Resilience funding for enabling safer and more efficient construction through video analytics and machine learning

**导言** COVID-19突发事件凸显了对现场监测系统的迫切需求，该系统能够有效和准确地测量工人和工厂设备之间的相对距离，以确保安全的工作条件。政府的指导方针是有用的，但还不够。例如，由于工人之间的大量感染，建筑工地和制造设施无限期关闭。四月份建筑产量下降了40%以上（国家统计局）。这强调需要准确和廉价的监测系统，有助于提供安全的工作条件，同时最大限度地提高产量和生产率。**重点领域**常见的基于摄像头的现场监控解决方案侧重于检测由于犯罪和环境危害（如入侵者和火灾）造成的损害。其他功能更强的系统可以进行有限的对象和变化检测。利用蓝牙设备作为移动电话和可穿戴设备的监控方法也被提出，但其可靠性尚未得到证实（例如移动跟踪应用程序）。此外，它们需要额外的设备，这增加了成本，使采用更加困难。**创新**本项目提出了一种创新的方法来开发必要的数据集，以增强基于摄像机的监控系统，从而显着提高其当前的能力。该项目可以潜在地交付监视系统提供的价值的定性步骤。例如，通过估计活动效率、安全距离和识别潜在的传染。此外，该项目将提供一种不需要专门设备的解决方案，其工作原理与目前的现场监测系统类似。**紧急情况**这是一个及时的项目，因为它将在大流行期间收集目前活跃地点的非常有价值的数据，以深入了解如何使用监测系统来减轻未来卫生突发事件造成的中断。

**Introduction**The COVID-19 contingency has highlighted the urgent need for site monitoring systems that enable measuring relative distances, effectively and accurately, among workers and plant equipment to ensure safe working conditions. Government guidelines have been useful, but they are not sufficient. For example, construction sites and manufacturing facilities have been shut down indefinitely due to large numbers of contagions among workers. The construction output fell by more than 40% in April (Office-for-National-Statistics). This underlines the need for accurate and inexpensive monitor systems that contribute to provide safe working conditions while maximizing throughput and productivity.**Areas of focus**Common camera-based site monitoring solutions focus on detecting damage due to crime and environmental hazards, such as intruders and fires. Other more capable systems enable limited object and change detection. Monitoring approaches that make use of Bluetooth devices as mobile phones and wearables have been proposed as well, but they reliability has not been proven yet (e.g. mobile tracking apps). Moreover, they require additional equipment, which increases costs and makes adoption more difficult.**Innovation**This project proposes an innovative approach to develop the datasets necessary to enhance camera-based monitoring systems so as to improve significantly their current capabilities. This project can potentially deliver a qualitative step on the value that monitoring systems provide. For instance, by estimating activity efficiencies, safe distances, and identifying potential contagions. In addition, this project will provide a solution that will not require specialised equipment and will work similarly to current site monitoring systems.**Urgency**This is a timely project, as it will gather very valuable data on currently active sites during the pandemic to gain insights of how monitoring systems can be used to mitigate disruptions due to future sanitary contingencies.