An AI generative render of what connected construction and BIM software could look like (Photo: AdobeStock)

Where do you see yourself in five years? For some, this is a dreaded question, whether it is coming from a potential employer or a bemused significant other. How can anyone really know what their lives will look like in a half decade?

But when applied to the construction technology industry, it is a tantalising question. In part, it鈥檚 because looking back at five years of construction tech evolution shows significant development. Electric machines and components, alternative fuel developments, acceptance of data-capturing and analysis, and artificial intelligence (AI) have all shaped the built environment in major ways since 2019.

Growth in these arenas will continue but 鈥� looking ahead at 2030 鈥� the industry is also eagerly anticipating advancement in improved connectivity on worksites, 4D design and planning, and automation.

Getting connected

Arguably one of the more misunderstood advancements in construction technology is connected worksite software and data analysis.

Misunderstood, in that, the value of the delivered data has not yet been broadly realised by builders and contractors. But a reckoning is coming says Scott Crozier, vice president of civil construction field systems at US-based construction technology company Trimble.

鈥淲e [tech firms] haven鈥檛 really delivered the industry the real value that you can get out of having a truly connected construction site,鈥� Crozier tells International Construction.

He adds that current connected-construction software is still delivering on its promises. It can save money by helping streamline processes, reduces management鈥檚 need to be on-site and creates data points that log productivity.

However, there鈥檚 a 鈥榥ow what?鈥� aspect to connected construction. 鈥淐ustomers are saying, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e given me this data, [but] what do I use it for?鈥欌€� explains Crozier, who employs an American football analogy to further explain the conundrum.

鈥淚鈥檓 from New Zealand鈥� so I understand some elements of American Football, [but connected software] is a little bit like鈥� knowing how many yards your running back has or how many passes the quarterback has thrown 鈥� but not knowing the score of the game.鈥�

A render made by artificial intelligence representing autonomous function and data collection on a work site

It鈥檚 his way of saying: you could know everything about your construction site down to the minutiae, but if the information doesn鈥檛 combine to deliver the expected result, the details are practically worthless.

鈥淵ou have to know the score of the game, first,鈥� explains Crozier. 

Ultimately, he sees construction sites five years out doing more than just collecting data but then using it to an advantage. He suggests the next step for this technology is a practical application into other emerging sectors.

鈥淚 see in the next few years this concept of what I would call an interactive digital twin, and it鈥檚 beyond a digital twin, but an interactive digital replica of the state the world is in,鈥� explains Crozier.

鈥淵ou can then use that interactive digital twin to compare what was meant to be built today to what was built. You can get your progress to plan, you can check鈥� quality assurance, make sure things were built, not just in time, but also to spec. And all of this would be captured digitally.鈥�

The more data a firm can collect over time (and reuse in application), the better its processes will be in the future as AI and machine learning improve. Crozier envisages connected software eventually becoming a hybrid autonomous tool that can vastly reduce preconstruction preparation time and aid bidding valuations.

The problem? The system runs on historical data, and we don鈥檛 have enough, collectively, for there to be a one-size-fits-all solution.

But individual companies successfully using connected software will have ample data to rely on, and this year Procore, a US-based construction technology firm, released major updates to its flagship mapping software, showing Crozier鈥檚 vision of the future is currently in development.

Trimble Vice President of Civil Construction Field Systems, Scott Crozier (Photo: Trimble)

Coupled with Procore鈥檚 AI-powered 鈥楥opilot鈥�, the firm sees additional opportunities to expand on a connected construction site. Tooey Courtemanche, founder and CEO of Procore, says, 鈥淭he true advantage of connecting all construction stakeholders on a global platform lies in the power of connected data.鈥�

Working in the fourth dimension

3D designing, building information modelling (BIM) software, and the aforementioned digital twin are becoming more standard globally in construction, and could be another major disruptive technology.

Sweden-based Hexagon, in its Digital Twin Industry Report, found that 96% of executives said they recognise the value digital twins can bring to their organisations.

Part of that confidence is due to advances; the reliability and improved functionality of construction technology鈥檚 鈥榝ourth dimension鈥�. If BIM and digital twins represent the 3D built world, the human interaction with these models and information is part of the 4D realm. It may be a virtual or augmented reality headset that allows a contractor to visualise the build, or it could be an annotated 3D model shared across hundreds of stakeholders. Applying AI to these ideas is showing progress.

鈥淟eaders are realising that AI is not just a feature but the key to maximising the potential of digital twins,鈥� says Burkhard Boeckem, chief technology officer, Hexagon.

鈥淔rom processing massive data sets to driving smarter decision making, AI has become a core component of digital twin strategies. Organisations embracing AI will reap the rewards in efficiency, innovation and growth.鈥�

But cost and novelty are clearly still scaring some off in the industry, as Hexagon found only 16% of the executives plan to substantially increase their investment in digital twin technology in the next two years.

This segment could rapidly accelerate. Only one out of five respondents to Hexagon鈥檚 survey who are without a digital twin believe that a digital twin could help with collaboration; in reality, 44% of people with a digital twin are experiencing collaboration benefits 鈥� a 25% difference between expectations and reality.

Getting better detail faster

A photo made by generative AI showing a worker engaging with a 3D model (Image: Adobe Stock)

Alana Dubowik, an associate engineering geologist for Australia-based engineering firm WSP, tells International Construction that modelling and digital twin technology can develop even further in the short-term. Dubowik and her team used subsurface modelling software on a massive motorway project in Melbourne, Australia.

She visualises a future where data-capture or reality-capture can happen instantaneously; AI leveraged to create a hyper-realistic model with little or no human intervention.

Advances in camera and sensor technology mean that they are affordable and reliable enough for even the smallest of builders to afford some kind of advanced imaging or modelling programmes.

Graham Grant, CEO of Canada-based Seequent (a subsidiary of US company Bentley Systems), a subsurface, geoscience and modelling software enterprise, suggests that faster and more efficient imaging technology could soon become a reality.

His firm鈥檚 reality capture tech and modelling software can already identify different types and densities of soil and rock. Coupled with hyper-fast geospatial captures, Grant thinks a gamechanger for mining and earthworks, in particular, is on the horizon.

鈥淚 think the thing I鈥檓 most excited about, which I can say is coming鈥� is miniaturisation,鈥� he tells International Construction. 鈥淚f all that data was there, and it was a millimetre scale, what could that do to your assessment of that site? We are on the edge of doing that.鈥�

But Sequeent is not a machine maker and, in the present, drill bits are too small to deliver the needed sensing and relay, at least as it pertains to subsurface modelling. 鈥淭he technology hasn鈥檛 miniaturised. But the moment it does, it changes everything,鈥� he contends.

Automation is the holy grail

Connected construction and digital twin modelling are powerful tools on their own, but their most valuable role may be how they help transition the industry into automation.

While increasing global adoption of modular and prefabrication processes will soon make some automative construction ideas reality, a big concern in the world of construction machinery remains: just how much can be safely automated?

US-based construction OEM Bobcat Company (a subsidiary of Doosan Bobcat) sees semi-autonomous object sensing and avoidance in construction machinery as the first step toward full automation, but the company鈥檚 vice president of global innovation, Joel Honeyman, says total autonomy is a 鈥渓ong way鈥� from becoming standard 鈥� it it ever is.

Noting construction sites are varied, Honeyman says the path forward to autonomy should be deliberate. 鈥淭hese [autonomous] solutions have to be built for [dynamic worksites],鈥� he tells International Construction. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the challenge. It鈥檚 a technical challenge.鈥�

The Bobcat Rogue X2 concept autonomous and cab-less loader (Photo: Bobcat)

He noted a series of concept loaders from Bobcat called RogueX and the Rogue X2, which are cab-less electric machines the company is using to explore construction鈥檚 autonomous future. But Honeyman cautioned that such a product is unlikely to become commercially available anytime soon.

鈥淭his is a long way away,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e removing the operator, removing the operator station, we totally changed the design of the vehicle鈥� and as we get five and ten years out, you鈥檙e going to start seeing purpose-built vehicles for this type of technology.鈥�

For now, Honeyman says contractors should expect to see OEMs 鈥榯inker鈥� on smaller machines before graduating successful concepts onto existing and reliable fleets.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we want to start with smaller sample sizes,鈥� he confirms. 鈥淢aybe a specialty vehicle, in this case an all-electric loader, to allow us to put this technology into the marketplace. Then we can refine it, scale it up.鈥�

Looking to the future

Of course, some segments will be more successful than others in automating processes. Mining, for example, has seen significant progress, particularly in articulated dump trucks (ADT) and haulers, which typically have programmable fixed routes that lend to machine learning.

Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) brought to market an autonomous hybrid compactor (the CX01) and revealed its TA15 (also called Tara) electric haul truck was production ready.

The only certainty still seems to be that there is not one single innovation that will entirely shape the remainder of this decade in construction.

Instead, it will be multiple accelerating pieces of technology, coming together cohesively, that will change the industry forever. Whether that happens in five years can鈥檛 be predicted, yet, but the smart money is on construction looking a lot different (and for the better) in the year 2030.