Foster + Partners has been exploring the use of Spot®, the robot 'dog' that can meander through construction sites to capture and monitor project progress. The architecture firm's involvement comes as part of Boston Dynamics' Early Adopter Program. Foster + Partners' Applied Research + Development group (ARD) has been working with Boston Dynamics to investigate the potential benefits of using Spot to capture changes on a regular basis, allowing the team to "easily compare the 'as=designed' models against the 'as=built' reality."
Spot can be controlled remotely and is capable of autonomously following a pre-mapped route while avoiding obstacles.
Martha Tsigkari, Partner, Foster + Partners said in a statement, "The ability of Spot to repeatedly and effortlessly complete routine scans, in an ever-changing environment was invaluable not only in terms of the consistency but also the large amount of high-quality data collected. Through this process we developed a sequence of scans that may help us track the project progress against timeframes as well as facilitate regular comparisons against the BIM model. Our scans can ensure that very quick and accurate changes to the newly designed system could be made to accommodate the differences captured by the scans – all in a matter of days. This could result in savings both in terms of time and money."
7 Comments
Uh! A aprender a usarlo rápido, si los directores de obra y los sobreestantes no queremos quedarnos sin trabajo.
These robot dogs freak me the hell out but the idea of one “that can meander through construction sites to capture and monitor project progress” is rather endearing? Or maybe this is how our robot overlords weaken our defenses.
we’re screwed.
i don't understand how you can be an architect and not have an interest in visiting construction site in person
I totally agree, Dank. But on a huge project I'm working on right now there is so much going on every day that there's no way to see it all unless the only thing you do 60 hours a week is walk around the site. I don't see this dog as taking the place of site visits, but it could be an excellent way to document progress in between them.
Totally agree. The reality is so much happens between visits. Trying to make sure you have some ability to see what's going on when different parts of work are happening, or keeping an eye on something particular that you're concerned about would be great.
This probably has the insurance companies creaming their jeans.
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