Tekniker presents an example of innovation in AI applied to the construction sector at Global Innovation Day 2024

Date 05-11-2024 Tekniker

A smart safety system for mobile machinery developed by the technology centre is one of the case studies that reviews how AI can be applied and will be on display at the event. The solution has been designed for a construction firm called PAVASAL and addresses the challenge of preventing work site accidents.

 

The Tekniker technology centre presented an example of Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to the construction sector at Azkuna Zentroa yesterday in Bilbao during the 13th edition of Global Innovation Day, a meeting sponsored by Innobasque (the Basque Innovation Centre).

Aitor Gutierrez Basauri, a researcher from the unit dedicated to Smart Autonomous Systems, explained the advantages and features of a smart safety system developed by a Tekniker team that will be incorporated to mobile machinery to prevent work site accidents.

The solution has been developed for PAVASAL, a construction firm based in Valencia, that specialises in developing and managing projects associated with roads, waterworks, town planning and environmental matters. By applying AI technologies, the system provides real-time detection of the presence and movement of people working in these environments to anticipate potentially risky situations.

The unit also features a staged alert system with several warning levels that are triggered according to the severity of a situation and sent to bracelets worn by workers. The researcher explained that “Initially, when the system detects a potential danger, a warning signal is activated on the machinery itself. Should the risk increase, the system first produces an audible warning that is followed by a customised alert sent to the bracelets of workers involved in a potential occupational risk. In critical cases, the system can stop the machine automatically to prevent accidents”.

A high risk of accidents

On construction sites, the coexistence of heavy-duty mobile machinery, workers and sundry objects can produce situations that are very complex to manage. Constant interactions between these elements significantly increase operational risks that could cause more occupational accidents.

Technological progress reported in the area of AI now makes it possible to reduce the number of accidents in these environments and provides an alternative to deal with the limitations imposed by traditional systems that are used to detect workers and objects on a work site.

This application, for which Tekniker has already run a number of preliminary trials and is now progressing towards a second validation stage, was one of the six case studies selected by Innobasque with the support and supervision of the Basque Artificial Intelligence Center (BAIC) and the Basque Center for Applied Mathematics (BCAM) for Global Innovation Day 2024.

This major event on innovation in the Basque Country focused on the transformative potential of these technologies from a business and social perspective with examples presented by Tekniker, Ariadna Grid, Grupo Eroski, Hospital Aita Menni, Hospital Santa Marina and TREBE Language Technologies.