Developing a Cloud-based Remote Inspection System for Construction Sites Using Robotics and Mixed Reality Technology

施工现场检查是确保某一工程按计划、按照工程要求和有关标准、法规进行的有效方法。传统的视察需要各种专业人员定期到现场视察，这意味着从事这些视察的专业人员必须经常往返于各场址之间，并使用各种类型的设备进行评估。这可能造成安全和健康风险、劳动力短缺和性别歧视，特别是在加拿大北部等偏远地区。作为派遣专业人员亲自进行现场检查的有利替代方案，本项目的目标是实现沉浸式实时远程施工检查。该项目的预期成果包括，通过使用5G网络的混合现实（MR）技术，检查员可以操作的机器人传感系统。在该系统中，将采用人工智能（AI）算法和建筑信息模型（BIM），通过云计算提供增强和标准化的检测。该项目的成果将使阿尔伯塔省和加拿大在以下三个方面受益：(1)将提高施工生产率，同时降低现场检查成本，从而为阿尔伯塔省和加拿大带来相关的经济效益。(2)拟议的制度将通过利用其他地区的熟练工人，有助于缓解加拿大偏远地区的劳动力短缺问题。它也有可能减少对建筑业中任职人数不足的群体（例如妇女）的就业歧视，因为这种办法在工作时间表方面具有固有的灵活性。(3)该系统将减少外来务工人员的出行，有助于减少温室气体排放，并将支持及时的现场检查，从而提高建筑质量。

The inspection of a construction site is an effective method for ensuring that a particular project is going as planned and in accordance with the project requirements and relevant standards and regulations. Traditional inspection necessitates periodic site visits from various professionals, meaning that the professionals engaged in these inspections must travel frequently between sites and employ various types of equipment for the assessment. This may pose safety and health risks, labour shortages, and gender discrimination, particularly in remote areas like northern Canada.As a favourable alternative to dispatching professionals to carry out site inspections in person, the goal of this project is to enable immersive and real time remote construction inspection. The expected outcomes of the project include a robotic sensing system that can be operated by inspectors through Mixed Reality (MR) technology using 5G network. In this system, Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms and Building Information Modelling (BIM) will be employed to provide enhanced and standardized inspection through cloud computing.The outcomes of the project will benefit Alberta and Canada in the following three respects: (1) It will increase the productivity of construction while reducing site inspection costs, thereby bringing associated economic benefits to Alberta and Canada. (2) The proposed system will help to mitigate labour shortage issues in remote regions of Canada by making use of the pools of skilled workers in other regions. It also has the potential to reduce employment discrimination with respect to underrepresented groups (e.g., women) in the construction industry due to the inherent flexibility of this approach in terms of work schedule. (3) The system will help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the travel of migrant workers and will support timely site inspection and thereby boost building quality.