Efficiency Analysis of Construction Automation Using 3D Geospatial Information

Abstract

The size of the global construction market is expected to increase to about $14 trillion by 2025, with fierce competition expected in emerging markets. However, construction is the only industrial sector whose productivity has declined over the past 50 years. Over the past two decades, the world economy has grown by 2.8% and manufacturing productivity has grown by 3.6% annually, but labor productivity growth in the construction sector has averaged less than 1%. Recently, construction companies have made various attempts to increase productivity, for example, by implementing 'smart construction' based on 3D data at all stages such as investigation, measurement, design, and construction. Many construction sites are increasing the utilization of building information modeling (BIM), laser scanners, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and automated construction equipment. However, studies on applying and analyzing 3D geospatial information in the construction process have been insufficient. In this study, an experiment on using 3D geospatial information technology in road construction was performed and analysis was conducted. The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), static light detection and ranging (LiDAR), UAV LiDAR, and so forth were used to effectively build 3D geospatial information of the study area, and 3D designs were generated using the acquired data. The accuracy of data constructed through static LiDAR and UAV LiDAR was found to be within 0.025 m in the X, Y, and Z directions. A 3D design reflecting the actual terrain was created, and various sensors were installed on construction equipment to conduct experiments on construction automation. The productivity of construction automation was evaluated by comparing the results of traditional and automated construction processes. In the future, construction automation using 3D geospatial information technology will contribute to improving productivity not only for roads, but also at many other construction sites such as tunnels.