Many industries are evolving because of new advancements in technologies. One particular sector benefiting from advances in technology is the construction industry. It’s pouring billions of dollars into various technology trends in hopes of pushing specific construction methods to the next level.
This article will explore all sorts of technology trends dominating the construction industry. However, we will be starting with a technology that no one anticipated using: AR and VR tech.
Augmented and Virtual Reality
Augmented and virtual reality had their roots in the realm of entertainment. If you’ve played some video games before, you might have noticed such a tech dominating the space. But the video game industry isn’t the only sector that these two techs dominate. Industries such as consumer marketing and even manufacturing are utilizing this tech.
However, one particular industry was known not to use AR and VR tech: the construction industry. But after many years of improving VR and AR tech, it seems that the construction industry needs it more than ever.
VR and AR tech is being used as an immersive way to view designs for clients. Clients can technically enter the virtual world to see architectural plans come to life. This drastically reduces the need for small pre-made models to show clients. Moreover, clients can visualize the plans in a much accurate manner when compared to smaller models.
Although this tech is still considered in the experimental stages in construction, it has started to grab investors’ attention. This pushes them to invest millions of dollars in improving AR and VR tech.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is another technology dominating many industries, including the construction industry. It’s getting billions of investments every year, and that number is increasing by the moment.
AI has become vital to daily operations in the construction industry, especially for big construction firms. This particular tech is in charge of all things, such as monitoring workers, construction work such as inspecting machinery, and admin work such as monitoring construction supplies. All of these things make big construction firms work like well-oiled machines.
However, what makes AI so interesting is its ability to improve itself. AI won’t be functioning the way it’s functioning right now. It’ll be doing a lot more diverse and complicated tasks. Once it has reached that point, construction will be different from what we perceive it today.
Robots
Robotics is taking over both the construction and manufacturing industries. It’s a lot cheaper in the long run, can work 24/7, and doesn’t experience fatigue or work-related injuries. The only problem with robots is that they can malfunction from time to time. Moreover, they can only do mundane jobs, such as moving materials and doing some hard lifting.
Robots in the industry are both feared and accepted by everybody. It’s feared because many believe it will replace millions of people’s jobs. It’s accepted because of the efficiency it brings in projects. In addition to this, it’s a lot cheaper in the long run.
When it comes to the idea of robots replacing human labor, experts argue that it might not even happen. Many states that robots will only augment human functioning during projects. They are also meant to do mundane tasks that many workers don’t like to do. So by the end of the day, robots are saving us from such tasks.
These three different technologies are dominating the industry. However, these technologies also make prefab construction a lot more attractive.
Prefab Construction
Prefab construction is making ripples in the construction industry. With the addition of current technologies, it’s becoming an attractive construction method among investors.
It’s well-known in the industry that prefab construction creates resilient structures. However, because of such an advanced construction method, even complicated forms of insulation, such as good foam insulation in homes, are done much faster.
In addition, a great advantage of this prefab construction for insulation is that the parts required for insulation can be directly embedded into a part of the structure securely. Thus, it doesn’t leave any areas unevenly, which can be problematic when it comes to insulation.
Prefab construction is excellent for reducing the costs and time required to build. When used alongside advanced AI and robotics, prefab construction can also create highly resilient structures with perfect parts, using up only half the time required to build the same features by hand. It’s looking like prefab construction is becoming the method of choice for building structures in the future.
Combining these three technologies makes construction cheaper, more efficient, and safer. These are all great additions to the trillion-dollar industry. Experts believe that once this tech becomes widely available, infrastructure in the US will reach new heights.