One of the key concepts of Construction 4.0 is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry ... more One of the key concepts of Construction 4.0 is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry is increasingly creating valuable digital assets, but it is also gradually using digital technology to plan, design, build, monitor, and control the physical ones. This makes construction sites and operations vulnerable to cyber-attacks. While the damage to digital assets can have financial implications, attacks on digitally-controlled physical assets may impact people’s well-being and, in worst-case scenarios, result in casualties. The problem is amplified by the emerging cyber-physical nature of the systems, where the human checks may be left out. The construction industry could draw inspiration from the work done in critical infrastructures (CI). Construction is the prelude of any socio-technical asset tagged as a CI. While most assets may not be critical in the CI sense, they are essential to a business’ operations and the people directly or indirectly associated with them. This stud...
It has been proposed that, after the internet age, we are now entering a new era of the '/Augment... more It has been proposed that, after the internet age, we are now entering a new era of the '/Augmented Age/' (King, 2016). Physician Michio Kaku imagined the future of architects will be relying heavily on Augmented Reality technology (Kaku, 2015). Augmented reality technology is not a new technology and has been evolving rapidly. In the last three years, the technology has been applied in mainstream consumer devices (Coppens, 2017). This opened up possibilities in every aspect of our daily lives and it is expected that this will have a great impact on every field of consumer's technology in near future, including design and fabrication. What is the future of design and making? What kind of new digital fabrication paradigm will emerge from inevitable technological development? What kind of impact will this have on the built environment and industry? FlowMorph is a research project developed in the Bartlett School of Architecture, B-Pro AD with the collaboration of the authors and students as a 12 month MArch programme, we developed a unique design project trying to answer these questions which will be introduced in this paper.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Analogous to Industry 4.0, we have the advent of Construction 4.0, a transformative process where... more Analogous to Industry 4.0, we have the advent of Construction 4.0, a transformative process wherein digital technology and digitalization affect every phase of the life cycle of construction projects, from the design and contracting phase to the construction, operation, maintenance, upgrade, and decommissioning ones. The progress of digitalization has been uneven, as has been the recognition of the new security environment in which the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry operates. Hackers for profit, disloyal competitors, disgruntled insiders, or even state agents employing hybrid warfare all utilize cyber means to achieve goals that can disrupt processes, corrupt information, interrupt operations, and cause significant material damage or even loss of human life. Starting from recognizing the paucity of studies in this field, this paper analyzes the results from a survey on cybersecurity awareness in the AECO industry. The analyses employed statistical methods such as t-test, Spearman's rank correlation test, and ANOVA to test the hypotheses formulated to answer the research questions of the study. The resulting data are commented upon and placed in the context of an evolving industry confronted with the shock of the new security environment, while also moving forward on Construction 4.0 as a creator of added value, new efficiencies, and new capabilities.
Data used in the journal paper "Towards Understanding the Significance of Cybersecurity in t... more Data used in the journal paper "Towards Understanding the Significance of Cybersecurity in the Construction Industry: Survey Findings" by Borja García de Soto, Abel Maciel, Žiga Turk, Bharadwaj Mantha, Alexandru Georgescu, and Muammer Semih Sonkor.
This paper charts the design and build of two interactive tabletops that use infrared (IR) illumi... more This paper charts the design and build of two interactive tabletops that use infrared (IR) illumination techniques. One table implements fiducial tracking, whilst the other implements multitouch tracking. Trade-offs in both designs are discussed to highlight key considerations when building an interactive table. Using three key dimensions from lessons learned, we conduct a comparative analysis of both approaches. Finally, we propose a DIY Design Process to assist designers in building their own interactive table. Categories and Subject Descriptors B.m [Hardware]: Miscellaneous. D.2.13 [Software]: Reusable Software – Reusable libraries. H5.2 [Information Systems]: Information interfaces and presentation (I.7) – User Interfaces
• To describe the basis and evolution of blockchain in the context of built environment activitie... more • To describe the basis and evolution of blockchain in the context of built environment activities and processes. • To evaluate the implications and impact of blockchain technology upon the construction and property industries. • To reflect upon the linkages between blockchain and Construction 4.0.
The umbrella concept for the current efforts to digitize construction is known as Construction 4.... more The umbrella concept for the current efforts to digitize construction is known as Construction 4.0. One of its key concepts is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry is not only creating increasingly valuable digital assets (in addition to physical ones) but also the buildings and built infrastructures are increasingly monitored and controlled using digital technology. Both make construction a vulnerable target of cyber-attacks. While the damage to digital assets, such as designs and cost calculations, may result in economic damage, attacks on digitally-controlled physical assets may damage the well-being of occupants and, in worst-case scenarios, even damage (or death) to the users. The problem is amplified by the emerging cyber-physical nature of the systems, where the human checks may be left out. We propose that construction learns from the work done in the context of critical infrastructures (CI). First, a lot of CI is construction-related, and the process of designi...
One of the key concepts of Construction 4.0 is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry ... more One of the key concepts of Construction 4.0 is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry is increasingly creating valuable digital assets, but it is also gradually using digital technology to plan, design, build, monitor, and control the physical ones. This makes construction sites and operations vulnerable to cyber-attacks. While the damage to digital assets can have financial implications, attacks on digitally-controlled physical assets may impact people’s well-being and, in worst-case scenarios, result in casualties. The problem is amplified by the emerging cyber-physical nature of the systems, where the human checks may be left out. The construction industry could draw inspiration from the work done in critical infrastructures (CI). Construction is the prelude of any socio-technical asset tagged as a CI. While most assets may not be critical in the CI sense, they are essential to a business’ operations and the people directly or indirectly associated with them. This stud...
It has been proposed that, after the internet age, we are now entering a new era of the '/Augment... more It has been proposed that, after the internet age, we are now entering a new era of the '/Augmented Age/' (King, 2016). Physician Michio Kaku imagined the future of architects will be relying heavily on Augmented Reality technology (Kaku, 2015). Augmented reality technology is not a new technology and has been evolving rapidly. In the last three years, the technology has been applied in mainstream consumer devices (Coppens, 2017). This opened up possibilities in every aspect of our daily lives and it is expected that this will have a great impact on every field of consumer's technology in near future, including design and fabrication. What is the future of design and making? What kind of new digital fabrication paradigm will emerge from inevitable technological development? What kind of impact will this have on the built environment and industry? FlowMorph is a research project developed in the Bartlett School of Architecture, B-Pro AD with the collaboration of the authors and students as a 12 month MArch programme, we developed a unique design project trying to answer these questions which will be introduced in this paper.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Analogous to Industry 4.0, we have the advent of Construction 4.0, a transformative process where... more Analogous to Industry 4.0, we have the advent of Construction 4.0, a transformative process wherein digital technology and digitalization affect every phase of the life cycle of construction projects, from the design and contracting phase to the construction, operation, maintenance, upgrade, and decommissioning ones. The progress of digitalization has been uneven, as has been the recognition of the new security environment in which the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry operates. Hackers for profit, disloyal competitors, disgruntled insiders, or even state agents employing hybrid warfare all utilize cyber means to achieve goals that can disrupt processes, corrupt information, interrupt operations, and cause significant material damage or even loss of human life. Starting from recognizing the paucity of studies in this field, this paper analyzes the results from a survey on cybersecurity awareness in the AECO industry. The analyses employed statistical methods such as t-test, Spearman's rank correlation test, and ANOVA to test the hypotheses formulated to answer the research questions of the study. The resulting data are commented upon and placed in the context of an evolving industry confronted with the shock of the new security environment, while also moving forward on Construction 4.0 as a creator of added value, new efficiencies, and new capabilities.
Data used in the journal paper "Towards Understanding the Significance of Cybersecurity in t... more Data used in the journal paper "Towards Understanding the Significance of Cybersecurity in the Construction Industry: Survey Findings" by Borja García de Soto, Abel Maciel, Žiga Turk, Bharadwaj Mantha, Alexandru Georgescu, and Muammer Semih Sonkor.
This paper charts the design and build of two interactive tabletops that use infrared (IR) illumi... more This paper charts the design and build of two interactive tabletops that use infrared (IR) illumination techniques. One table implements fiducial tracking, whilst the other implements multitouch tracking. Trade-offs in both designs are discussed to highlight key considerations when building an interactive table. Using three key dimensions from lessons learned, we conduct a comparative analysis of both approaches. Finally, we propose a DIY Design Process to assist designers in building their own interactive table. Categories and Subject Descriptors B.m [Hardware]: Miscellaneous. D.2.13 [Software]: Reusable Software – Reusable libraries. H5.2 [Information Systems]: Information interfaces and presentation (I.7) – User Interfaces
• To describe the basis and evolution of blockchain in the context of built environment activitie... more • To describe the basis and evolution of blockchain in the context of built environment activities and processes. • To evaluate the implications and impact of blockchain technology upon the construction and property industries. • To reflect upon the linkages between blockchain and Construction 4.0.
The umbrella concept for the current efforts to digitize construction is known as Construction 4.... more The umbrella concept for the current efforts to digitize construction is known as Construction 4.0. One of its key concepts is cyber-physical systems. The construction industry is not only creating increasingly valuable digital assets (in addition to physical ones) but also the buildings and built infrastructures are increasingly monitored and controlled using digital technology. Both make construction a vulnerable target of cyber-attacks. While the damage to digital assets, such as designs and cost calculations, may result in economic damage, attacks on digitally-controlled physical assets may damage the well-being of occupants and, in worst-case scenarios, even damage (or death) to the users. The problem is amplified by the emerging cyber-physical nature of the systems, where the human checks may be left out. We propose that construction learns from the work done in the context of critical infrastructures (CI). First, a lot of CI is construction-related, and the process of designi...
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