- Author
-
Stone, W. C.
|
Reed, K. A.
|
Chang, P.
|
Pfeffer, L. E.
|
Jacoff, A.
- Title
- NIST Research Toward Construction Site Integration and Automation.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Maryland Univ., College Park
- Journal
-
Journal of Aerospace Engineering,
Vol. 12,
No. 2,
50-64,
April 1999
- Keywords
-
construction
|
construction automation
|
virtual reality
|
augmented simulation
|
equipment tracking
|
resource tracking
|
information utilization
|
remote-controlled construction
|
metrology
- Abstract
- Current uses of computers in construction include design, planning, scheduling, and cost estimating. Much more could be achieved on a fully computer-integrated construction site. This paper describes initial work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology toward construction site integration and automation, beginning with a simple steel-erection procedure using an instrumented crane. CAD-generated geometry sets are transformed into a library of 3D construction site objects. These objects are then loaded into an augmented simulation system that tracks both equipment and resources based on real-time data from the construction site. With some future enhancements, the end result will be a world model of the site, in which as-built conditions can be assessed, current construction processes can be viewed as they occur, planned sequences of processes can be tested, and object information can be retrieved on demand. A project can be viewed and managed remotely using this tool. Remotely controlled construction in hazardous environments is a natural extension of this environment. The National Construction Automation Testbed (NCAT) is currently being used in various research projects with the intentions of making sudti possibilities a reality. A major effort in the NCAT is the development and testing of the metrology, communication, and simulation protocols required.