Center for Construction Innovation and Collaboration

Investigators: Eric Wetzel and Rana Irfan

Recent research from the CARV Lab has explored the possibility of tasking an autonomous robot to answer the questions, “what is it,” “how many,” and “where is it.” While the lab has been successful in the development and execution of proof of concepts, some use cases will be more difficult to execute for a robot. For example, a proposed use case of CARV research is the use of an autonomous agent to execute percent complete for monthly pay app submission. While unique items and shapes like steel structure, drywall vs studs, and flooring may be easier to identify using machine learned object detection, the difficulty in differentiating between a white, painted wall and an unpainted wall would be quite complex as these are visually similar objects. This research looks to deploy a robot-mounted hyperspectral camera to build data sets, train models, and experimentally test the viability of using hyperspectral analysis to supplement the currently used RGB depth cameras.

Investigators: Jake Elbrecht and Rusty Lay

Over the past decade, the use of mass timber has gradually spread across the United States. This expansion has been fueled by an increasing number of manufacturers throughout the country, along with easier access to European products. It is expected that the number of manufacturers and prefabrication facilities in the Southeast will continue to grow as manufacturers of mass timber products recognize the vast timber resources of the Southeast and the construction industry recognizes the need for local and sustainable building materials.

Compared to steel and concrete, however, mass timber is still in its infancy. The oldest mass timber buildings in the United States are hardly ten years old. The problem that industry has not yet encountered—yet should anticipate—is what happens to the mass timber at the end of the building’s life. We recognize that steel is typically recycled into new structural products and that concrete can be downcycled into aggregate for new structures or as filler material. Mass timber, as of yet, enjoys no such luxuries. The adhesives required for its production limit their future potential: with current methods, they are not chipped for mulch or paper products, incinerated, or downcycled into smaller structural products.

Rather than recycling, we could instead look to reuse these mass timber materials. After a building is initially dried-in, the columns, beams, and floor panels are safely locked away for the duration of the building’s life. After this time, these members could be disassembled, moved off-site, and prepared for use in the next structure. Our current means and methods of designing and constructing mass timber buildings currently prohibit this action.

Investigators: Junshan Liu

Consumer-Grade LiDAR (CGL) technology, integrated into smartphones (e.g., iPhone Pro or Pro Max models from 2020 onwards) and tablets (e.g., iPad Pro models from 2020 onwards), offers a cost effective and portable alternative to traditional Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS). While less precise and with a shorter range than TLS, it has shown promise in capturing 3D spatial data for various applications. This research evaluates CGL’s e-effectiveness for construction management activities, focusing on its potential to improve QA/QC, progress monitoring, as-built documentation, safety inspections, and material quantification. Potential areas of investigation may include assessing the flatness and levelness of concrete floors, measuring the straightness of columns and walls, calculating the quantity of materials, and detecting potential safety hazards on-site, such as uneven surfaces or improperly placed materials. The main aim is to assess the accuracy, reliability, and practicality of CGL in comparison to TLS, identifying its benefits and limitations for construction workflows. The study will use a mixed-methods approach, combining field data collection on active job sites with industry expert feedback. By exploring this technology, the research seeks to provide affordable, accessible tools to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance safety in construction management, aligning with key industry imperatives.

Investigators: Ben Marshall

The proposed project will study volatile organic compound (VOC) and particulate matter 2.5-micron (PM2.5) concentrations during various construction tasks to determine the health risks to construction workers of different tasks.

This study will be conducted projects around the Auburn, Alabama area. Working with industry partners each to gain access to active construction sites during the spring and summer of 2025. During the construction events, different tasks will be identified based on literature (examples: painting, pouring concrete, framing) and an array of low-cost air quality mobile sensors (PurpleAir Flex) will be deployed to capture the VOCs and PM2.5 emissions from each construction task. The sensors will be placed to capture the emissions at different distances from the task to determine the plume size and potential exposure to workers not directly involved in the task as well as those that are.

Related pilot studies are being conducted in partnership with Associate Professor, Emily McGlohn at the CADC Rural Studio in Newbern, Alabama. Those studies focus on design phase and post-occupancy analysis.

Investigators: Amna Salman

Housing shortages, rapid disaster recovery, and affordability are critical and persistent problems for most Americans. A need for rapid, resilient housing solutions is becoming increasingly urgent in the face of natural disasters. While these issues are multifaceted and extend beyond the construction industry, the limitations of traditional onsite construction significantly contribute to delays in recovery and rebuilding efforts. Offsite modular construction offers a promising alternative, with its ability to streamline the building process, ensuring faster deployment of durable homes in disaster-stricken areas. By pre-manufacturing components in controlled environments, modular construction not only reduces construction time but also improves quality and resiliency. The construction industry is at a crucial moment, with modular construction emerging as a sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective solution to meet housing demand. This proposal outlines a framework development approach for affordable housing initiatives by exploring modular home construction through site visits to Onx Homes in Florida and MiTek Homes in Maryland. The proposed research aims to investigate materials, technological innovations, challenges, and opportunities in residential modular systems. This exploration will lay the groundwork for an extramural research proposal development for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the “Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing through Off-Site Construction and Pro-Housing Reforms Research” grant program.

Investigators: Eric Wetzel and Ken Sands

Construction sites are particularly vulnerable to theft, vandalism, and unauthorized access due to minimal physical security measures, which often consist of fencing and signage. High-value items, including heavy machinery, tools, and raw materials, are frequently targeted because of their high resale value [1]. To address this, existing security solutions include robot patrols [2], marking equipment with company names and serial numbers [3], parking heavy machinery strategically [4], using wall-mounted motion sensors and cameras [3], and employing human guards [5]. However, each of these methods has notable limitations. Robots are expensive and require technical skills; serial numbers serve as a reactive rather than a preventive measure, and human guards, although effective, come at a high cost. Meanwhile, motion sensors and cameras need regular repositioning and sometimes rely on network connections. A new, practical security solution tailored specifically for construction sites is proposed to address these gaps. Funded by a CADC SEED grant (notified 11/8/24), the system’s development involves a low-cost, portable setup using a Raspberry Pi, two infrared cameras, motion sensors, a speaker, and a LiDAR sensor for 360-degree environmental monitoring. The device is encased in durable housing, allowing it to be easily mounted on a tripod or attached to equipment as a portable “car alarm.” The setup combines two forms of detection: motion sensors on either side of the housing will capture nearby movement, while the LiDAR sensor provides extensive scanning by emitting thousands of laser pulses per second. When an intruder is detected, the system triggers an audio alarm and activates IR cameras to record or capture images of the area.

This grant seeks to advance the project by exploring effective methods for testing the system’s performance under varying conditions. Testing goals include verifying detection accuracy, measuring the range and coverage of sensors, and determining the reliability of the alarm system under varied lighting conditions. With an anticipated cost of under $500 per unit, this security device aims to provide an accessible solution for construction projects of various scales. The testing outcomes are expected to inform potential improvements and confirm the device’s suitability for broader deployment.

Investigators: Ken Sands, Anoop Sattineni and Ayodele Fasoyinu

Research has shown that Wearable Sensing Devices (WSDs) have emerged as transformative tools for enhancing construction safety, driven by advancements in Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT). WSDs are Smart and non-invasive electronic devices that can be implanted or worn on the body to collect vital data that can be used to assess the conditions of the wearer (Liu et al. 2022). These devices allow real-time monitoring of physiological and environmental conditions, offering opportunities for construction workers to engage in self-monitoring and proactive safety management (Awolusi et al. 2018). WSDs can also aid in proximity detection, location tracking, fatigue monitoring, activity recognition, and communication and training.

Construction trade and field workers face exceptionally high risks of fatigue and stress-related accidents, underscoring the need for personalized safety measures that empower workers to assess their physical and mental readiness on-site. In fact, studies have shown that workers’ unsafe behaviors mainly cause construction accidents (Wang et al. 2016). Moreover, workers’ safety behavior can be further understood based on the correlation between their decision-making processes and unsafe work conditions (Lee et al., 2021). This means construction workers in a poor mental and physiological state are at a higher safety risk. Some of these factors can be monitored by integrating WSDs into day-to-day construction worker activities. Given this context, the primary aim of this study is to assess construction fieldworkers’ perceptions of WSDs and help workers understand how these devices can help them monitor health indicators critical to their safety. This research will directly address a gap in understanding the efficacy and usability of WSDs for self-monitoring and provide insights into optimizing WSD use in construction safety practices.

BSCI faculty members Alan Bugg, Ben Marshall and Paul Holley, alongside Architecture faculty member David Shanks, are collaborating with the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment and Hudson-Alpha Research Labs on an National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Economic Engine project, “Greening the Southeast.” This group was also awarded a grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to develop and construct a mobile demonstration pavilion featuring bio-based alternative building materials. Stay tuned!

BSCI faculty members Alan Bugg, Wes Collins and Paul Holley will spearhead a CLT-focused study abroad program, leading students through Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland to explore the global innovations in cross-laminated timber. 

CCIC Director Paul Holley visited the Stora Enso CLT fabrication mill in Ybbs, Austria, gaining invaluable insights into the industry’s cutting-edge processes. Many thanks to Gernot Weiss for hosting!