Skycatch is outfitting 1,000 DJI drones with autonomous surveying tech for construction giant Komatsu
Gadget lovers helped the drone industry take flight, but its future looks to be more industrial, with increasing numbers of drones sold for tasks like surveying and inspection. A good example of this transition is DJI, which today announced its biggest single shipment of commercial UAVs: 1,000 drones running machine vision software from US startup Skycatch, all sold to Japanese construction giant Komatsu.
Robots Break New Ground in Construction Industry
"The idea behind Built Robotics is to use automation technology make construction safer, faster and cheaper," said Ready-Campbell, standing in a dirt lot where a small bulldozer moved mounds of earth without a human operator.
Six dead after new pedestrian bridge collapses near Florida International University
An innovative pedestrian bridge being built at Florida International University was put to a "stress test" before it collapsed over traffic, killing six people and sending 10 to a hospital, authorities said.
This Entrepreneur’s App Is Bringing Technology to the Construction Industry
Yves Frinault is the founder and CEO of Fieldwire, a company that connects office and field staff in the construction industry via a collaboration platform that lets them share files, access information, and chat in real time. What started as a spark of an idea is now powering 200,000 construction projects worldwide across about 100 countries.
Wood nanocrystals in a California bridge could change how concrete is made
Produced by the pulp and paper industries, the nanocrystals were tested by researchers at Purdue University, who expect them to strengthen concrete and decrease the need for as much of the material.
New Catalysts Will Push Key Materials Prices in 2018
Lumber prices continued to rise through the first quarter of 2018, coming off last year’s strong finish. The ENR 20-city average price for the most common varieties of 2×4 lumber is up 10.4% over the year-ago period, while IHS Markit’s most recent forecast predicts a 4.5% increase for softwood lumber in 2018. That price hike is a marked shift from the industry forecaster’s outlook released in the fourth quarter of 2017, which called for a 1.8% decrease in lumber after a double-digit spike last year.