Arrested Development
Published: 27/9
OK, I admit it. I was among those who eagerly jumped aboard the autonomous vehicle (AV) bandwagon a few years ago. But it wasn’t because of mass market media hype. After attending several sessions at the National Academies’ 2018 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting that detailed the variety of cutting-edge sensor technologies and real-world testing programs, it was hard not to believe that the dawn the Space Age driverless future was just up the road. And maybe personal jetpacks would soon follow!
While all that enthusiasm may not have been misplaced, it certainly proved to be premature. It turns out that the act of driving is pretty complex—far more so than the simple turns, stops, and open-road cruising found in most of those demonstrations. Duplicating the human brain’s power to see and process an infinite range of decisions in a blink of an eye remains beyond the reach of even the most artificial intelligence-packed systems.
Countering AVs’ raft of routine successes is a crash rate double that of conventional vehicles, several dozen of which have resulted in fatalities. Not all the incidents are the technology’s fault of course, and a lot of streets and highways aren’t well-suited for human drivers, let alone artificial ones. Still, it’s understandable why most people are highly skeptical of AVs and their purported promises.
Construction sites, on the other hand, are proving to be a place where AVs and their associated robotic technologies can make inroads. (The industry already has a bit of “history” with high-tech tools, thanks to demolition robots—more accurately called remote-controlled demolition machines, as they are not truly “automated.”) Most innovations are focused on specific tasks, such as the rebar-tying TyBot for bridge decks and other large installations, and Hilti’s semi-automated Jaibot driller for MEP installation and interior finishing.
In addition, Built Robotics has a custom-built excavator for fully autonomous installation of solar panel support piles, while Moog Construction has likewise pioneered several remote operation and motion control approaches to combine automation with zero-emission machines. The company’s TerraTech EcoSystem earned a coveted Innovation Award at the most recent Intermat show in Paris. There are also examples of larger semi-autonomous vehicles roaming jobsites, controlled from hundreds of feet or hundreds of miles away.
Several factors help make construction sites ideal setting for AV and robotics technology to find their footing, and potentially flourish They’re typically small and self-contained, the tasks they’re handling are relatively simple and repetitive, and there’s an established safety culture that already stresses constant vigilance to potential hazards.
There’s also the matter of need. While there’s no shortage of motorists filling the nation’s millions of lane miles, contractors of all stripes are increasingly pressured to make up for the dearth of skilled workers. If the cost/benefit calculation makes sense, then opting for a tested, reliable, and safe automation tool becomes a figurative no-brainer.
It stands to reason that AV and robotics technologies likely will continue to improve, gradually overcoming the current practical limitations and, in time, consumer reluctance to adopt them. Though it may be hard to see on-site concrete drilling and sawing tasks robotized, nothing seems beyond the imagination.
Now, about those jetpacks…
Jim Parsons, Senior Editor