Engineering Commons^™

Synergising Bim And Real-Time Data For Improved Efficiency: An Irish Case Study, Ahmed Hassan, Ankur Mitra, Alan Hore, Mark Mulville

Conference Papers

The evolution of 3D visualisation and the Internet of Things (IoT) presents a substantial opportunity for integrating real-time data with Building Information Models (BIM) to improve its functionality and construction workflow efficiency. Integrating real-time data with BIM can enhance the digital representation of construction buildings’ physical and functional characteristics and provide recordable status of on-site operations. Nevertheless, the integration between Visualisation and IoT technologies with BIM remains in its preliminary stages and faces a myriad of technical and operational challenges. Furthermore, developing advanced solutions to facilitate this complex integration requires a considerable understanding of the viability and feasibility of merging …

Construction Semantics And Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (Gpt) Language Models, Ankur Mitra, Ahmed Hassan, Mark Mulville

Articles

The article explores the impact of ChatGPT, a powerful language model developed by OpenAI, on the construction industry. ChatGPT, with its ability to provide contextually accurate responses to a wide range of queries, has the potential to enhance safety, scheduling, and knowledge dissemination in construction. While it shows promise in tasks like hazard recognition and project scheduling, the article emphasizes the need for cautious optimism and human oversight. The construction industry could benefit from ChatGPT's digital assistance to boost productivity and address skills shortages, but it is essential to recognize the value of human expertise alongside AI advancements.

Synergising Bim And Real-Time Data For Improved Efficiency: An Irish Case Study, Ahmed Hassan, Ankur Mitra, Alan Hore, Mark Mulville

Conference papers

The evolution of 3D visualisation and the Internet of Things (IoT) presents a substantial opportunity for integrating real-time data with Building Information Models (BIM) to improve its functionality and construction workflow efficiency. Integrating real-time data with BIM can enhance the digital representation of construction buildings’ physical and functional characteristics and provide recordable status of on-site operations. Nevertheless, the integration between Visualisation and IoT technologies with BIM remains in its preliminary stages and faces a myriad of technical and operational challenges. Furthermore, developing advanced solutions to facilitate this complex integration requires a considerable understanding of the viability and feasibility of merging …

Challenges And Opportunities For Automating Physical Compliance On Construction Sites, Ankur Mitra, Mark Mulville

Conference papers

The construction project lifecycle includes several compliance requirements that need to be checked at multiple levels and at different phases of the project. Inability to comply with these regulations due to lack of time and resources or human oversight can affect the project throughout its service lifecycle with the potential for severe outcomes. Following a number of high-profile failings and owing to the high stakes nature of compliance, digitalisation has been introduced in this field of construction over the past few decades to reduce mistakes and neglect. Although the compliance checking process in the design phase has seen significant digital …

The Current State And Future Directions Of Industrial Robotic Arms In Modular Construction, Seung Ho Song, Jin Ouk Choi, Seungtaek Lee

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Industrial robotic arms are widely adopted in numerous industries for manufacturing automation under factory settings, which eliminates the limitations of manual labor and provides significant productivity and quality benefits. The U.S. modular construction industry, despite having similar controlled factory environments, still heavily relies on manual labor. Thus, this study investigates the U.S., Canada, and Europe-based leading modular construction companies and research labs implementing industrial robotic arms for manufacturing automation. The investigation mainly considered the current research scope, industry state, and constraints, as well as identifying the types and specifications of the robotic arms in use. First, the study investigated well-recognized …

Introduction To Prefabrication And Automation In Construction, Luciana Debs, Jiansong Zhang, Yunfeng Chen

School of Construction Management Technology Open Educational Resources

New developments and recent advances in construction methods have the potential to change the future of the architecture, engineering and construction industry. Prefabrication, along with modular construction, provides a safe and controlled environment for the production of building construction elements and raises the need for improved collaboration and coordination from design to manufacturing and from transportation to final assembly. Prefabrication also provides relief from the skilled construction labor shortage while opening up new opportunities for mass customization within the building industry. Prefabrication and modular construction automation are emerging expansion routes for the construction industry. In addition, integral to developing the …

Smartvid.Io, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The collection, organization, and retrieval of industrial media is a pervasive challenge that is especially glaring for companies in the AEC industry. Construction projects often generate large volumes of pictures & videos from the field for tracking progress and communicating between engineers, contractors, and subcontractors. It is not uncommon for field personnel to capture hundreds of photos per week on any given jobsite.

Smartvid.io is a cloud-based software solution designed for the specific needs of industrial media. The application’s internal deep-learning engines, collectively nicknamed VINNIE (for ‘Very Intelligent Neural Network for Insight and Evaluation’), use speech and image recognition to …

Automated Tank Surface Finishing System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The current finishing techniques are costly and laborious, and they expose workers to significant health and safety risks. The automated tank surface finishing system uses a computer-controlled motion module to refinish the vertical exterior walls of a tank. The module is configurable for both blasting and painting and utilizes conventional surface finishing equipment for these processes. An overspray hood is included to reduce contamination of the surrounding environment during painting. The module attaches to a tank’s wind girts with steel cables, and its position and velocity are controlled by servo-driven hoists.

Trevi Park: Automatic Parking System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

TreviPark is an underground, multi-story stacking system that holds cars efficiently, thus reducing the cost of each parking space, as a fully automatic parking system intended to maximize space utilization in parking structures. TreviPark costs less than the price of a conventional urban garage and takes up half the volume and 80% of the depth.

Radio Frequency Identification (Rfid) Tag, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

For the receipt and tracking of pipe supports material at construction jobsites, the proprietary electronic identification tags, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) was designed and manufactured by SAT Corporation. A RFID system consist of two major components (reader and the tag) which work together to provide the user with a non-contact solution to uniquely identify people, assets, and locations.

Mobile Bricklaying Robot, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Bricklaying is a highly repetitive and physically exhaustive task. The tasks of the construction site bricklaying robot include removing bricks or blocks from prepared pallets, the application of bonding material and the erection of brickwork at a high level of accuracy and quality. Prototype realization of the bricklaying robot, which is based on a commercial construction machine, has been done by two research institutes in close cooperation with ten industrial partners.