Augmented Reality and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Assist in Construction Management

Abstract

This paper presents an ongoing work on using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in construction scenarios. Augmented reality (AR), the technologies integrating the real images and virtual rendering scene, will also be integrated to enhance the application of UAV. The high viewpoint and the combination of real and virtual scene provide engineers augmented views to the construction site. They will increase the possibility of discovering the unfound problems. We have designed and prototyped an UAV with features important for the construction management: (1) stabilized image capturer, (2) site level image transmission and (3) telecommunication and viewing interface. The stabilized image capturer includes a 2-axis brushless motor gimbal which can continuous adjust the camera to aim a specific direction. The image transmission was carried out by using radio frequency transmitters which specifically optimized by considering the size of the construction site. The interface includes a multi-rotor UAV that has reliable telemetry control, a display that can render the mixed scene between virtual and real views using AR technology, and a wireless local area network (WLAN) system that provides access to realtime image stream for multiple devices. From preliminary tests, we found the system has the potential for discovering unnoticed detail problems in real construction site, such as vehicle path planning conflicts and structure spatial dilemmas. In the near future, we plan to test the UAV-AR solution in three common construction scenarios: typical building site, bridge inspection, and urban planning.

Trends, benefits, and barriers of unmanned aerial systems in the construction industry: a survey study in the United States

“…Beside utilizing construction and layout drawings, traditional planning and scheduling techniques often require project managers to walk the jobsite and collect relevant information . With the deployment of UASs, site planners have become able to collect visual information to assist them plan construction activities and provide detailed schedule, layout, and logistics-related information, particularly when integrated with augmented reality (AR) (Wen and Kang 2014). Using UAS visualizations, a very recent analysis reconstructed a petrochemical plant to improve the hoist layout planning efficiency, ultimately resulting in faster, safer, and more efficient operations on the jobsites (Jiang et al 2020a).…”

Aerial robotic technologies for civil engineering: established and emerging practice

“…Aerial robots can be used to monitor people entering and exiting secure facilities more effectively than static cameras, which can be costly and must be manually installed (Wen and Kang 2014). Using aerial robotic technology to assist safety managers in monitoring health and safety conditions on site has been reported (e.g., Gheisari and Esmaeili 2016;Irizarry and Costa 2016) as well as to help visualise construction progress (e.g., Siebert and Teizer 2014).…”

“…UAVs can provide a live video-feed of a jobsite, allowing inspections to be undertaken quickly and efficiently whilst also enabling a record to be kept (Irizarry et al 2012). Video feeds can also be broadcast to multiple devices for authorised personnel to view (e.g., Wen and Kang 2014). Gheisari and Esmaeilli (2016) surveyed safety managers to determine where they thought UAVs would be best employed.…”

A Review of Augmented Reality Applications in Civil Infrastructure During the 4th Industrial Revolution

“…Besides HMDs and handheld displays, the combination of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and AR technologies to conduct holistic site planning and large-scale terrain scanning is a significant trend. Wen and Kang (2014) enhanced and prototyped a UAV with AR technologies to provide site-level image transmission. Zollmann et al (2014) used UAV to conduct 3D reconstruction of site information, providing on-site visualization on mobile.…”