• Cloud-based collaboration: Effective communication is a prerequisite for successful execution of any project, more so for complex real estate projects that involve large number of people in the project ecosystem. With cloud based collaborations, the hope for future is bigger.
• Shift towards constructible models: The adoption of 3D modeling and BIM in construction is a key driver of digitalisation. Professionals have realised that paper drawings, even in a BIM model, are not always accurate or reliable enough for actual construction. The only solution is to make these digital models constructible; which is exactly what constructible BIM, the next generation of BIM, delivers.
• Robots on construction sites: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are often used in global construction projects nowadays. Use of drones have rendered surveying of large construction sites at a much easier and quicker pace today when compared to the several days or weeks it used to take in the past. The accuracy and precision of drones will only increase, necessitating even lesser human involvement.
• Internet of Things (IoT): Believed to be a key element of smart city infrastructure, sensors connected to the Internet can continually monitor and manage in real-time critical urban resources such as water, sewage, and electric systems. In construction, IoT is commonly used for monitoring machines on the site floor and for tracking the work progress. Mixed reality is making its mark globally, and sensors mounted on construction equipment or hard hats worn by construction professionals’ help firms significantly boost workforce safety on construction sites.
• Offsite-construction: Modular construction is gradually becoming a popular choice in the sector given the serious skills shortage and the continuously increasing material costs. It’s an alternative approach to the way we design, plan and build in the sector.
• Big Data and AI: Strong innovations range from automating the material ordering and delivery process to creating visual tours in future structures and promoting the use of self-driven vehicles on site. As the data collection and tracking practices improve, this type of technologies is expected to develop even further in the near future.
  
  

CW connected with select technology start-up firms for an overview of the current need and their new-age offering to the building and construction sectors.