andrea@australo.org

Meet the HumanTech team: Florendia Fourli, passionate about innovation, technology, and creative problem solving

Florendia Fourli is the CEO and Managing Director of Hypercliq, a company specialising in AI-powered solutions for data management. She founded it in 2011, together with Mirco Sanguineti, CTO, and George Kartsounis, R&D coordinator.

"We help companies collect and create value from data by developing large-scale data management platforms that allow them to visualise and analyse data to make better decisions and provide innovative services to their clients."

In this interview, she explains the work her team is doing at HumanTech, the positive impact they expect it to have and her views on the viability of a net zero future for the construction industry.

Keep on reading!

Q: To start with, can you tell us a bit about your background, what you are passionate about and what drives you personally and professionally?

A: I have an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and a BSc in Computer Science, and I've taken on many roles in the IT industry over the past 20 years, including AI researcher, software developer, and project manager. I'm passionate about innovation, technology, and creative problem-solving and challenges that require mental shifts and continuous learning drive me both professionally and personally.

Q: That sounds very interesting and ambitious. Now, tell us about your company, Hypercliq. What is its role in HumanTech?

A: Our role is to design and support HumanTech’s overall System Architecture. This will be the glue that binds all the innovative technologies our partners are working on into a cohesive, integrated whole that can provide value to the construction sector while making it safer and greener. Our team also manages the intellectual property rights created in the consortium to ensure their protection and the unimpeded exploitation of the project results.

Q: And what is the most rewarding thing about your work on the project?

A: The most rewarding is closely following the research going into the various innovative components to facilitate their integration into the HumanTech System at later project stages.

Q: We look forward to seeing how your work develops once the project progresses further. In particular, what are the activities that excite you the most? And what is the positive impact you think they can generate in the construction sector?

A: Analysing the various interactions and interfaces between humans, robots and wearables and defining the interoperability modules that will enable them is very exciting, as it can have a big impact on the safety and well-being of construction workers. In addition, establishing links between the digital representation and the physical aspects of construction sites is an activity with great potential to add value, not only to the construction industry but also to other sectors where it can be applied.

I hope we will create a system that protects and empowers its workers while also improving efficiency in using resources and lowering the environmental impact of the construction industry.

"I hope we will create a system that protects and empowers its workers while also improving efficiency in using resources and lowering the environmental impact of the construction industry."

Q: Q: Sounds great! What are the next milestones you hope to achieve?

A: We are actually very close to achieving an important milestone, which is the first version of the HumanTech System Architecture. After this, we hope to be efficient in refining it and implementing the required interfaces for the system to come together as an integrated solution.

Q: Well, good luck with the work ahead of you! We would like your opinion on the feasibility of the construction industry becoming net zero.

A: Construction errors and nonoptimal material usage contribute greatly to excess waste and CO2 emissions. Technological innovations being developed in HumanTech, such as digital twin monitoring and data sharing on-site, can greatly reduce these aspects and allow us to envision a net zero future.

"Technological innovations being developed in HumanTech, such as digital twin monitoring and data sharing on-site, allow us to envision a net zero future for the construction industry."

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges to achieving it? And the keys?

A: The biggest challenges lie with the adoption of these technologies by the industry. The key is introducing technologies that keep humans in the centre and in control, which is exactly the aim of HumanTech.

Q: That's right. We hope our innovations make a great difference and contribute to accelerating the green transformation in the sector while making it safer for its workers. Finally, can you tell us about other projects aiming to make the industry safer and more sustainable you have worked on that have inspired you?

A: BIONIC was a project my team worked on, which focused on developing smart wearables for construction workers. BIMprove is another project that has laid the groundwork for HumanTech.

Learn more about our work at HumanTech and the team behind it.

Know Jason Rambach, our project coordinator from the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Bharath Sankaran, CTO and Co-founder of Scaled Robotics, Gabor Sziebig, Research Manager at SINTEF, Gloria Callinan, Project Support Officer at the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), and Fabian Kaufmann, Researcher at the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU).

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by andrea@australo.org

The European Builders Confederation at HumanTech

The European construction industry faces three major challenges: improve its productivity, increase the safety and well-being of its workforce and make a shift towards a green, resource-efficient industry.

In the wake of these needs, the European Builders Confederation (EBC) decided to join 21 other organisations led by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence’s (DFKI) Augmented Vision department in the new ambitious project HumanTech, falling under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

HumanTech, aims at developing Human Centered Technologies for a safer and greener European Construction Industry and will run for a period of 36 months with a consortium made up of leading research institutes and universities, innovative hi-tech SMEs and large enterprises, construction groups and construction SME representatives from 10 countries contributing with 11 different expertise.

EBC is eager to contribute to HumanTech’s objective of following the trail of the twin transitions towards a greener and more digitalized construction sector, proposing a human-centred approach, involving breakthrough technologies such as wearables for worker safety and support, and intelligent robotic technology that can harmoniously co-exist with human workers while also contributing to the green transition of the industry.

Against this background, it must be borne in mind that these new technologies must then be easily accessible and usable by SMEs, as they are the backbone of the European construction sector representing 99.9% of the market.

"The European Builders Confederation (EBC) will be involved in the usability assessment of the impact of the identified technologies on construction SMEs, in promoting the awareness of such solutions and in developing a new approach to training for the upskilling of the current and future workforce."

For the sake of that, EBC will be involved in the usability assessment of the impact of the identified technologies on construction SMEs, in promoting the awareness of such solutions and in developing a new approach to training for the upskilling of the current and future workforce.

What is more, thanks to its position, EBC will play a key role in the EU-wide dissemination of the main projects’ findings in the European Construction community and in building partnerships and synergies with other relevant initiatives and projects.

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by andrea@australo.org

Meet the HumanTech team: Gloria Callinan, passionate about sustainability and collaboration

Meet the exciting Gloria Callinan, who, after having worked on European project development and project management for 22 years, joined the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) as a Project Support Officer in August 2021.

"While my background is in community development and sustainable energy, I am extremely privileged to work at TUS and now at HumanTech! I will work hard with the rest of the TUS team to create a suite of new micro-learning units for a safer, greener, more efficient and carbon-neutral construction industry."

We spoke with her to learn more about her background and role in HumanTech. This is what she told us:

Q: To start with, what are you passionate about, and what is your professional background?

A: I am passionate about supporting sustainability at individual household, community, local and national levels.

Before joining TUS, I worked on LEADER, a well-known, hugely successful EU-funded rural development programme, in Ireland. It was focused on supporting communities and SMEs (small and medium-sized businesses) to develop at a sustainable pace, fostering greater local employment and encouraging entrepreneurship, enhancing biodiversity and ecological protection and funding resilient, self-sufficient communities and local community-led economic, environmental and social development.

In my previous role, I also worked as a sustainable energy communities mentor, whereby local communities signed up for a government-supported programme for energy resilience and were offered mentoring support by a community development expert.

For TUS, I work on several funded programmes in sustainable construction skills, including Construction Blueprint (ERASMUS), BUSGoCircular (Horizon) and Green Public Procurement (ERASMUS).

Under these programmes, new and innovative training content is developed by TUS and piloted across European partner countries to a variety of actors in the construction value chain. For example, construction apprentices, SMEs, professionals seeking upskilling opportunities and educators ("train the trainer" programmes).

Targets for reducing carbon emissions across Europe are real and must be realised at speed. I know that green skills training in construction is a very real way to achieve this.

"Targets for reducing carbon emissions across Europe are real and must be realised at speed. I know that green skills training in construction is a very real way to achieve this."

While my background is in community development and community energy, I am extremely privileged to work at TUS and now at HumanTech! I will work hard with the rest of the TUS team to create a suite of new micro-learning units for a safer, greener, more efficient and carbon-neutral construction industry.

Q: Thanks a lot for telling us more about yourself. At HumanTech, we are delighted to have you and the TUS team on board, and you are doing a fantastic job! Can you tell us more about TUS and its focus, the department you are part of and the team you work with at HumanTech?

A: TUS is a relatively new organisation, having been established in 2021 as a result of two institutes of technology merging, previously known as the Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT).

The TUS department involved directly with HumanTech is the Development Unit based in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. The Unit has a long-standing track record of over 25 years in European project participation and construction skills projects.

I work on HumanTech with Dr Liam Brown, TUS Vice President for Research, Development and Innovation, Padraic O'Reilly, Development Unit Manager, and Martin Breen, Researcher. As tasks evolve, we will bring other staff experts from various disciplines and faculties to work on and contribute to content for the HumanTech micro-learning units' design and development.

The Development Unit is dedicated to implementing our vision of supporting individuals, companies and industries to achieve social, economic and environmental changes by applying its expertise collaboratively.

"The Development Unit is dedicated to implementing our vision of supporting individuals, companies and industries to achieve social, economic and environmental changes by applying its expertise collaboratively."

We pride ourselves on working with people to solve real problems and challenges. 

With a focus on sustainable energy, climate action, social enterprise, rural development and technology for education, our team leads and partners in projects and activities while working closely with academic staff and experts across the University.

We have a particular strength in securing funding from an array of EU programmes (H2020, Interreg, Erasmus+, COSME and others), both as coordinators and as partners/co-beneficiaries. Our dynamic team has extensive experience in proposal development and works in an agile environment to respond to specific partnership needs and requirements.

Q: Wow! How interesting, Gloria. It's inspiring to know that you are tackling today's vital social, environmental and economic challenges. Can you tell us more about your role at HumanTech in particular? What do you (and your team) do, and what activity/outcome excites you most?

A: We lead work package 6: Human Factors - Training and Usability Assessment, and in it, task 6.1.: Micro-learning units development and coordination, a role we are very excited about.

As educators, we will use our expertise to identify and design new training content for Task 6.1, resulting in new content for the education sector — the project outcome we will contribute to that we are most enthusiastic about. At least 200 construction professionals will be trained on this content, which is a significant added value for the project.

"We will identify and design new training content for the education sector. At least 200 construction professionals will be trained on this content, which is a significant added value for the project."

We will draft the content of the micro-learning units taking into account our partners' feedback and the best practices in Europe, and draw on the lessons learned from HumanTech's pilot projects and other work packages. With my colleague Martin Breen, I am also developing a train-the-trainer programme, and we will support our partners in delivering it across their countries.

All the technologies employed in HumanTech will be the subject of training content, including BIM, wearables, drones and robotics.

Q: How will your work improve the construction industry's health, safety and sustainability — making it more attractive to a new generation of highly skilled workers?

A: Training in new technologies and inherent health and safety features will be vital for the construction industry. Training on the importance of health and safety and how digitalisation can help attract workers into construction will be provided to apprentices, tradespeople, SMEs and professionals in construction design teams. The support of our partners will be vital to the success of this initiative.

"Training in new technologies and inherent health and safety features will be vital for the construction industry."

Q: Very ambitious projects are being developed to transform the industry and make it safer and greener. Do you know of any that have inspired you?

A: Yes! Construction Blueprint, a European project belonging to the Erasmus+ Programme, aimed at implementing a new strategic approach to sectoral cooperation on skills. TUS is one of its 24 partners from 12 countries, led by Fundación Laboral de la Construcción (Spain).

The project is due for completion in early 2023 and has resulted in innovative new VET content in digitalisation, circular economy and energy efficiency, piloted to over 600 VET students across 12 countries. The network of participants now training in innovative content, going out into the construction industry trained in EQF 5 digitalisation with an appetite for further learning, gives a great basis for HumanTech to provide upskilling.

Learn more about our work at HumanTech and the team behind it!

Know Jason Rambach, our project coordinator, Bharath Sankaran, from Scaled Robotics, leaders of our work package 3: Dynamic Semantic Digital Twin Generation, and Gabor Sziebig, Research Manager at SINTEF leading HumanTech’s work package 5: Construction Robotics and Human-Robot Collaboration.

Stay updated on our advances by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

by andrea@australo.org

Meet the HumanTech team: Fabian Kaufmann, committed to making the construction industry more efficient and safe

Fabian Kaufmann, Researcher at the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) — leader of our work package 7: Pilots, Evaluation and Validation — tells us about his purpose, the activities he is working on, what he is more excited about, and his vision for a sustainable and efficient construction industry.

"HumanTech will provide ambitious technical solutions, but we need the ambitious action of the whole European construction sector to transform it into an attractive carbon neutral industry."

Q: Tell us a little about yourself. What is your purpose, professionally and personally?

A: As a trained carpenter, I have always been frustrated about the processes making construction dangerous, inefficient and slow. During my studies and professional life as a researcher, I found BIM and artificial intelligence (AI) to be key instruments for making construction more efficient.

Q: And about your organisation, the University of Kaiserslautern, what is your focus and what have you set out to achieve?

A: Our department, focused on solid construction, aims to provide concrete construction technology for a pathway towards a carbon-neutral resource-efficient construction industry.

Q: Now, let us know about your role at HumanTech. What do you (and your team) do, and what is the most rewarding thing about it?

A: Our team provides construction and engineering expertise to other domains involved in HumanTech, like AI, robotics and wearables. For me, learning about the methods and approaches of other disciplines and bringing everything together for a more sustainable and safe construction industry is the most rewarding thing.

"For me, learning about the methods and approaches of other disciplines and bringing everything together for a more sustainable and safe construction industry is the most rewarding thing."

Q: What activity are you working on that you are most excited about?

A: Delivering a dataset for BIMxD reconstruction is extremely interesting. It is outstanding that we are involved in developing AI methods from the beginning to bring in construction knowledge for the best usability. Also, developing the pilot scenarios is challenging but very interesting since it involves discussions with all disciplines involved.

Q: What positive impact do you hope to generate through this project?

A: I hope we can make the construction industry more efficient and safe and provide solutions to bring reality into digital twins of buildings. It would also be great to move forward in BIMxD reconstruction towards efficient and robust approaches.

"I hope we can make the construction industry more efficient and safe and provide solutions to bring reality into digital twins of buildings."

Q: Is there a net zero future for construction?

A: Absolutely yes. But this needs a completely new mindset and technologies from many disciplines, such as the ones involved in HumanTech. To achieve it, both the end-user and the industry must accept a technology capable of disrupting their business models.

Q: Very ambitious projects are being developed to transform the industry and make it safer and more sustainable. Do you know of any that have inspired you?

A: Definitely, the BIMprove project. I learned a lot from the partners involved. Also, some projects we were involved in (SeRamCo, Cirmap) helped us understand the challenges and the need for an interdisciplinary project such as HumanTech.

Q: Any final words to end on?

A: HumanTech will provide ambitious technical solutions, but we need the ambitious action of the whole European construction sector to transform it into an attractive carbon neutral industry.

Learn more about our work at HumanTech and the team behind it!

Know Jason Rambach, our project coordinator, Bharath Sankaran, from Scaled Robotics, leaders of our work package 3: Dynamic Semantic Digital Twin Generation, Gabor Sziebig, Research Manager at SINTEF leading HumanTech’s work package 5: Construction Robotics and Human-Robot Collaboration, and Gloria Callinan, Project Support Officer at TUS, leading work package 6: Human Factors – Training and Usability Assessment.

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by andrea@australo.org

HumanTech on the German radio with Fabian Kaufmann

Our team member Fabian Kaufmann, a Researcher at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau, has explained our project, focused on developing human-centred technologies to create a safer and greener construction industry, on the German radio station Antenne Kaiserslautern.

Listen to the short interview in German and read the transcript in English below.

Interviewer: It's time to talk about a topic that we in Kaiserslautern are almost sick of hearing about: construction sites. We know them all too well here in and around Lautern.

Construction sites not only cause traffic chaos but also cost a lot of money — especially when mistakes are made all the time. 10% of the cost of a construction site is exclusively due to mistakes. They arise, for example, when parts are installed incorrectly.

The German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is working on the HumanTech project here in Lautern, in which Fabian Kaufmann, co-initiator of the project, is collaborating.

"At HumanTech, we want to minimise the 10% cost that errors represent in construction sites with the help of AI" — Fabian Kaufmann.

Fabian: That's right. At HumanTech, we want to avoid precisely these mistakes with the help of AI. For example, by knowing more about the status of a construction site.

How is the project going? What is being built? Is it being built correctly? Have any mistakes been made?

In this way, we want to minimise the 10% cost that errors represent. Ultimately, these also mean having incorrectly installed material, which has to be torn down at the end to rebuild it correctly. So, we also hope to save a lot of resources.

Interviewer: So, the construction site should be constantly checked and scanned. But how exactly is that supposed to work?

Fabian: For example, it can be done by regularly recording the state of a construction site with drones.

If something is being concreted, it can be recorded regularly with a drone, generate three-dimensional data and evaluate it with AI. In this way, we can find out which components have been built and whether they are in the right place, which auxiliary structures and materials are currently being used, or whether there are auxiliary materials that can be used elsewhere because they are not needed at the moment.

"HumanTech is an exciting project that can help save costs and make the construction industry safer and more environmentally friendly in the future" — Antenne Kaiserslautern.

Interviewer: An exciting project that can help save costs and make the construction industry safer and more environmentally friendly in the future.

and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter to learn more about our advancements at HumanTech!

by andrea@australo.org

Meet the HumanTech team: Gabor Sziebig, an automation ally for the digitalisation of construction 

Gabor Sziebig — or, as he likes to call himself, "Mr automation" — is convinced that automation and robots are vital to bridging the digital gap in the construction industry, making it more efficient, safer and greener.

A computer scientist and production engineer, expert in automation, flexible manufacturing systems and robotics, and Research Manager at SINTEF, he leads HumanTech's work package 5: Construction Robotics and Human-Robot Collaboration.

"The construction sector is less digitalised and competitive than others, for example, manufacturing. Our main goal is to close the digital gap and move the industry towards more automation and better working conditions, which we can achieve by introducing robots on construction sites."

Know more about his vision to create a better construction industry:

Q: How would you describe yourself? What drives you, both personally and professionally?  

A: I have a short description of myself: "Mr Automation 😊."

I always look for efficiency and achieving good results in all aspects of life. In my opinion, both come from using automation (whether in the form of machines or robots).

I have a multidisciplinary educational background, combining computer science and production engineering, which gives me the necessary knowledge of the problems that can be solved by a piece of software or mechanical equipment. When I can work at the intersection between these two fields (it can also be called mechatronics), I feel I can show and achieve the best results. HumanTech, in this sense, is a nice fit for me.

"I always look for efficiency and achieving good results in all aspects of life. In my opinion, both come from using automation (whether in the form of machines or robots)."

Q: How interesting! Indeed, your background fits very well with the work we are developing. What about your organisation, SINTEF? What do you do, and what is your focus?

A: We are a non-profit research organisation. Our success is the success of our clients — whether they are SMEs, large companies, universities or other RTOs — and the value we create for and with them. 

Our research is supported solely by income from research activities, which means that all must be conducted sustainably.

Q: What does your work at HumanTech involve, and which part do you find most rewarding?

A: At HumanTech, I lead work package 5, Construction Robotics and Human-Robot Collaboration. The role of a work package leader requires both managerial skills and technical understanding, which suits me well.

Specifically, I am responsible for the deliverables of this work package and for facilitating the collaboration between the different activities in it. I have to ensure that everyone knows where, when and what needs to be done. The most rewarding thing for me is when people succeed in achieving their goals.

Q: What activities do you think you will enjoy the most?

A: I'm sure the pilots will be extremely fun; I look forward to being on the construction site! And, of course, I don't forget the robots. Cutting concrete in the laboratory is challenging and very prosperous.

"I'm sure the pilots will be extremely fun; I look forward to being on the construction site! And, of course, I don't forget the robots. Cutting concrete in the laboratory is challenging and very prosperous."

Q: That's right, the work we will do on our pilots is exciting — we look forward to seeing our progress on them! Specifically, what are the main goals and milestones you want to achieve with HumanTech?

A: The construction sector is less digitalised and competitive than others, for example, manufacturing. Our main goal is to close the digital gap and move the industry towards more automation and better working conditions. We can achieve it by introducing robots on construction sites. So I hope we will see more and more robots there!

On the other hand, I would like to see the robotic platform provided by Baubot working alongside a human. Either in close (physical) collaboration or a distant manner through a remote interface, which Tecnalia will develop.

Q: We hope that, through HumanTech, we can move towards a more efficient and digital construction industry, as well as a safer and more attractive one for its workers. Speaking of the industry's future, do you think it can ever become net zero?

A: With the right amount of reuse and recycling, I believe so. However, we need more research on product documentation and health monitoring. Especially in the case of buildings, which are meant to last more than 100 years, the reuse of materials must be carefully chosen and executed.

Also, the mindset of those who design buildings (both architects and engineers) needs to change. In my opinion, the first thing to put in place is to legislate on the reuse and adaptation of buildings. This is a similar approach to the introduction of BIM in the public sector in many countries.

"The mindset of those who design buildings (both architects and engineers) needs to change. The first thing to put in place is to legislate on the reuse and adaptation of buildings."

Q: What other projects focusing on the digitalisation of construction have you worked on that have inspired you?

A: Our work dates back to the EU Horizon 2020 project SPHERE, the first project related to the "Building Digital Twin" (it started in 2018). It was later followed by our BIMprove EU H2020 project (where SINTEF is the coordinator). Both projects set the bar high regarding expectations and ambitions to digitalise the construction sector using digital twins. 

SPHERE is coming to an end this year, with the definition of the role and use of digital twins in architecture, engineering, construction & operations (AECO). At the same time, BIMprove shows successful results in creating digital twins while the construction phase is ongoing.

Learn more about our work at HumanTech and the team behind it! Know Jason Rambach, our project coordinator, and Bharath Sankaran, from Scaled Robotics, leaders of our work package 3: Dynamic Semantic Digital Twin Generation.

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by andrea@australo.org

Our first field activity: Multi-sensor data capturing

We have started our field activities! HumanTech team members from Ricoh International, Naska.AI, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the University of Kaiserslautern (TUK) have captured data in an empty former hospital in Weingarten, Germany, to start building a unique multi-sensor dataset and develop a digital inventory.

They detected the site on the same day, under very similar weather and lighting conditions, using experimental devices and terrestrial scanners.

We will use this information to evaluate different devices and provide training and testing data to generate Dynamic Semantic Digital Twins (DSDTs).

*Video clip captured with a Naska.AI robot and images captured with the Ricoh Theta 360° camera.

A new breed of Dynamic Semantic Digital Twins

One of the innovations we are working on to drive the digitalisation of the construction industry is the development of an entirely new breed of DSDTs for construction sites.

They will allow for the simulation of the current state of a construction site in detail, both geometrically and semantically, based on an extended Building Information Modelling (BIM) formulation containing all relevant structural and semantic dimensions (BIMxD). These will be a standard reference for all human workers, engineers and autonomous machines.

It is one of the technological solutions that will ultimately enable us to create a safer and more efficient industry and accelerate the sustainable transition in construction.

Subscribe to our newsletter and watch this space to keep up with our developments!

by andrea@australo.org

Meet the HumanTech team: Bharath Sankaran, improving lives through sustainable innovation

Introducing Bharath Sankaran, an entrepreneur, computer scientist, roboticist, and CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and Co-founder of Naska.AI, leaders of HumanTech's work package 3: Dynamic Semantic Digital Twin Generation.

We have spoken with him to learn about his purpose, role in HumanTech and vision for a safer, greener and more efficient construction industry — which will "allow us to ensure a better future for our planet and society."

"I am passionate about technology and innovation, and my personal and professional goal is to impact the average person by improving their quality of life through sustainable innovation."

His company, Naska.AI, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven construction quality and progress tracking platform with automated data analytics and actionable insights. Their powerful machine learning tools automate the comparison of laser scan data (terrestrial and mobile) with BIM and schedule.

Learn more about him and their purpose:

Q: Bharath, can you tell us about your background, interests and motivations?

A: I am the CTO and Co-founder of Naska.AI. I am a Computer Scientist by training and have a background in computer vision, machine learning, and robotics. I am passionate about technology and innovation, and my goal, personally and professionally, is to impact the average person by improving their quality of life through sustainable innovation.

Q: That's really inspiring. And, from Naska.AI, what is your purpose, and how are you approaching it?

A: Our purpose as an organization is to inspire people to make better decisions to build the world we want to live in. To accomplish this, we are on a mission to provide construction with high-quality AI-powered automated insights to help mitigate risk and deliver sustainable and profitable projects.

"We are on a mission to provide construction with high-quality AI-powered automated insights that will help mitigate risk to deliver sustainable, profitable projects."

Q: How interesting — and aligned with the purpose of HumanTech! Tell us, what is your role in the project?

A: We are work-package leaders and partners for technology development. We support the project with our reality capture UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) for surveying construction sites. We will also partner with other HumanTech team members to develop state-of-the-art algorithms to improve the creation of digital semantic twins for the construction industry.

Q: And what kind of activities are you most looking forward to?

A: The activities we are most excited about include using our UGV to detect construction defects using hyperspectral sensing and developing state-of-the-art algorithms as part of work package 3 to improve the creation of semantic digital twins. For both activities, we will create entirely new algorithms in sensing, semantic segmentation, 3D computer vision and machine learning.

Q: We look forward to seeing the results of your work! What impact do you hope to generate with it, and what milestones do you hope to achieve?

A: Through this project, we aim to make construction a leaner and safer process, thereby reducing the construction industry's emissions footprint. This will allow us to ensure a better future for our planet and our society.

To this end, we want to introduce new technologies for detecting errors and defects in construction using AI and robotics. In this way, we will reduce waste and make the building process more efficient. We also strive to improve the definition of digital semantic twins (BIM) to include efficiency and quality metrics.

"Through this project, we aim to make construction a leaner and safer process, thereby reducing the construction industry's emissions footprint."

Q: This a critical task in which the people's and planet's health are at stake. So, is a net zero future possible for construction?

A: Yes, if we can imagine it, we can build it.

The biggest challenge in achieving it is technology adoption, and the key to improving it requires that the technology be easily implementable and integrated into existing construction workflows.

Q: Any final thoughts you would like to share with us?

A: Science is the study of what is, and Engineering is the study of what can be. In engineering, you are only limited by your aspirations. If you aspire for a net zero future, you can build it. Nothing will get in your way other than yourself.

Do you want to learn more about HumanTech and the team behind the project? Know HumanTech's Project Coordinator Jason Rambach, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

by andrea@australo.org