice inquiries, also could eliminate jobsite confusion and drastically enhance communications. Imagine a subcontractor with a vital question for a general contractor searching project documents audibly and eliciting an immediate answer to the question from a mobile device.
Some of the latest technology hype may dissipate into personal luxury devices, but a great deal of it will be adapted into useful applications for the office and jobsite. What sounds like something outrageous now may in fact be a company’s best investment come 2030. It’s important to be aware of the constant stream of new technologies being introduced, if only to lessen the shock when it comes time to employ them on the jobsite.