Artificial intelligence in the construction industry: A review of present status, opportunities and future challenges

Abioye, Sofiat O.; Oyedele, Lukumon O.; Akanbi, Lukman; Ajayi, Anuoluwapo; Davila Delgado, Juan Manuel; Bilal, Muhammad; Akinade, Olugbenga O.; Ahmed, Ashraf

Abstract

The growth of the construction industry is severely limited by the myriad complex challenges it faces such as cost and time overruns, health and safety, productivity and labour shortages. Also, construction industry is one the least digitized industries in the world, which has made it difficult for it to tackle the problems it currently faces. An advanced digital technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), is currently revolutionising industries such as manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications. The subfields of AI such as machine learning, knowledge-based systems, computer vision, robotics and optimisation have successfully been applied in other industries to achieve increased profitability, efficiency, safety and security. While acknowledging the benefits of AI applications, numerous challenges which are relevant to AI still exist in the construction industry. This study aims to unravel AI applications, examine AI techniques being used and identify opportunites and challenges for AI applications in the construction industry. A critical review of available literature on AI applications in the construction industry such as activity monitoring, risk management, resource and waste optimisation was conducted. Furthermore, the opportunities and challenges of AI applications in construction were identified and presented in this study. This study provides insights into key AI applications as it applies to construction-specific challenges, as well as the pathway to realise the acrueable benefits of AI in the construction industry.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 9, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Oct 5, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-12
• Deposit Date: Oct 25, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 26, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Building Engineering
• Electronic ISSN: 2352-7102
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 44
• Article Number: 103299
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103299
• Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Machine learning; AI challenges; AI opportunities; Construction industry; Robotics
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8032126
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352710221011578?via%3Dihub
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Artificial intelligence in the construction industry: A review of present status, opportunities and future challenges; Journal Title: Journal of Building Engineering; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103299; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.