Wearable technology has reached the point where it became an essential part of everyday life, especially in the construction industry. There’s a wide range of devices, such as healthcare monitors, smart watches, fitness trackers, and other gadgets that could connect with other equipment, tools, and even with vehicles and construction cones.
This only proves that it will always be an essential part, due to the convenience and safety it can offer. In the construction industry, although there’s still a lot to discover regarding wearable technology, this sector is beginning to enjoy the advantages it provides.
Today, most wearables are smartphone related, and to ensure that it would meet the demands of construction workers, there’s actually a wide range of ruggedized versions, and these are proven to be shock-proof, and shatterproof.
Not just that, they are also proven to be very helpful, especially for those who are in the field. These devices could withstand hard impact coming from various matters, such as oil, fluids, and even explosives.
For that reason, experts highly believe that the construction industry would greatly benefit from this. Some wearables come with biometric functions, and it could also detect if there are any dangerous chemicals– if there is, it would automatically provide an additional layer of safety to ensure that the workers won’t be harmed.
These functions can easily be accessed through a smartphone, but if it’s on a wearable device, then rest assured that you’ll be able to ensure that your workers would stay safe at all times.
Here is some wearable tech that could save money & lives in the construction industry.
AR and Smart Glasses
AR embedded in smart helmets or smart goggles can be beneficial in terms of finding the exact path to get the job done in a very efficient manner. Furthermore, one emerging technology for construction is in the form of AR and smart glasses where workers and the whole team could have a better visualization of the 3D construction projects, and it would give you a better understanding of 2D construction blueprints.
There are also two types of glasses– one that displays over a worker’s field of view of AR, and there’s also one that doesn’t have an AR, but it comes with a heads-up display on the side of the worker’s field of view. These two significantly differ, and they definitely have their own respective set of benefits.
With AR smart glasses, this could play a significant role in making it possible for those who are involved in gaining transparent AR imagery, and even the construction specs that are fully detailed. Likewise, these glasses could also be used for troubleshooting and remote support when installing sophisticated equipment.
The benefits you can enjoy is definitely endless, and that’s why more and more construction companies are giving it a go. They are highly optimistic that it would really help the construction industry. For example, Epson creates wearables that can be connected with drones and provide better job monitoring.
This would ensure that clients would get regular updates and it’s also capable of performing aerial inspections. As of the moment, drone pilots rely on smartphone and tablets to view the feed. With smart glasses, they’ll be able to enjoy a transparent, heads up display of what is happening.
For workers, this is delightful news, because it would allow them to strictly follow regulations, while also being able to view hazards, such as poles, trees, and buildings.
In the construction industry, this is considered to be remarkable. The glasses give them the privilege of offering training opportunities and allow the workers to resolve problems even without visiting them quickly.
Smart Helmets
There are also intelligent helmets that feature thermal vision. That means the wearer would be able to visualize, analyze, and even record temperature data in real time. Not just that, with augmented reality as well, it’s possible to expedite the job, and this would result in lesser errors. Indeed, there’s a lot of benefits to enjoy.
Exoskeletons
Another trend that’s gaining much popularity in the construction industry in terms of wearable technology would be exoskeletons. They have a lot of benefits, and one of which is that they reduce the amount of strain on the wearer’s bodies, which means the number of fatalities happening in the construction industry would lessen because of this.