Assignment B1, Group C

One of the greatest advancements in technology over the last couple of years has been Artificial Intelligence, or AI. While the majority of this technology has been in use by Google or Amazon, it is easy to see the potential in construction applications, especially in conjunction with robots. Imagine a drone that does a site survey and tells a boring machine where to conduct boring samples. This machine could then drill and analyze the soil without needing a human to conduct tests on the soils. These types of advancements could reduce construction times as well as lower costs.

3D printing is another area of technology that has exploded in recent years. It's applications could also spread to building construction. 3D printed buildings are still in their infancy, although large leaps in technology every year could mean that an actual 3D printed structure could be built and occupied in short order.

I think the most likely approach is that a building could be designed in BIM, AI could then figure out where any problems would be and correct them on it's own. The parts could then be assembled off site by robots, and then an autonomous vehicle could bring them to the job site. Other robots could perform work on the job site, such as laying brick.

All of this translates in to reduced time and costs, at the expense of a shrinking construction workforce. The societal impacts are also something that must be considered. By elimnating large number of trade jobs, people will have to be retrained so that they can still work and earn money.


Sources:
https://www.wired.com/2016/12/2016-year-deep-learning-took-internet/

https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/20/the-white-houses-report-on-ai-and-the-economy-warns-of-increasing-inequality

http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11652--d-printing

Comments:

Alexander Koo: It is definitely easy to see how narrow AI could move into a strong AI and accomplish a multitude of tasks. While we have not really touched on the medical aspects of AI in class, it could certainly be used there and improve many people's quality of life.

Hayley Selden: Database management is a critical area where AI could be used. As more and more information is gathered, humans will no longer be able to effectively manage all of that information. As AI evolves, it could fill that role. It is also important to remember, as you said, ethical implictions of AI controlling data must be considered.

Christopher Sager: Your post was very interesting. While it is easy to see how drones could be used in construction, there are definietly applications where the could be used, but probably shouldn't. Their use in site layout, or other simple tasks could see their use, actually constructing a buliding with them is impractical at this time. Perhaps in 20 years or so, we may see drones being used this way though.