Despite the advancement in building and construction industry, there is at least one process that technology cannot do and that is progress inspection, or is it? This futuristic drone you see here called SITEWASP (that has a look in the league of Half-Life City Scanner), designed by Germany product service designer Sebastian Gier, might just change that. Combining a drone’s maneuverability and its circular design, internal sensors and cameras, this 3D drone system affords architects, engineers and construction managers, 200 degrees rotation and view.
It is design to scan, measure, analyze and document a building under construction with high-resolution images of the current state and process of construction, covering both horizontal and vertical surfaces. According to the official description, SITEWASP uses digital Building Information Model (BIM), thus allowing remote stakeholders to react directly to any crucial error and/or discrepancy and thereby enable a more synchronized and efficient workflow.
On the ground, SITEWASP not only save a construction supervisor the legwork of going through the construction progress, but also does it a lot more faster. For example, inspecting a building under construction often takes days by a single person, but with SITEWASP, it can complete the inspection in matter of hours. Moreover, SITEWASP will be able to cover hard to access areas, such as the elevator shafts. Gier’s 3D drone system is designed to work through day and night – thanks to the suite of sensors and a front light that moves with the camera movement.
Using digital desktop software and app, users can control the drone remotely from the comfort of the office. If read correctly, SITEWASP will be able to check on areas autonomously. When received the instruction to do so, SITEWASP will launch automatically from a mobile charging box (presumably much like the Airobotics) and proceed to scan selected areas.
Drones that can do building inspection isn’t new; both Intel and Japan’s ProDrone have drones that could do, but SITEWASP presents a comprehensive, sophisticate solution in a machine that is purpose design with construction in mind, like having appropriate reflective colors and mesh enclosure to prevent any falling debris from coming into contact with fast spinning rotors which could potentially lead to catastrophic failure.
With a good looking design and a sound proposition, it is no surprise that SITEWASP Construction Inspection Drone was given an Honorable Mention at the Red Dot Design Concept Award 2018.
Images: Sebastian Gier.
Source: Yanko Design.
