The construction industry is embracing technology. Even though it took a while, the industry is set to welcome the technological advances enjoyed by almost every other industry today.
In particular, you’re starting to see less and less of one particular thing on ...
The construction industry is embracing technology. Even though it took a while, the industry is set to welcome the technological advances enjoyed by almost every other industry today.
In particular, you’re starting to see less and less of one particular thing on most job sites: paper. The huge blueprints and endless amount of forms and plans are almost a thing of the past. These days, you’re more likely to see the foreman and workers pull out their tablets and smartphones instead.
For any other industry, this would be a no brainer. Just about everything else in every other sector is paperless, with everything being stored online in the cloud, on servers, or local hard drives. But in the construction industry, seeing a tablet on a job site instead of oversized blueprints is nothing short of revolutionary.
Many industries adapt and change with the new technology from year to year. That’s not the case with construction, however. Their systems and processes have remained relatively unchanged since the 1940s.
Think about that for just a minute. Think of any other industry, whether it be retail, manufacturing, anything. Can you imagine it operating today like it did in the 1940s? You can’t because you probably have no idea how they functioned 10 years ago, much less nearly 80 years ago.
Even still, until very recently, the construction industry has remained relatively unchanged. However, realizing that it could save a lot of money - we’re talking in the trillions - if it started to invest in IT, the construction industry has finally started embracing technology.
They’re utilizing things like artificial intelligence, cloud-based data analytics, mobile computing, and automation to drive efficiency and boost margins. The industry is even using drones to collect information in locations that are hard for humans to access.
However, there is one technology that is set to really revolutionize the construction industry if they really embrace it. I’m talking about augmented reality, a technology that is a complete game changer.
What Is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality, or AR, is the cousin of virtual reality. Although it might not be as fun as skydiving in virtual reality, AR is carving out its own space as a handy tool in our everyday lives. AR is used in everything from social media filters to surgical procedures, and it may soon take over the construction industry as well.
What AR does is take elements of the virtual world and bring them into your real world, enhancing the things you see, hear, and feel. The technical definition of augmented reality is, “An enhanced version of reality where live direct or indirect views of real-world physical environments are augmented with superimposed computer-generated images over a user’s view of the real-world, thus enhancing one’s current perception of reality.”
In other words, you look at a scene through a screen and experience computer-generated images, sounds, and even touch feedback placed within the real world.
So augmented isn’t creating an entirely new reality like virtual reality is. Instead, it enhances our actual world. The word “augment” means to add to or enhance something. In the case of augmented reality, it is adding graphics, sounds, and touch feedback into your natural world to create an improved experience.
If you heard anything about the Pokemon Go craze a few years back, you knew about or heard about augmented reality. Pokemon Go let people view the real world through their smartphone cameras while projecting things onscreen such as icons, score, and Pokemon creatures as overlays that made them seem as if those items were right in front of you. Pokemon Go is an excellent example of augmented reality.
How Will AR Be Used In Construction?
Now you’re probably wondering how AR will be utilized in the construction industry. Right now there are countless ways that AR can be used in the industry, most of which we aren't even aware of. But as of today, AR can have an immediate impact in five ways.
Improving The Accuracy Of Construction Projects
Accuracy is critical in all construction projects because better accuracy means you’ve wasted less money and time due to adjustments you have to make along the way. Before the project is even executed, AR will provide you with a walkthrough of the entire project, including specific details and exact measurements.
Architects, project managers, and engineers will get the data they need to ensure accuracy as well as speed. AR will also allow them to navigate each piece of every projects’ phase to see any errors before they surface during the build.
Saving Time And Money
As we touched on above, time and money are the most valuable resources on any construction project. Augmented reality will allow construction companies to save a lot of both. A fundamental way AR will save companies money is by eliminating the need for new architecture plans, which are very expensive and time-consuming. Instead of getting new plans, you can just modify your 3D models and virtual plans before construction begins.
Project Management
The real-time visualizations with AR take all the guesswork out of the picture because there is no longer a need to rely on manually recorded measurements or drawings. AR will display accurate images, re-creating entire spaces. As a result, planning and managing projects will become much more efficient and save time for the whole team. Architects and designers can also turn their client's visions into AR models right before their eyes.
Design Analysis
With AR, project managers will be able to accurately analyze the design because they can walk through the entire project and correct any errors with just a few taps of the screen. Plus, they can add or take away anything they need on the spot. AR will eliminate any and all guesswork that has plagued construction sites in the past. Typically, inspections of this kind only took place after the building's construction, when the tiniest mistake could cost the company thousands of dollars.
The Actual Construction
AR will accelerate construction processes by allowing team members to have quick and instant access to virtual models of the project. Companies will also be able to benefit from prefabricated components or parts that can be built based off of the virtual models. The smooth and streamlined processes will save companies time and money and will create the potential of projects finishing early rather than late, which is the current norm.
Would like to know more about safety and how does augmented reality work? Read more here .
