In that past, we’ve written various posts about the influence of technology within the construction industry. Whether it’s been about evaluating whether your dealership’s technology can compete, or how to take advantage of it in the industry, our job is to understand how it’s influencing your business.

We’ve seen a lot of buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the past few years and the strides it’s making for construction. This recent article, written for Construction Executive, demonstrated the enormous impact it’s making not only with worksite efficiency, but also the safety of the site and its workers.

Between the machinery, different terrain, various activities, and the risk of human error, “the threat of danger is never far away.” Unfortunately, as the article states, the number of deaths on site in the United States has risen to 34% since 2010. Additionally, according to the Japan Construction Occupational Safety & Health Association, around 300 deaths and 15,000+ injuries were recorded in 2016 in Japan.

Existing Technology

Companies like manufacturer Komatsu and technology firm NVIDIA are working together to use what are called “graphics processing units,” which are intelligent cameras, to analyze full construction sites. How this works is that Komatsu create 3D images of the sites, monitoring the real time movement of machinery, people and objects. The equipment onsite can also be monitored to ensure it’s used the most efficiently. NVIDIA’s smart cameras will then communicate with cameras and drones to act as an analysis and visualization AI platform.

Other technologies being developed include SkyCatch, which allows drones to map and gather 3D representations for visualizing the terrain at the edge. OPTiM, a Iot management-software firm, also offers an application to recognize machinery and workers collected from surveillance cameras. NVIDIA’s Jetson works alongside cloud technology to power cameras on construction equipment to allow 360-degree views. This helps machines and people nearby see and avoid collisions and other potential accidents.

Future of Construction Technology

It’s being said that technology under development includes autonomous equipment in the heavy industry, which is said to become popular even before self-driving cars are used on a wider scale. The reason being that technicians will be able to perform the more experienced work rather than more mundane tasks. In particular with heavy equipment, the product requires employing an individual with a specific skillset. These skills can be difficult to find as well as costly. This leads to the potential for firms to be more open to accepting autonomous equipment for this type of work at a quicker rate.

It also makes sense that this could be adopted before the mass release of self-driving cars because of the risks Google and Tesla’s car currently face. For example, things like pedestrians, animals, or complicated traffic stops. Autonomous machinery have fewer and more controlled obstacles to face, therefore making them a greater possibility in the near future.

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Was there a type of technology your dealership adopted that’s made it run more efficiently or kept your crew safer? Leave it in the comments below!