Internal works quality assessment for wall evenness using vision-based sensor on a mecanum-wheeled mobile robot

Robotics in the construction industry has been used for a few decades up to this present time. There are various advanced robotics mechanisms or technologies developed for specific construction task to assist construction. However, not many researches have been found on the quality assessment of the finished structures. This research proposes a quality assessment robot that will assist in performing the assessment of the internal works of a building by assessing a quality assessment criterion in the Malaysian Construction Industry Standards. There are various assessment criteria such as hollowness, cracks and damages, finishing and jointing. This paper will focus on the wall evenness using a camera mounted on a mobile robot with a Mecanum wheel design. The wall evenness assessment was done via projecting a laser leveler on the wall and capturing the images by using a camera, which is later processed by a central controller. Results show that the deviation calculation method can be used to differentiate between even and uneven walls. Pixel deviations for even walls show values of less than 15 while uneven walls show values of more than 20 pixels

A framework for adoption of drones in the Dominican Republic construction industry

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.There is a severe problem in developing countries in whether or not adopt technologies for facilitating daily tasks. It is happening mostly in sectors with low skills employees as the construction industry. The adoption of technologies in developing countries is a challenge that affect health, economy, and consciousness advancement. Furthermore, the scepticism in the what, how, and why the effectiveness of certain technologies, as drones, difficult the cost-benefit of the decision-making process for organisations in developing countries. This cost-benefit decision, involved in the cases of UAS applications, covers the regulatory and practical implications that are barriers in developed countries. But, in developing one, seems to have another set of barriers that should be investigate in-depth. Therefore, the aim of this research is to develop an ontology for public, private, and non-profit organisations that explain the epistemological implications in the implementation of Unmanned Aerial Systems for the Construction Industry in the Dominican Republic. The study approaches an iterative strategy of interviewing 24 participants in a semi-structured format. Then, the Nvivo 2020 software was used to identify cases utilising ground theory coding, thematic and content analysis. Later, the root cause reasons and challenges of implementing UAS were identified utilising Interpretative Structured Method (ISM) and their sub analyses. 5 Cases of studies were presented (real estate, construction, infrastructure, urban development, and disaster management) to illustrate the drone operations. The findings reveal that a hybrid management adoption approach have been the most suitable with drones in the country. The root cause of drone implementation and its barriers were cost reduction and reactive cultural respectively. Strategic and operational ontologies for UAS skill programs, understanding of UAS outcomes, and Building Information Modelling integration were developed in order to focus efforts on developing drones for cargo, assisting humans, and digitalisation. Mandates are recommended for policy makers as drones for digitalisation initiates digital workflows towards BIM. Other scenarios should be considering scenarios where autonomous aerial operations affect safety in future operations. Furthermore, recommendations on legal and standards should be updated in order to allow UAS outcomes as law acceptable. Further works are recommended in decentralised systems, artificial intelligence, and drone applications.Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology

Geo-Design:

Geo-Design. Advances in bridging geo-information technology and design brings together a wide variety of contributions from authors with backgrounds in urban planning, landscape architecture, education and geo-information technology presenting the latest insights and applications of geodesign. Geo-Design is here understood as a hybridization of the concepts “Geo” – representing the modelling, analytical and visualisation capacities of GIS, and “Design” – representing spatial planning and design, turning existing situations into preferred ones. Through focusing on interdisciplinary design-related concepts and applications of GIS international experts share their recent findings and provide clues for the further development of geodesign. This is important since there is still much to do. Not only in the development of geo-information technology, but especially in bridging the gap with the design disciplines. The uptake on using GIS is still remarkably slow among landscape architects, urban designers and planners, and when utilised it is often restricted to the basic tasks of mapmaking and data access. Knowledge development and dissemination of applications of geodesign through research, publications and education, therefore, remain key factors. This publication draws upon the insights shared at the Geodesign Summit Europe held at the Delft University of Technology in 2014. All contributions in the book are double blind reviewed by experts in the field

Engineering and built environment project conference 2015: book of abstracts - Toowoomba, Australia, 21-25 September 2015

Book of Abstracts of the USQ Engineering and Built Environment Conference 2015, held Toowoomba, Australia, 21-25 September 2015. These proceedings include extended abstracts of the verbal presentations that are delivered at the project conference. The work reported at the conference is the research undertaken by students in meeting the requirements of courses ENG4111/ENG4112 Research Project for undergraduate or ENG8411/ENG8412 Research Project and Dissertation for postgraduate students

Graduate Catalog, 1996-1999, New Jersey Institute of Technology

https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/coursecatalogs/1003/thumbnail.jp

Tunnel Engineering

This volume presents a selection of chapters covering a wide range of tunneling engineering topics. The scope was to present reviews of established methods and new approaches in construction practice and in digital technology tools like building information modeling. The book is divided in four sections dealing with geological aspects of tunneling, analysis and design, new challenges in tunnel construction, and tunneling in the digital era. Topics from site investigation and rock mass failure mechanisms, analysis and design approaches, and innovations in tunnel construction through digital tools are covered in 10 chapters. The references provided will be useful for further reading

The 45th Australasian Universities Building Education Association Conference: Global Challenges in a Disrupted World: Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Approaches in the Built Environment, Conference Proceedings, 23 - 25 November 2022, Western Sydney University, Kingswood Campus, Sydney, Australia

This is the proceedings of the 45th Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA) conference which will be hosted by Western Sydney University in November 2022. The conference is organised by the School of Engineering, Design, and Built Environment in collaboration with the Centre for Smart Modern Construction, Western Sydney University. This year’s conference theme is “Global Challenges in a Disrupted World: Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Approaches in the Built Environment”, and expects to publish over a hundred double-blind peer review papers under the proceedings

Measuring knowledge sharing processes through social network analysis within construction organisations

The construction industry is a knowledge intensive and information dependent industry. Organisations risk losing valuable knowledge, when the employees leave them. Therefore, construction organisations need to nurture opportunities to disseminate knowledge through strengthening knowledge-sharing networks. This study aimed at evaluating the formal and informal knowledge sharing methods in social networks within Australian construction organisations and identifying how knowledge sharing could be improved. Data were collected from two estimating teams in two case studies. The collected data through semi-structured interviews were analysed using UCINET, a Social Network Analysis (SNA) tool, and SNA measures. The findings revealed that one case study consisted of influencers, while the other demonstrated an optimal knowledge sharing structure in both formal and informal knowledge sharing methods. Social networks could vary based on the organisation as well as the individuals’ behaviour. Identifying networks with specific issues and taking steps to strengthen networks will enable to achieve optimum knowledge sharing processes. This research offers knowledge sharing good practices for construction organisations to optimise their knowledge sharing processes