Integrating Industry 4.0 Associated Technologies into Automated and Traditional Construction

Nowadays, it is ever more common to find mentions in the scientific literature to a "Construction 4.0". Considering, for instance, Offsite Construction, it is clearer how such concept could be realized. Current widespread adoption of BIM helps but is not enough to realize that end, because it is, in general, limited to information being manually created through authoring software, and consumed for different proposes, such as Clash Detection, or 4D Modeling. Construction 4.0 should transcend the limitations of existing only in cyberspace; it should interact directly with the real environment by means of sensors (gathering data), and remote controlled or autonomous machines, employed as part of the production processes, with Machine Learning algorithms handling the transformation of data into information, and actions. The central element of such approach should be a Digital Twin-driven Cyber-Physical System, which when focused on Construction Phase, would be capable to simulate the dynamics of construction processes. In this position article, an evolution of the concept of Computer-Integrated Construction (CIC) is presented as a possibility in representing and guiding developments associated to the incorporation of different technologies from Industry 4.0 to Construction. A framework where such a system could be applied to Off-site or Automated Construction scenario, and to Traditional Construction scenario as well is proposed. In the latter scenario, common in developing countries, which yet has plenty of (and need for) manual labor in the Construction sector, all those technologies are employed not to reduce jobs, but to augment awareness and eventually to turn the tasks safer for the worker.