A wall-crawling paint robot and smart ear defenders are among the UK-developed technologies recognised in the annual Cemex Ventures Top 50 ConTech Start-ups list.
Eight UK-based start-ups feature on the list.
Carbon Clean
Carbon Clean is described as “global leader in low-cost CO2 capture technology”. Its HQ is in London, and it has offices in India, Spain and the US.
Converge
Converge’s ConcreteDNA Pro integrates concrete sensor data with BIM and provides material performance analytics to form a digital twin. BIM+ recently wrote about Balfour Beatty’s use of the technology in Hong Kong (https://www.bimplus.co.uk/technology/balfour-beatty-makes-concrete-savings-hk-bim-frien/).
Eave
Founded by clinical and research audiologist, Dr David Greenberg, Eave has developed smart ear defenders linked to an online platform to prevent hearing loss from environmental noise while still delivering full 360-degree situational awareness.
Hausbots
Haubots has developed a patent-pending wall-climbing robot that can paint or inspect building exteriors (see main image above). The robot’s ability to climb walls is “based on Formula 1 aerodynamic principles, and carefully engineered design”.
Hypervine.io
The Hypervine dashboard gives directors, managers and planners a real-time view of operations such as operatives, materials and machines on site as well as carbon emissions produced. The data captured is stored on a tamper-evident site ledger that can be integrated or aligned with BIM, project management or FM tools.
Kreo Software
Kreo seeks to integrate BIM and modular construction. It is AI-powered software for “developers, manufacturers, and contractors who are involved in modular construction, and are looking to save time and money while improving the quality and speed of their feasibility assessment”.
https://modular.kreo.net/product
SidcoDX
This joint UK/Chilean venture is digitalising both the tracking of concreting progress and the measurement of concrete strength, allowing integration with BIM software. An onsite monitor is installed on a tower crane to track progress and strength via “a proprietary technology based on IoT, computer vision, infrared thermography, BIM and novel algorithms”.
Voyage Control
A cloud-based logistics system that boasts significant supply chain buy-in (85% of deliveries scheduled through the system). The system is customisable for any given site or location, and allows the user to manage loading bays, tower crane and hoist requirements. A supporting app for truck drivers and site management allows the delivery schedule to be managed.
https://www.voyagecontrol.com/
According to Cemex Ventures, investment in contech start-ups in 2020 reached $1.3bn. This year was the fourth consecutive year in which there were more than 100 funding rounds.
