Kier is one of three international contractors trialling new robotic technology (pictured above) designed to automate onsite progress tracking and check for health and safety hazards, which certainly caught readers’ interest.
Alongside this clever robot, a drone-deployed marker system and concrete strength monitoring system that harnesses the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technology to provide real-time data topped the list of technology stories.
The four-wheeled robot, developed by European Barcelona-based start-up Scaled Robotics, is fitted with a range of sensors that enable it to manoeuvre autonomously around a building site and capture detailed 3D survey scans and panoramic photos of ongoing construction.
Above: Civdrone’s drone-deployed marker system. Below: A Danish concrete strength monitoring system that harnesses the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technology to provide real-time data
A leading Israeli infrastructure and real estate company has trialled an innovative drone-deployed marker system, embedded with data that can be read by smartphones, on two live sites. Shikun & Binui trialled the technology, developed by local start-up Civdrone, on a real estate development and a road construction project to gauge its efficacy compared to conventional setting out processes.
The GPS-guided drone is fitted with a robotic arm that places marker pegs into the ground at designated locations. Each peg is coded with information useful to contractors, such as data related to setting out foundations and structures in advance of and during construction, that can be simply accessed by holding a smartphone against the marker.
More than 30 European contractors have deployed a Danish concrete strength monitoring system that harnesses the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technology to provide real-time data.
Projects run by Skanska, VolkerWessels, Swedish construction company NCC, and Norway’s Kruse Smith have rolled out the Maturix system, by Sensohive, which utilises thermal sensors, long range wireless transmitters and a custom cloud platform to provide contractors and engineers with insights into the curing process on a mobile device.
The system is designed to expedite construction schedules, improve safety, and replace the industry standard “cube test” that involves casting test specimens during concrete pouring.
Our top six technology stories are:
1. Kier trials robot that monitors progress and H&S on site
2. Exoskeleton for construction workers available in 2020
3. Drone-based setting out system trialled on site
4. The five big tech trends for 2019
5. Mushroom insulation wins global award
6. Skanska and VolkerWessels among contractors using new IoT concrete monitor
