More advanced technology coming to the jobsite

LiDAR (Light detection and ranging)
LiDAR allows sensors mounted on construction equipment and the surrounding worksite to be scanned and produce high-resolution 3D images in real time. Images like these make performing work remotely possible. This type of technology can take workers out of harm’s way during dangerous operations as well as enhance the accuracy and speed of changes on the job. LiDAR, however, is sensitive to environmental conditions such as weather or heavy dust and particulates.

Robots & Robot Swarms
Recently, Japanese researchers have announced the development of the HRP-5P, a humanoid robot that can be programmed to perform basic tasks like installing drywall. According to a recent technology review by Lior Zitzman, other robots closing the labor shortage gap include a semi-automated mason and the Tybot, a robot which ties rebar on bridges in half the time it takes a human crew.

Another robotic development includes “robot swarms.” Robot swarms consist of hundreds of tiny robots that work together like a “swarm” of insects. At Harvard’s Self-Organizing Systems Research Group, they have designed a swarm of tiny, four-wheeled robots that can operate together to lay bricks. Swarms could be applied across a wide range of applications where human workers face high risk or can’t reach or can’t even work at all, such as the deepest parts of the ocean.

“Hi-Tech” Hardhats

Wearable technology that monitors worker physical status, like body temperature and heart rate, is already available for construction — and it’s growing. Shimabun, a Japanese company, recently released an upgrade kit to outfit standard hardhats with advanced safety capabilities. The Shimabun-equipped hardhat can monitor location, motion and temperature, and then issue an alert to the worker if conditions may become unsafe. The technology also has fall dectection with emergency call capabilities.