Brief 

Autonomous equipment from original equipment manufacturers and retrofits of existing machines are gaining acceptance from contractors. Joe Bousquin explores what users want in this equipment: safety, efficiency and control.

 

Insight

Construction Dive’s Tech 101 series provides quick, top-line information about emerging construction technology on topics such as digital twins, 5G networks and exoskeletons. Click here for the entire series.

Like many emerging technologies in construction, the use of autonomous vehicles on jobsites today is still more of a rarity than a norm. But the technology is making inroads, both from original equipment manufacturers, and from the increasing use of retrofitted technology to make conventional vehicles drive themselves.

Contractors are taking notice of this emerging technology within the construction space. “We do believe that technology will fuel our innovation as a company,” Tom Emison, vice president of strategy and innovation at Minneapolis-based construction management firm Kraus-Anderson, told Construction Dive. “As a result, we need to be aware of and embracing of emerging technologies as they become commercially viable for us.”

What you should know

“Construction executives need to know that this emerging technology will make their job operations more safe, keep work on schedule and maintain efficiency, and will in most cases save on cost,” said Ali Asmari, head of AI & machine learning at Hauppauge, New York-based ULC Techologies, which recently launched its automated Robotic Roadworks & Excavation System.

 

READ MORE
Share
Top