[+] AI: Construction Industry Scrambles to Get Ready

The earliest evidence of bricklaying can be found between the Tigris and Euphrates River systems, in what used to be called Mesopotamia. Or modern-day Iraq. Or sometimes, The Cradle of Civilisation. Made from shaped mud and dried in the sun, the bricks were found near Tell Aswad and date back to before 7500BC. Three-thousand five-hundred years later, humans began using fired-bricks—one of the strongest and longest-lasting building materials, and because of that sometimes referred to as “artificial stone”. For the past 6000 years not much has changed in the way a course of bricks is laid. Until now. ▲ Drones, combined with animated 3D models, provide a deeper understanding of development sites, helping with better planning and execution. In 2005 Mark Pivac, an aerospace engineer in Perth, filed a patent for an automated bricklaying system using ground-mounted robots and mortar. Eleven years later Pivac’s prototype built the world’s first multi-room block structure from a 3D computer-aided design model. With no human intervention. About three-and-a-half years ago FBR, formerly known as Fastbrick Robotics, built its first two-storey house using its Hadrian X block-laying robot. Last year Hadrian X—named after the Roman emperor who built a defensive wall across northern England—laid its first blocks autonomously. It did so at a sustained rate of more than 300 per hour, using US-format cement masonry blocks, smashing the previous record of its older brother, Hadrian 109. And last week? FBR announced to the Australian Securities Exchange it had successfully completed a Factory Acceptance Test for CRH Ventures—the New York-based venturing and innovation fund—at its headquarters in the foothills east of Perth. Hadrian X’s 32-m telescopic arm can lay blocks within 50mm of existing walls. A nozzle on the arm squirts a special construction adhesive to each block as it’s laid, which cures in about 45 minutes and is reportedly stronger than traditional mortar. ▲ The 32-m telescopic arm of FBR's Hadrian X block-laying robot can lay more than 300 blocks in an hour. And the claw on the arm is guided by motion sensors following a digital blueprint and can auto-correct its position 1000 times a second. Hadrian X is now on his way to Florida to build 5 to 10 houses, in another demonstration of his prowess. FBR has memorandums-of-understanding with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Mexico. The future is now. On the other side of this country, and in its downtown Melbourne offices just a couple of blocks south of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, the construction company Kapitol Group has slightly less lofty ambitions. For now. Director and co-founder Andrew Deveson says that while they have “dabbled” in Artificial Intelligence and robotic arms on building sites, the early advantages of 21st technology will be both on-site and in the office. Kapitol is trialing Jaibot, a caterpillar-tracked, semi-autonomous robot made by Hilti, in Schaan, Liechtenstein. Using digital planning, Jaibot drills holes for ceiling installations safely, accurately and fast. “You need to program in what it needs to do and then someone has to stand and watch it,” says Deveson, “but it does the work of the equivalent of about five people, and I guess you’d say at the same sort of speed.” ▲ CaSE International’s Jonathan Davies and Kapitol Group’s Julie Wright and Andrew Deveson. And as one of the country’s biggest builders of data centres, Kapitol’s constant challenge is dust. “We spend a lot of money using highly expensive labour forces to clean and sweep,” he says. “But at a certain point in the job it’s more efficient to use automated cleaning machines than people.” The fully autonomous machine does a full 3D map of a room, has sensors to stay out of trouble, vacuums, cleans and then returns, confirming all areas are dust-free. “But I think the thing in construction that people probably don’t appreciate, is the vast, vast amount of white-collar work, of repetitive administrative work, that is actually quite expensive.,” Deveson says. “And that is completely rife for the industry to be way more productive.” To better prepare for that, five weeks ago Kapitol took on a chief technology officer , whose first job was to take a step back from the autonomous machines, and the robotic arms and the artificial intelligence. ▲ Kapitol is trialing Jaibot that drills holes for ceiling installations safely, accurately ... and as fast as five humans in the same time. “What we need to do is to set our foundation up so that when all this new con-tech comes, that we don’t just put a robot on site, but rather, work out how it fits into the bigger picture,” Kapitol technology officer Julie Wright says. “How we gather data that will enable us to be a bit more smarter, within the decision-making process.” Wright has started with the data. Lots of it, and all from different sources. Data from Kapitol’s building sites, where sensors measure everything imaginable from moisture to sunlight. Data about supply chains, procurement, contracts, and building codes. “And the first thing is our data strategy, which essentially is how do we build a centralised place where all this data can logically sit and be connected together in a very structured way,” she says. “Capture it once and use in many times. “We have a lot of data and information that we’re already tracking. The unfortunate thing for us is that it’s not set up in a structured way that we can actually analyse it and use it for things like AI just yet.” ▲ It is critical to have a data strategy, says Wright, a centralised place where all data can be connected in a structured way. Matt Hemming is a quantity surveyor and partner with Mitchell Brandtman. He says the foundation within the industry in Australia, and one that has been progressing in the last decade is Building Information Modelling (BIM), the process of generating and managing digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of places. “That was always the goal, of having intelligent 3D design full of inherent data that was going to be able to drive some of the laborious tasks, like quantity take-off,” Hemming says. “And as a quantity surveyor, I hope we do get to a point where we have completely reliable design data that we can leverage and trust.” For her part, Wright says her biggest goal is to make the workforce more productive. “The way to do that is all based on our data and our flow of information and management, and then to be able to use smart technology that will predict things before they happen.” Like accidents on construction sites. Every year in Australia, an average of 30 people are killed in the construction industry, according to SafeWork Australia. Equally concerning, there are around 12,500 serious injuries in the same period. Falls from a height are the biggest single category. ▲ Bricks have been laid in much the same way for the past 6000 years. Until now. “Construction is dangerous,” says Hemming. “We need to get people off sites and let the bots deliver the hard yards.” Artificial intelligence can do that, either putting robots up high to do the work of humans—particularly labour-intensive and repetitive work—or to learn to automatically identify hazards on sites rather than wait for accidents to happen. Jonathan Davies, managing director of CaSE International, the civil and structural engineering firm, believes the Australian sector must not only adapt, but can lead in these types of innovation. “Our focus should not be limited to adopting current technologies,” he says. “We need to pioneer in areas like AI-driven project management, animated visualisations, sustainable building materials, and smart infrastructure. “Embracing these innovations will not only ensure our industry's relevance but also position Australia as a global leader in sustainable and efficient construction practices.” This is the final article in a two-part series. Read the first part here . You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

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Tue 27 Feb 24

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