Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for AI in Construction (AI-Con)

工程研究中心规划拨款竞赛是ERC项目的试点征集。规划补助金不需要作为ERC竞赛的一部分，但它旨在在团队之间建立能力，以规划聚合的、中心规模的工程研究。该规划拨款支持制定在建筑行业实施人工智能（AI）的研究路线图，并组建一个多机构团队，为国家科学基金会工程研究中心（ERC）工作。建筑业是全球最大的产业之一，雇佣了全球7%的劳动力，每年为世界经济贡献超过10万亿美元。然而，它的生产率是所有制造业中最低的，劳动密集型的工作有很大的安全风险，成本也在不断上升。新的人工智能技术有可能解决所有这些挑战，从而产生巨大的、积极的经济和社会影响。人工智能将彻底改变建筑行业，就像装配线彻底改变汽车行业一样，为美国带来显著的成本降低、更高的生产率，以及更安全、更高薪的工作。主要有三个活动。首先是顾问委员会会议。咨询委员会将由人工智能领域的领军人物、建设行业的领军人物、与建设行业相关的政府代表等10人组成。它的目标是：(1)正式定义ERC计划资助顾问委员会，(2)完善和解决ERC的主要研究主题，(3)从美国学术机构中确定一个由15人组成的小组，邀请他们参加第二项活动。第二项活动是关于人工智能在建筑领域的研讨会。其目标是：(1)制定研究路线图以实现ERC愿景；(2)为ERC提案确定学术合作伙伴。第三项活动是ERC预提案写作工作坊。其目标是：(1)制定一个具有竞争力的ERC预提案大纲，(2)确定ERC的潜在行业股东，以及(3)确定一个多元化的ERC领导团队，该团队将包括来自每个合作机构的代表，以执行ERC的所有四个基本组成部分：研究、工程劳动力发展、创新生态系统和包容文化。ERC的影响将包括人工智能算法、人机界面、生成式设计的机器学习和深度学习方面的重大进步，这些将改变建筑项目从概念到设计再到完成的各个方面的运作方式。对建筑领域人工智能的研究将有助于迎来人工智能的“第三次浪潮”，这将标志着人工智能向人类水平的学习、思考、推理和问题解决的上升。新的人工智能技术——以及第三次人工智能浪潮的进展——将在很大程度上适应建筑业以外的领域，影响许多其他学科和社会的各个方面。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Planning Grants for Engineering Research Centers competition was run as a pilot solicitation within the ERC program. Planning grants are not required as part of the full ERC competition, but intended to build capacity among teams to plan for convergent, center-scale engineering research.This Planning Grant award supports the development of a research roadmap for implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in the construction industry and the formation of a multi-institutional team working toward an NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC). Construction is one of the largest global industries, employing 7% of the world's workforce and contributing more than $10T annually to the world economy. However, it has the lowest productivity of any manufacturing industry, labor-intensive jobs with significant safety risks, and ballooning costs. New AI technologies have the potential to address all these challenges, leading to massive, positive economic and social impact. AI is poised to revolutionize the construction industry similarly to how the assembly line revolutionized the automobile industry, leading to significant cost reductions, higher productivity, and safer, better paying jobs for the United States of America. There are three primary activities. The first is an advisory board meeting. The 10-member advisory board will consist of leaders in AI, construction industry leaders, and government representatives connected with the construction industry. Its objectives are to (1) formally define the ERC planning grant advisory board, (2) refine and resolve the primary research themes of the ERC, and (3) identify a group of 15 individuals from US academic institutions to invite to the second activity. The second activity is a symposium on the topic of AI in Construction. Its objectives are to (1) develop a research roadmap to achieve the ERC vision, and (2) identify the academic partners for the ERC proposal. The third activity is the ERC preproposal writing workshop. Its objectives are to (1) produce an outline of a competitive ERC preproposal, (2) identify potential industry shareholders for the ERC, and (3) identify a diverse ERC leadership team that will include representatives from each partnering institution to carry out all four foundational components of an ERC: research, engineering workforce development, innovation ecosystem, and a culture of inclusion. Impacts of the ERC will include significant advancements in AI algorithms, human-machine interfacing, machine learning for generative design, and deep learning that will transform how construction projects operate in all aspects from conception to design to completion. Research on AI for construction will help usher in the 'third wave" of AI, which will signal an ascent toward human-level learning, thinking, inferencing, and problem solving. The new AI technologies - and advancements toward the third wave of AI - will largely be adaptable outside the construction industry to impact many other disciplines and various aspects of society.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.