Technical feasibility analysis on applying ultra-wide band technology in construction progress monitoring

The Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) industry has increasing demand for a more efficient and effective construction progress monitoring approach, to replace the time-consuming, error-prone and labor-intensive manual approach. Indoor positioning technology has been considered a suitable choice to meet this demand by its adaptability to the harsh and dynamic environment of the construction site. With the continuous progress of construction, the site environment is also constantly changing, Real Time Location System (RTLS) based on indoor positioning technology has a promising potential by its cost-effective advantages under this situation. In this research, Ultra-wide band (UWB) technology was adopted to develop a construction progress monitoring approach due to its stronger anti-interference ability, shorter delay and higher positioning accuracy among indoor positioning technologies. To investigate the technical feasibility of applying UWB to collect raw location data of core workforce, equipment and materials involved in different construction activities, construction activities were divided into three categories based on the characteristics of UWB technology. On and off-construction site tests were conducted to evaluate the technical feasibility in five criteria. The results of all tests proved the proposed approach has certain implementation value and under the premise of appropriate design and setting of infrastructures.