[Let's Run Again Construction Korea] 'Jaibot' Untact Customized Robot Guide... Quadruped 'Spot' Roams Construction Sites Collecting Data

Utilizing Smart Technology for Construction, Safety, and Quality Management
GS Robot Workers Actively Operating Everywhere

The quadruped robot Spot (SPOT), introduced for the first time in Korea this year by GS Construction

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Last summer at an apartment construction site in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. Despite the sweltering heat, the underground parking lot framework and finishing work were in full swing, but there was one worker(?) who was diligently working at twice the speed of others without shedding a single drop of sweat. It was 'Spot (SPOT)', a quadruped robot introduced for the first time in Korea by GS Engineering & Construction. Spot, unfazed by the heatwave, carried various advanced equipment such as LIDAR, 360-degree cameras, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors on its shoulders, collecting various data at the site. After diligently collecting data for a while, it contributed to establishing the subsequent electrical and facility works and safety management plans by integrating with GS E&C's core smart construction technology, BIM data.

In August, at the model house of DMC Art Fore Jai in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, GS E&C's new employee 'Jaibot' made its first appearance on site. Jaibot is an autonomous AI robot guide launched by GS E&C as the industry's first in response to the untact (non-face-to-face) era. It was tasked with introducing the complex's overview, location, site, complex layout, building and unit layout, floor plans and spaces, and subscription schedules within the model house. Jaibot can recognize objects at distances from 25 meters to as close as 0.05 meters, allowing it to avoid obstacles, and it is equipped with AI voice recognition technology (NLP) enabling interactive conversations. In the future, Jaibot will also perform tasks that maximize customer convenience such as community guidance within the complex, parcel delivery, waste separation and disposal, and disinfection.

The AI robot guide 'Xibot' introduced by GS Construction in August, the first in the industry to be implemented in an apartment model house.

GS E&C continues to present results that showcase the advancement of smart construction technology this year as well. This is thanks to GS E&C's early and consistent investment in research and development to secure the technological capabilities required in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

GS E&C established its Technology Research Institute in 1989, formulating technology development strategies considering domestic and international construction market environments and future business trends, and has steadily developed core technologies necessary for all business areas. GS E&C's main technology research fields include ▲Civil Engineering (ultra-long-span bridges, underground spaces and transportation networks, marine structures, etc.) ▲Architecture and Housing (indoor air quality, building energy, noise and vibration, etc.) ▲Energy (renewable energy, energy grids, etc.) ▲Environment (water circulation reuse, waste resource recovery, water supply and sewage, etc.) ▲Basic Technologies (concrete, multifunctional materials, etc.). Recently, it has been focusing intensively on developing ICT-based smart construction technologies. Over the past four years, smart construction technologies including BIM have been applied to more than 230 sites in architecture, housing, infrastructure, and plants.

The smart construction technology GS E&C mainly uses recently at construction sites is 'Smart Survey.' This includes technologies that can quickly and accurately acquire digital information from the site such as drone mapping, laser scanning, 360-degree cameras, and USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles). Drone mapping involves drones flying along designated routes to capture photos and videos and build 3D digital terrain models, enabling site surveying, earthwork volume analysis, process visualization, and process management. It is highly useful in wide-area sites or areas difficult for personnel to access and has been applied to highway sites (Seoul-Munsan sections 1 and 3, 2nd Outer Ring Road section 4) and architecture and housing sites. Laser scanning is a technology that measures the shape of the target by the reflection pattern of laser beams and is used for scanning site conditions, precise structural surveys, and investigating construction errors and structural deformations by overlapping with design models. It has been applied to sites such as the Seoul Metropolitan Area high-speed railway section 9 and the underground road from Mandeok to Centum in Busan.

Recently, GS E&C has completed the construction of 'G-SITE (GS E&C Smart Integration of Technology Environment),' a smart construction data integration system that goes beyond simple design and process management by utilizing smart survey, IoT, and cloud-based automation systems to include construction, safety, and quality management. GS E&C plans to actively introduce and apply this to infrastructure projects to strengthen technological competitiveness. A GS E&C official stated, "We plan to apply core technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as big data construction, AI-based video analysis, IoT sensors, and augmented reality at construction sites," adding, "Along with this, we will establish a smart construction technology operation system capable of responding to various risks that may occur across all sites including housing construction, infrastructure, and plants."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.