Balaji Sreenivasan is the founder and CEO of Aurigo Software.
For one of the world’s largest and most impactful industries, the construction sector has a reputation for being doggedly resistant to change. As McKinsey highlighted, construction sites today bear a striking similarity to those from 100 years ago, with paper plans, instantly recognizable tools and manual labor practices still the norm.
However, it is also an industry uniquely poised for significant digital disruption. Against a backdrop of stagnant productivity levels, rising costs and staff shortages, a perfect storm is brewing, enabled by technological innovation and government incentivization. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), now in its third year, is stimulating productivity and innovation in the sector in a bid to create jobs, improve transparency and overhaul project delivery. While the success of the IIJA is yet to be determined, we can take a closer look at the technology trends that will shape the next generation of construction.
1. AI-Driven Project Management
For an industry that’s still largely dealing in paper blueprints, spreadsheets and manual approval processes, AI-infused technologies could mean significant changes. Only 8.5% of U.S. construction projects are completed on time and within budget—a staggering statistic compared with any other industry. AI and data-driven insights, becoming much more prevelant in the industry, can help construction organizations optimize project schedules, resource allocation and risk management.
2. Robots On The Ground And In The Air
FBR’s Hadrian X, the world’s first automated bricklayer robot, arrived in the U.S. in the summer of 2024 and has already completed building the first homes as part of its U.S. demonstration program. There are high hopes for its future, especially for large-scale projects where demand for bricklaying is high (for instance, housing).
Other fields, such as welding and demolition, can also benefit from the adoption of robotic technologies that improve productivity, precision and safety in construction. My company, Aurigo, for example, is working with the University of Florida on “Bathydrone” (borrowing its name from bathymetry, or the science of underwater surveying and mapping), which aims to eliminate manual underwater surveying.
In 2025, I believe the use of robotics and drones for site surveys, aerial inspections, progress monitoring and maintenance will be expanded, providing real-time data while increasing efficiency and reducing risk.
3. Construction Goes Virtual
Building information modeling technology, combined with AR and VR, has made considerable progress in the last few years. Mixed reality modeling enables construction companies to create innovative 3D models and superior design visualizations that lower development costs and speed up the build process.
For example, AR/VR enabled stakeholders to visualize a 280-bed medical center, avoiding the need to create expensive physical mock-ups of the facility. Along with these efficiency gains, mixed reality adoption in the design process helps improve safety, accuracy, efficiency and stakeholder collaboration. Uses extend to training, enabling construction workers to practice in a safe environment.
4. Maintenance Gets A Digital Makeover
Currently, states spend roughly the same amount on maintaining existing public infrastructure as they do on new projects, creating “costly new maintenance liabilities in the form of new roads and lane-miles.” Meanwhile, the state of the roads is declining with a knock-on negative impact on the economy that runs into billions. It’s an unsustainable equation that’s ultimately impeding economic growth.
As an answer is sought, I believe this will result in smarter maintenance, leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as AI, robotics and analytics. For instance, the use of digital twinning technology can be utilized to help predict equipment failures, reduce downtime and keep down maintenance costs.
5. Blockchain For Transparent Contract Management
Decentralized and immutable, blockchain technology helps solve several core challenges in construction, such as complex contract management, which leads to disputes and delays, stakeholder communication and assuring compliance across the whole supply chain. Blockchain provides a transparent and tamper-proof record at every stage of a construction project, enabling faster collaboration between all the different groups involved, such as construction companies, planning agencies, architects, designers, contractors and the public.
6. Cybersecurity Moves Up The Agenda
Along with improvements in productivity, efficiency and safety, tech advances will also usher in something less palatable. With increased digitization, a complex network of third-party suppliers, lots of valuable data and large sums of money, it’s not hard to see why cybercriminals are targeting the construction industry.
Many other industries that are further ahead in digital transformation terms have had to find out about cybersecurity the hard way, retrofitting security standards and practices onto existing digital architectures and processes. As the construction ecosystem becomes more digitally interlinked, systemic vulnerabilities will be exploited fast and their impacts will be widespread. Construction companies should act early to build robust security features into their digital redesigns from the beginning because a strategic approach to cybersecurity will increasingly become a competitive advantage.
7. Building A Sustainable Future
The building and construction industry is responsible for 37% of the world’s carbon emissions. As the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the industry is facing a variety of pressures to adapt to more sustainable practices through regulations and green building standards.
Traditionally, the focus has been on ensuring that, once built, construction projects such as buildings or infrastructure are more sustainable to run, for example, through the use of greener building materials and energy-efficient designs. Increasingly, attention has turned to greening the supply and processes involved in construction materials themselves.
Aided by blockchain and sensor-enabled real-time information, the construction industry will be better positions to track and verify the provenance, energy usage and carbon footprint of materials at every stage of the construction journey.
Conclusion
Analytics, AI, robotics and the Internet of Things are finally approaching maturity in the construction sector, and adoption is set to boom. In 2025, I believe we’ll see rapid advances in an industry that has traditionally been behind the technology curve as it makes up for lost ground and begins its digital revolution. Strategic, smart investment in tech will likely become a key market differentiator, propelling the industry forward.
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