Renewal price $1.28/yr

There are plenty of definitions of the term out there. Some of these are broad, others narrow it down to just the actual construction process. In reality, there is a lot of overlap between construction and management (as we will discuss) and it is impossible to consider ConTech siloed away from the rest of technological innovation in the built environment. I like to define ConTech as the technology used to innovate the way we plan, design, and build structures, as well as the manufacture and installation of their components.

One of the biggest pet peeves for those in the ConTech space is that, when they hear the words construction technology, people often think only of the cute 3D printed house that was all over the Internet in 2017. 3D printing is definitely a very interesting part of ConTech, and in future, perhaps, entire buildings will be extruded from gigantic printers in mere hours. For the time being, however, prefabrication, which in of itself is nothing new as it’s been around for decades in some form, is a much more realistic way in which players in the space are starting to move away from traditional methods of construction.

The biggest gains in the space are currently being had in the management of construction processes, even when traditional methods are used. PlanGrid, for example, digitalizes construction workflow processes. There are startups that utilize AI for workflow management, others that deploy sensors throughout the construction process and provide a platform for management of that data. Drone technology is being deployed together with machine learning for job site analysis. Robots are tentatively starting to be used for repetitive on-site tasks. Wearable tech is used for worksite safety, and as we discussed before, AI analytics and AR will make the difference in the management of structures designed and built in BIM. We will delve into these applications and the startups innovating these fields in an upcoming post.