Technology reaches a tipping point in this time of crisis, explains Roy Danon, CEO and Co-Founder of Buildots, which is revolutionising construction management through the use of artificial intelligence The Covid-19 pandemic has brought remote-working into sharp focus – and demonstrated clearly how when it comes to construction management, the
Advances in AI applications are already causing revolutionary changes in the commercial real estate field, and we’ll continue to see a shift in the way real estate professionals do business in the years to come. With PropTech start-ups increasingly offering technologically innovative products and business strategies for the real estate
The way we build is constantly changing, whether this is from the materials we use or to the actual design – and AI is contributing to this. Artificial intelligence is where machines exhibit their own intelligence through using algorithms to solve problems using inputted data. By harnessing robotics, construction managers
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Technology reaches a tipping point in this time of crisis, explains Roy Danon, CEO and Co-Founder of Buildots, which is revolutionising construction management through the use of artificial intelligence The Covid-19 pandemic has brought remote-working into sharp focus – and demonstrated clearly how when it comes to construction management, the latest technology can not only make it possible for many to work from home, but simple and efficient as well. Until recently, the industry has lacked the technological solutions it has needed to evolve in the same way as, for example, publishing or finance. However, the unique use of wearable technology by the Buildots platform, combined with the need to keep as many people as possible working from home to beat the virus, is helping to kick-start a technological revolution that will produce measurable benefits long after the present difficult circumstances are a memory. The Buildots system works using 360-degree hardhat-mounted cameras that capture images of the construction site during routine site-walks. These are overlaid with the 3D model and analysed by artificial intelligence (AI) to provide continuously updated, accurate information about progress. Before the pandemic, this information was being used to improve efficiency and accuracy on site – but as we are entering the “new normal”, the need to maintain social distancing means that the fewer unnecessary site visits the better. By using Buildots, not all members of the management team need to be on site themselves, constantly checking on the build – they can let AI do it for them, in a far more efficient and thorough way than a single, hurried walk across site could possibly achieve. The information gathered by Buildots enables accurate predictions about when materials need to be delivered, cutting down delivery waiting time on site, as well as giving all the evidence to allow commercial teams to approve payments to subcontractors in minutes, helping avoid delays in a time of financial uncertainty. It can help planners to monitor construction from afar, and builds up a detailed profile of the building for maintenance use after hand-over. In the short term, using Buildots to limit the number of people visiting a site is a measure that will keep people safer; but in the longer term it is another, very welcome, step towards the 21st century concept of a connected jobsite, where wearable sensors, AI and big data all work together to revolutionise construction and turn it into a truly digitised environment. In fact, we are likely to look back on these days and see a tipping point in the use of technology. Just as business people the world over have found that the epidemic has helped them to understand that face-to-face meetings can be accomplished without jet lag and a massive carbon footprint, construction too will realise that technology is not just something new and tricky that takes too long to master and delivers little benefit – it can truly be a real game-changer for solving the pain points in the industry.
Advances in AI applications are already causing revolutionary changes in the commercial real estate field, and we’ll continue to see a shift in the way real estate professionals do business in the years to come. With PropTech start-ups increasingly offering technologically innovative products and business strategies for the real estate market, Instant Offices looks at some of the top predicted AI trends that PropTech companies will be bringing into the real estate market in the next two years: Augmented and virtual reality · Applications: VR can be used to provide customers with virtual tours, allowing prospective tenants and buyers to view properties on the other side of the globe, or even to get a look inside properties that haven’t been built yet. Augmented reality, which overlays virtual objects on top of a real-world environment, can help agents to enrich their in-person property tours. · Benefits: This technology makes it easier for agents to sell to clients anywhere in the world and gives clients confidenceto make a decision knowing exactly what they are buying or letting. · Insight: According to a 2018 VR survey, real estate will be one of the top drivers of investment in virtual and augmented reality technologies in the coming year. Biometrics · Applications: Technologies like voice commands and facial recognition are being used to improve the security in commercial buildings. · Benefits: Biometric technologies offer better safety and security for clients, which is especially useful for those who work with sensitive information. Bots · Applications: AI applications like chatbots can be made available to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This helps commercial real estate agencies to provide clients around the world with readily available support, any time of the day or night. · Benefits: Using bots helps agents to provide customers with better accessibility, irrespective of their schedule or the customer’s time zone. Cryptocurrency and blockchain · Applications: Blockchain-based smart contracts are set to become more widely used in the world of commercial real estate. · Benefits: Blockchain can negate the need for any third-parties in a real estate transaction, while cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are also gaining traction, reducing the need for notaries, lawyers and title holders. Data analysis · Applications: AI can analyse huge amounts of data to help agents match the right properties to the right customers in a short space of time. · Benefits: Data analysis helps providers offer more targeted marketing and tailored solutions to their customers. · Insight: According to a 2016 Gartner report, at least 30% of companies globally will be using AI in at least part of their sales processes by 2020. Data visual tech · Applications: Drones can be used to capture footage of properties and their surroundings for use in virtual tours, and to produce videos of areas that are undergoing development or upgrades. · Benefits: Using visual data technologies, agents can provide customers with an in-depth look at potential properties and locations. Geolocation tech · Applications: AI draws critical data about properties from maps of their location. This data can be analysed and used to predict future changes and trends. For example, AI can use data about development plans in a geographical area to predict the price of property in that area. · Benefits: Geolocation tech can give agencies valuable insights into up-and-coming areas as well as trends in their prospective clients’ preferences. Internet of Things · Applications: IoT is everywhere, with more and more real-world items being equipped with sensors that can be read by Internet applications and translated into data. This applies to buildings too. · Benefits: IoT makes it possible to build “smarter” properties, which are tailored to the needs of those occupying them. · Insight: The Edge in Amsterdam is a 15-storey office building embedded with 28,000 sensors. It is widely regarded as the smartest building in the world. In a nutshell, AI helps to make real estate sales and rentals quicker and easier for customers and providers. The right AI application can save a lot of time and hassle all around by making the process more targeted and efficient, and by providing virtual support. Real-World Examples Here are some examples of how some companies around the world are using AI to transform commercial real estate: CityBldr, Seattle: CityBldr uses an AI platform to locate deals and rank properties based on their development potential. The AI can also estimate the anticipated return on investment of each property. BioConnect, Toronto: This company uses biometrics to improve and personalise building security. The platform identifies users based on unique physical qualities such as their face, eyes, heartbeat and fingerprints. It also offers a product that combines a dual-factor fingerprint and card lock system for data centre server cabinets. Skyline AI, Tel Aviv: Skyline is partnering with Greystone Labs to analyse key industry insights, which they plan to use to improve deal performance and the loan underwriting process. According to Research and Markets, AI revenue will reach $38.8 billion by the year 2025. With so many innovative applications helping to improve, customise and automate everyday business processes, it’s no wonder AI in real estate will continue to grow by leaps and bounds.
The way we build is constantly changing, whether this is from the materials we use or to the actual design – and AI is contributing to this. Artificial intelligence is where machines exhibit their own intelligence through using algorithms to solve problems using inputted data. By harnessing robotics, construction managers can utilise intelligent machines that can perform routine tasks that were once completed by humans, such as bricklaying. Alternatively, AI systems can collate and organise information for engineers to use within project planning and design implementation. With the help of Oasys, we look at the construction industry to see how artificial intelligence is helping. Artificial Intelligence: the fantastic four When it comes to construction, there are four areas that AI is used: Planning makes perfect To construct, you must plan – and this is an area that AI is performing well in. Autonomous equipment is considered as AI as it is aware of its surroundings and is capable of navigation without human input. In the planning stages, AI machinery can survey a proposed construction site and gather enough information to create 3D maps, blueprints and construction plans. Before this advancement, these processes would take weeks – now they can be done in one day. This helps to save firms both time and money in the form of labour. Project managing It can sometimes be overwhelming to manage an entire project single handed, but with the assistance of AI – it is becoming easier. For example, workers can input sick days, vacancies and sudden departures into a data system and it will adapt the project accordingly. The AI will understand that the task must be moved to another employee and will do so on its own accord. Construction When it comes to construction, AI systems not only have the ability to assist engineers through their work. For example, if engineers were working on a proposed new bridge, AI systems would be able to advise and present a case for how the bridge should be constructed. This is based on past projects over the last 50 years, as well as verifying pre-existing blueprints for the design and implementation stages of the project. By having this information to hand, engineers can make crucial decisions based on evidence that they may not have previously had at their disposal. In the construction industry, it is likely that you will come across projects that will be tall builds – this is where autonomous comes in. Using sensors and GPS, the vehicle can calculate the safest route while also helping workers to stay outside of the vehicle when it’s operating on dangerous routes. The use of artificial intelligence AI can be introduced inside the building too. In the US alone, $1.5 billion was invested in 2016 by companies looking to capitalise on this growing market. To make the customer experience better, Wynn Las Vegas Hotel said that they would be adding the Amazon Echo to every room by the end of this year. These devices can be used for aspects of the room such as lighting, temperature and any audio-visual equipment contained in the room. These systems can also be used within domestic settings, allowing homeowners to control aspects of their home through voice commands and systems that control all electronic components from one device. The importance of information It is important to hold as much information as you can about a project, including management decisions and this is easier to do with the help of building information modelling (BIM). Conversational features can be added with the use of virtual assistants (VAs) that will also provide a person with information. By combining VAs alongside NFC (near-field communication), VAs can give additional information to the building itself in real-time from various sensors in the building. For example, if there were structural problems with a building, then VAs could inform engineers specifically where the problem was and how it can be fixed. VAs, AIs and building design software can help make savings in the construction sector, whilst keeping up the same standard of work. As the future of AI becomes more of a reality within construction, only time will tell how reliant upon intelligent machines we will have to be in order to construct innovative building designs.
