We consider new building materials and modern technologies that accelerate the work of builders, reduce the cost of projects, improve the energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of buildings.
Most of the described innovations in construction are already available on the market, and some are at the development or testing stage.
Today, unmanned aerial vehicles are actively introduced in many areas of construction activity. Quadcopters that carry materials weighing more than 200 kg to hard-to-reach places, construction equipment that is controlled remotely or using artificial intelligence, are already used on construction sites.
In 2024, HD Hyundai presented several concepts of unmanned construction equipment controlled by artificial intelligence: the 4.5-meter Concept-X excavator and the Concept-X2 bulldozer.
The Austrian company Printstones has created a construction robot Baubot, which can mill and drill walls, hammer nails, lay bricks, grind and paint surfaces, as well as transport loads weighing up to 500 kg.
Construction robot Baubot
Aviation vehicles for analyzing land plots and monitoring completed works, combined with special software, can significantly save time and budget for aerial photography, creating topographic plans and reports on the scope of work performed.
In 2022, HP introduced the SitePrint solution for automated high-precision floor plan layout. Paired with a total station, the robot printer can apply digital layouts from CAD programs to the foundation or floor.
There are different types of rebar tying robots, from small autonomous platforms like the HKCRC to large rail-mounted TyBOT that can perform over 1200 tyings per hour. The robots can independently locate, position and tie the rebar at high speed.
In 2023, the Australian company FBR Limited introduced the world’s first mobile robotic platform for laying blocks, the Hadrian X. The robot is able to build structures from artificial materials based on 3D models. The device is designed to work together with bricklayers and can increase their productivity by up to 5 times. Hadrian X can lay up to 500 blocks per hour with a maximum weight of up to 45 kg, lifting them to a height of up to 10 m.
Another example of an automated masonry solution is a KUKA arm-based robot created in the laboratory of the Department of Construction Technology at the Czech Technical University. Unlike Hadrian X, this device is a prototype, but it is capable of laying mortar for masonry independently.
Construction 3D printers use the technology of layer-by-layer application of concrete mortar or metal to create buildings, bridges and other structures. There are already thousands of printers of various types in the world:
3D printer manipulator
In 2014, the MX3D company developed a 3D printing technology from steel, which allows you to create structures weighing up to 10 tons, while significantly reducing metal consumption. An example of the application of the new construction technology was the creation of a 12-meter pedestrian bridge printed from stainless steel, which was installed on a canal in Amsterdam in 2021.
In 2014, scientists at Michigan State University developed the world’s first completely transparent solar panels. Today, more than a dozen companies in different countries are working to improve transparent panel technologies and their mass implementation.
Transparent solar panel developed by Michigan State University
There are several different principles of transparent solar panels. One is that glass modules absorb ultraviolet and infrared waves, while transmitting visible light. Another solution is based on microparticle technology to internally scatter incoming light to the edges of the glass panel, where it is collected by photovoltaic modules. Another technology is to apply a flexible film capable of generating electricity to transparent surfaces.
A separate solution is translucent solar panels, which improve the balance between light transmission and energy generation efficiency. Scientists at the Korea Institute of Energy Research have developed a translucent perovskite solar panel with a record efficiency of 22%.
In 2016, Tesla developed a roof tile with integrated solar modules. This solution is more advanced than conventional solar panels on the roof, as it combines several functions: aesthetics, protection from precipitation and energy efficiency. Today, solutions are available from many manufacturers, such as solar tiles of various shapes and seam profiles that can generate electricity even in cloudy weather.
There are three types of paints that can generate electrical energy:
A new building material is concrete developed at the Delft University of Technology, containing spores of the bacteria Bacillus and calcium lactate, which are activated when in contact with water or air. When cracks appear in the material and water gets there, the bacteria are activated and begin to produce limestone, which fills the microcracks, restoring the concrete structure.
The process of concrete self-healing
The lightest solid material in the world is aerogel, which consists of 99.98% air, has an ultra-low thermal conductivity of 0.013–0.020 W/(m·K) and is able to withstand a load of 2,000 times its own weight. In construction, aerogel can be successfully used to insulate walls, roofs, windows, etc.
Aerogel
A new solution for rooms that require privacy is a film that is glued to glass and allows you to change its transparency. A liquid crystal-polymer material between two transparent conductive films can regulate light transmission by changing the arrangement of molecules. In the normal state, the film makes the glass opaque, and when current is applied, the glass partitions or windows become completely transparent.
Hilti offers a special device for actively distributes the weight of heavy tools during prolonged work and makes work much easier. The balancer allows you to significantly increase the productivity and safety of the operator by transferring stress from the shoulders and arms to the lower back.
The construction and operation of buildings causes approximatly 40% of CO2 emissions in the world, so sustainable construction is becoming increasingly relevant for companies that care about the environment and the future of the planet.
The use of innovative building materials that are manufactured without the use of fossil fuels and can be completely recycled after operation is one of the priority areas of development for leading developers.
A striking example of reducing CO2 emissions is the use of Ruukki sandwich panels, ventilated facades cladding and roofing materials made from SSAB “green” steel, which uses hydrogen, electricity and biogas instead of fossil fuels. The residual product of this production process is not carbon dioxide, but water.
