How is AI laying down the blocks to re-build the construction industry?
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The construction industry is one of the most flourishing industries in the entire world. This industry is majorly based in and around urban areas-
AI in the construction industry
Artificial Intelligence (AI), is one of the most trending technologies, which is making a great impact due to its future possibilities in the entire construction industry. AI can make an accurate analysis of large sets of data which helps in finalizing the possible outputs which can be used as a future reference. By making use of robotics technology, construction managers and contractors can utilize artificial intelligent machines that can effectively perform certain tasks such as bricklaying, mixing up the right proportion of raw materials like cement, sand, and water. And even artificial intelligence can also fetch and organize pieces of information like structural dimensions and availability of resources for engineers to use within project planning and design implementation.
One of the most commonly used systems for AI in construction centers around scheduling and mitigation of risks, things like a worker’s injury prevention, and predictive machinery and equipment maintenance. And in huge construction and real estate companies, it is quite challenging to keep a track of the entire process from the very start. AI-powered applications help to allocate and manage task scheduling.
AI has been helping a lot to improve overall safety on job sites. And eventually, construction sites are nowadays equipped with cameras, sonar devices, and sensors that constantly monitor many aspects of construction operations and immediately alerts when it detects any possible safety hazards.
For example, one of the applications named “Smart Scan” helps a manager to frame the workload uniformly and to avoid any possible delays, this increases the efficiency of the project. And even shortly, AI is going to become a major part of the construction industry from a back-end planning process to on-job robotics fieldwork, it plans to go a very long way.
APPLICATIONS OF AI IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Cost Management
In most cases, a construction project exceeds the set budget despite pre-planning. Artificial Intelligence applications can be used to prevent this from happening by predicting the cost of construction based on factors such as the size of the project, contract type, and the efficiency level of the project managers.
AI-based predictive models can also be used to predict the realistic time frame for the upcoming projects.
Producing a Better Design of the building
Producing a 3D model of infrastructure means preparing a framework for the architecture, engineers, and construction professionals to effectively plan, construct and manage the project. Now, while preparing the model certain points have to be considered including architectural, engineering, and plumbing plans for the design the construction of a building since these are some of the root factors while the construction of a building.
The industry is implementing AI-based applications which helps them in preparing a strong framework of the model keeping in mind all the factors and risks which are associated with it. This helps the team to save time and come up with a quality-approved model with all the details.
Mitigation of Risk
Each project has some risks that are associated with it like Quality, Safety, Time, and Cost Risk. The bigger the project, the more risks associated with it, like multiple sub-contractors working on every small sector of the project.
AI is used by the contractors and the managers to monitor and prioritize risks that are associated with that particular job, This helps the senior contractors and managers to work more effectively and focus more and monitor the sub-contractors easily with the help of the risk score associated with them.
Availability
An average human worker will work for 7-8 hours a day including the breaks. A human mind is built in such a way that they need to get some time for refreshing themselves and get ready for the next day’s work and there are holidays and weekends to spend time with their family and friends. And on the other hand, AI-based systems work 24×7 without requiring any weekends or holidays.
CHALLENGES OF AI IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Expensive
AI-programmed complex machines require a huge cost for repair and maintenance. They have algorithms and programs that need frequent up-gradation to be able to successfully work on the needs of the changing environment. Investing in an AI-based program is not cheap, it needs expertise along with a good amount of investment according to the needs and demands of the particular project.
Limited to programming
AI applications can execute the task only that they are programmed to. It normally does the assigned tasks extremely well, but unlike a real person, it is unable to make judgments about any out-of-the-box risks like for example any political or civil interference. They have not configured anything differently like humans outside of the programming which is stored in their internal circuits and firmware in the form of algorithms.
And even they are not programmed to show emotions, so there are chances that it could get a company at risk in times of crisis if it’s not carefully managed or controlled. However, when it comes to creativity, the human mind is much more dynamic, since it has both empathy and compassion.
Vulnerable to adversarial attacks
Artificial intelligence is making a huge trend in the construction industry for planning, safety, and construction operations. It has a dark side too that the AI system is vulnerable to adversarial attacks which means that the algorithms and inputs can be changed or manipulated to predict and give out wrong results or output.
This can cause dimensional planning and modeling blunder and can cause an imbalance in on-job operations and put the safety of the workers at a huge risk.
CONCLUSION
Everything around has some pros and cons to it, similarly does Artificial Intelligence. Every new invention has both, but we as humans need to make sure that the positive sides of the invention are used to make this world a better place. On the other hand, artificial intelligence has massive potential advantages which can make a job much more effective and accurate like the construction industry. We just need to implement it in the right way.