A Methodology to Monitor Construction Progress Using Autonomous Robots

In recent years, new technologies have improved the monitoring of construction progress by using the as-planned BIM of a building and comparing it with the current state of construction (i.e., the as-is model) to identifying differences and generating a progress report. However, in most cases, the different components required for the progress reports are still done by human operators. Those inspections typically consist of time-consuming and repetitive processes, making them a great candidate for automation, which can improve the quality of the methods used to monitor and assess the progress of buildings during the different construction phases. This study proposes the development of an autonomous robot equipped with different sensors to collect data that can be used to conduct an automatic assessment of the state of construction, improving the current tedious and error-prone data collection and documentation processes. The proposed methodology is divided into three components: 1) Development of a robotic system able to navigate through construction sites in an autonomous way, 2) Data collection, and 3) Comparison of as-is with as-is conditions to identify discrepancies and generate a progress report. This paper focuses on the first two elements of the process. The proposed robot is equipped with a 3D Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS). In addition, a robotic arm with a gripper is included so the robot can interact with different elements to achieve an autonomous robust robotic system. To test the autonomous navigation of the robot (including obtaining the optimal path through the building), the actions of the robotic manipulator, and the generation of the progress report, a simulation test was developed under the framework ROS (Robotic Operating System).