Seminar: Smart and Connected Construction Job Sites with Sensing and Robotic Technologies

Yong Cho, PhD
Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Director, Robotics and Intelligent Construction Automation Lab
Georgia Institute of Technology

October 13, 2017
1:30 PM
HAMP 2123

For more information:  Sayanti Mukherjee, sayanti.purdue@gmail.com

Abstract

With the advancement of data sensing and mobile computing technologies, today’s construction sites are connected and require faster and more dynamic information exchange. The location, motion, and status of mobile assets such as workers and construction equipment are essential information for tasks such as safety management, productivity measurement, and progress monitoring. This demands that construction professionals be more effective and organized by successfully utilizing advanced computing and automation technologies to enhance productivity, safety, cost effectiveness, and quality.

This presentation discusses the potential benefits of location awareness of construction resources at jobsites using mobile and sensing technologies. Also, the need of location awareness information will be discussed with example applications of on-going research projects at Georgia Tech for real-time decision making, better control over construction processes, and productivity and safety improvement. The first two example applications commonly use Bluetooth technology, which has many capabilities and is affordable to implement at jobsites: 1) a proximity safety warning system for monitoring, improving and advancing safety for work zone workers; and 2) an indoor mobile asset tracking system for providing safety alerts to workers in hazards and monitoring and analyzing their safety behavior based on their location. As the third example, real-time 3D visualization of workspace to better assist construction equipment or robotic operations will be introduced. Finally, the potential benefits and challenges of utilizing the mobile and visualization technologies for smart and connected construction job sites will be discussed.

Dr. Yong Cho is an associate professor, director of the Robotics and Intelligent Construction Automation Laboratory (RICAL), and leader of the Construction and Infrastructure Systems Engineering (CISE) group in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. As a 2011 recipient of National Science Foundation Early Career Award, his research interests focus on field construction robotics and automation. He is leading the development of a new paradigm in these research areas by challenging the current understanding of science/engineering technologies in field operations. Among the challenges he is investigating are robotizing and automating several critical construction, maintenance, and field management tasks for worker’s safety and productivity utilizing robots, real-time sensor data, cloud computing, and 3D visualization technologies.