Drone Wins Award at Sacramento Kings Construction Site

Using drones to monitor a construction site is not a new concept. But now it seems drones are a necessity on construction sites if you want to set your work a part. Such is the case at the Golden 1 Center, the future home of the Sacramento Kings.

Earlier this month, the Kings announced a new visual data analytics tool, which uses drones to capture aerial photos and videos, had received an award from the Turner Construction Company for outstanding innovation and achievement.

Developed by a team from the University of Illinois, the system uses a UAV to capture high-resolution data and constructs a four dimensional model of construction site to create a predictive analytics tool which automates construction progress monitoring and visually updates project participants and investors.

Whether they were physically on site or working from an office, individuals working on the Golden 1 Center could receive updates and alerts of potential obstacles on their phones and tablets.

You can view some of the footage, shot by the on site drone, right here:

Golden 1 Center Drone Cam: 2/22/16 from Golden 1 Center on Vimeo.

The Golden 1 Center is the pilot run for this new system, but it clearly has tremendous potential.

“The analytics we conduct on these survey-grade 3D visual production models offer construction managers a transparent view into what’s happening on site each day, empowering them to improve reliability in short-term plans and eliminate problems before they happen,” said Mani Golparvar-Fard, assistant professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois.

And it’s easy to see why this kind of system will become a no-brainer for future high-budget construction sites, right?

At the end of every day the drone goes up, takes new videos and photos, compares them to yesterday’s data and sends an actionable report to everyone’s inbox.

Involved parties then have a jump start on what will need the most attention in the following days.