Building and construction sites are quickly becoming more technologically advanced. In an effort to speed up building, production, keep sites safer, and reduce costs, plant machinery is increasingly automated and intelligent. These are the innovations to look out for on construction sites now and in the future.
Image Source: International Mining
Robot bricklaying that can construct a house in one day
FBR, an Australian robotic technology company, has developed Hadrian X and a Fastbrick Wall System, to lay bricks in record time and with excellent accuracy. Hadrian X is the world’s first robot bricklaying robot and can build the walls of a house in just a day. The design and construction can be developed using an intelligent computer system and transfers directly to the machine, keeping residential builds accurate, cutting costs, and moving towards zero waste.
An iPhone controlled Bobcat
Bobcat has developed the MaxControl remote control system so loader operators can control machinery with more accuracy from a safer distance. The technology can be used on any iPhone up to 100 metres away and can even track hours of operation and swap between operators easily and remotely. Currently the app is only available on iOS but it’s coming to Android soon.
Hydrotreated vegetable oil fuelled machinery
From 1st January 2022, British company Cementation will be swapping from diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). Cementation piling rigs will use waste or secondary renewable HVO certified under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Scheme. An independent study from the University of Brighton found HVO reduced CO emissions by 57% and NOx by 38%. It’s out with the nonrenewable fuel and in with the chip fat!
QR codes added to Yanmar Compact Equipment
Yanmar machinery will now come complete with a scannable QR code. When scanned with the Yanmar app, the code will provide the operator with manuals, safety instructions, diagrams, and tutorials on their smartphone.
A data-gathering ‘dog’ for construction sites
World famous robotics company Boston Dynamics has developed a robot dog called Spot to safely explore hazardous construction sites and record essential data so staff don’t have to. Spot is now integrated with a 3D data capture technology from Trimble, and can be given pre-set paths around a construction site, making it easy to record data in real-time, document progress, and identify hazards.
