The £18 million
Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund investment in research and innovation
projects will transform how the UK delivers buildings and infrastructure.
The awarded projects
will help to transform how the UK delivers buildings and infrastructure.
Using artificial
intelligence to predict and plan construction projects and avoid possible
delays is one of the ideas to win funding to transform how the UK delivers
buildings and infrastructure.
Just over £18
million is being invested through the Industrial
Strategy Challenge Fund in research, development and innovation projects to
support a more efficient, highly-skilled and productive construction industry.
The funding from UK Research and Innovation is part of the
transforming construction challenge – a £170 million government commitment,
matched by £250 million from industry – to embed new approaches and techniques
that enable the UK to become a world leader.
A total of £13.3
million has been awarded to 24 projects, which will see industry collaborate
with the research base to innovate.
Included in the
awarded projects are:
- a project by nPlan, Kier and the University of Cambridge, which will use AI and
algorithms to better predict, plan and schedule construction projects. The
aim is to optimise buildings and reduce time and cost
- a consortium including
housebuilder, Barratt Developments, and one of the largest
social landlords, L&Q, which aims to make offsite
manufacturing a viable alternative to traditional methods by exploring how
it can bring down the costs, reduce defects and improve productivity
- a Keltbray Group-led project to develop a new piling technology that
will enhance capacity and improve sustainability when laying foundations
For all projects,
the ultimate aim is to:
- develop digitally-enabled
simulations that support the design and management of buildings
- adopt offsite manufacturing
approaches that improve the quality of buildings
- create active power
generation and storage within buildings
Construction
Minister, Richard Harrington, said: "The use of artificial intelligence,
digital techniques and off-site manufacturing help us harness new methods of
working and delivers on the government’s Construction
Sector Deal.
"These new
methods to help the construction industry are a testament to the government’s
modern Industrial Strategy’s aims of building a better tomorrow for us all
through scientific and technological advances."
A further £5 million
is being invested to support successful research leaders to build talented
teams and take on a complex research programme within the context of the
transforming construction challenge.
There are 4 research
projects that will share funding. These range from exploring the potential for
digitally-designed, 3D-printed concrete components, to assessing the use of
robots for both on and off-site construction.
Another project will
look at integrating voice-activated AI and augmented reality in the assembly of
components to speed up construction and increase productivity.
Professor Sir Mark
Walport, UKRI Chief Executive, said: "Technologies being developed in the
UK provide a significant opportunity to transform the way we build, such as the
use of augmented reality to improve design or robotics to aid complex building
assembly.
"Through
projects such as these, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund allows us to
catalyse innovation across the UK’s construction industry, improving
productivity, sustainability and safety."
Sam Stacey, Director
of the Transforming Construction Challenge, added: "These grants play a
key role in advancing transformation across the sector.
"They will help
the construction industry work directly with talented researchers to explore
new ways of working that will speed up assembly, save money, and improve the
quality of building projects."
