3 hottest tech trends in construction in 2018

From CAD software programs back in the 60’s to 3D-printed houses in the current day, the construction industry has certainly evolved by leaps and bounds when it comes to the technology involved.

As the construction sector experienced its 17th consecutive month of expansion in Australia, it is estimated that the building industry will reach a cool US$12.4 trillion (about $A17 trillion) in value in 2022 on a global scale.

With never-ending demand for better infrastructure and more residential units to cater to a growing world population, it is imperative that the industry keep up with the times to ensure the demand is met, and met well without compromise on safety.

Here are three key tech trends we see emerging in the construction sector, all of which are truly groundbreaking (pardon the pun):

Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is making leaps and bounds in viability, to the point where we're not far off from being able to make spare parts on site to bring downtime to a minimum.

This is hugely important for a country like Australia, where an unforgiving environment and vast distances mean parts are more liable to damage and are harder to replace.

One of the most impressive examples we've seen was the demonstration of a fully functional excavator made with 3D-printed components at the 2017 CONEXPO construction trade show in Las Vegas.

Part of Project AME (Additive Manufactured Excavator), the digger has been designed and printed by researchers at the United States Department of Energy's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

The 3D-printed components on the excavator are:

1. The stick

The 2m-long, 180kg stick was printed from low-cost steel in five days using the Wolf Robotics Wolf Pack printer.

2. The cab

Made from carbon fibre-reinforced ABS plastic, the cab was printed in five hours using the Cincinnati Incorporated Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) system.

3. The heat exchanger

The 6kg heat exchanger was 3D-printed in aluminium on the Concept Laser X-line 1000 powder bed machine.

Caterpillar is another company working hard to make heavy-duty 3D printing a reality.

"Advancements in the 3D printing technology will soon make it possible for us to print a part right on the job site as a permanent solution," Caterpillar says.

"Until these advancements become a reality, we continue to pursue opportunities that make business sense to print low-volume service parts or service parts where the supply chain has been interrupted."

The company has a dedicated, state-of-the-art Additive Manufacturing Factory in the US state of Illinois. It acts as a lab for research and development on production-capable equipment, and also as a working mini-factory to produce orders for production machines.

This year, Volvo Construction Equipment also jumped on board, announcing that it is introducing 3D-printed spare parts that can be delivered more quickly and efficiently.

"We are supporting customers through the life cycle of their equipment," Volvo CE Manager of Business Support, Jasenko Lagumdzija says.

"It’s especially good for older machines where the parts that have worn out are no longer made efficiently in traditional production methods.

"Producing new parts by 3D printing cuts down on time and costs, so it’s an efficient way of helping customers."

For now, however, the process is limited to plastic parts. So far, the company has produced parts of a cabin, plastic coverings as well as sections of air conditioning units.

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Augmented reality (AR) technology essentially allows users to see images or data superimposed on a real object or environment, and is set to be a game-changer for the earthmoving, mining and construction industries.

Imagine being able to look at a wheel loader and see the state of the maintenance points rather than having to interpret a screen of data; or walking around your mine site and seeing an impression of what the pit will look like down the track; or see planned sewerage works overlaid on a subdivision and be able to anticipate problems in real-time.

Geneva-based company, v-Labs, provides an AR solution that allows a headset-wearing excavator operator to see the exact placement of underground pipes and cables – water, gas, electricity, sewage and telecommunications – with centimetre accuracy.

The company says there is a host of benefits to having data projected on the ground, including: reduced damage to underground infrastructures, faster excavation works, higher safety levels, and the ability to correct data discrepancies directly on the field.

It's also useful for stakeholder engagement as affected members of the public can anticipate civil works in advance.

On the housing construction side of things, the Australian start-up Realar Places has launched an augmented reality app that lets developers, builders and architects showcase new builds by placing a virtual house in a real-world environment and letting the buyers or clients walk through the space in life-sized 3D.

The iPhone and iPad app allows users to view the layout, stroll through rooms and even look out the digital windows at the real view outside.

"We were excited by the commercial opportunities augmented reality presents now that it is becoming more commonplace on consumer devices but also wanted to create something that would add real value for its users,” tech entrepreneur Dr. Dan Swan says.

“Realar is a game-changer for the property industry. It helps builders, developers, architects and sales teams overcome a major barrier to off-the-plan sales, namely buyers baulking at trying to visualise their dream home on an empty block of dirt."

When it comes to maintenance, repair and overhaul, California-based AR company Atheer says the use of augmented reality has the ability to "increase your bottom line and reduce headaches".

The company says technician training time can be reduced by up to 40 per cent by getting experts to record procedures ahead of time, leaving unskilled but AR-equipped field technicians to learn and execute the tasks.

This can also lead to reduced travel costs as one expert can support dozens of technicians around the country – or the world.

Atheer also claims human error can be reduced by up to 40 per cent with AR, and first-time-fix rates can be improved by up to 70 per cent.

It's not that long ago that self-driving mine haul trucks were deemed an outrageous concept, but now they're part of the landscape of many mines across Australia.

Cat and Komatsu have been the major players in this space, but the tech is now becoming more wide-spread, with Hitachi Construction Machinery recently announcing an agreement to design and implement an autonomous haulage system (AHS) for Whitehaven Coal's operations in north-west NSW.

Things get a lot more complicated when you start looking at bringing autonomous tech to heavy machinery executing more complex tasks, such as excavators, wheel loaders and dozers. This is why we're seeing a more hybrid, semi-autonomous tech emerge – a mix between full autonomy and operator control (in-cab or remote).

Good examples of this are Volvo CE's Dig Assist machine control system for excavators, and the Cat Command for Dozing tech, which allows one operator to control up to three dozers. They can be controlling the machine nearby using an over-the-shoulder remote control console or from kilometres away, sitting at a remote operator station.

In Australia, the Wolff Group is one of the latest companies to embrace Command for Dozing, with the help of Hastings Deering.

Remote control is also becoming mainstream, allowing operators to dig or move material while keeping an eye on the surrounding environment and keeping out of harm's way.

Torc's RemoteTask, for example, is a full-function remote control system for CAT’s D-Series skid steer, multi-terrain and compact track loaders.

"Every control option and feature that is in the cab is also on the remote controller," Caterpillar product demonstration instructor, Robert Shoop says.

"Therefore, you can operate all attachments remotely, including hydro-mechanical tools; as well as activate helpful features, such as the work tool positioner and creep mode."

Shoop says the benefits of using a remote control system are most obvious in demolition and/or highway construction applications, especially when operator safety is a concern.

"Some of these applications include hazmat clean-up or truck spills, material handling at steel mills, unloading cargo from ships or barges, and projects that must be completed in potentially harmful weather conditions, such as extreme heat," he says.

Volvo CE's fully electric, zero-emission GaiaX excavator concept is one which combines remote control and augmented reality tech.

The operator uses an augmented-reality tablet computer for most operations. Utilities such as water pipes and electrical cables can be seen on the screen, and the work can be visualised before it is carried out.

For precise operation and transport, the operator can still sit in the excavator's cab.

Whether we will see these technologies develop and be adopted on a larger scale in the next few years remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure - the future of the construction industry is a bright and exciting one!