Israeli firm connects construction dots
AI is the way forward for the construction industry
An Israeli technology company that uses AI to solve challenges within the construction industry has been named Construction Software of the Year at the London Construction Awards and Innovation of the Year at the Construction Computing Awards.
Buildots, founded by three graduates of the Israeli Defense Forces, collects data using hardhat-mounted 360° cameras and processes it using AI. This enables construction teams to make informed decisions based on accurate information, significantly improving resource efficiency, reducing costly errors and saving time.
The technology is currently used across the UK, Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia.
The awards are a nice nod to the Israeli tech scene in general and signify a shift in the multi-trillion dollar, notoriously archaic and inefficient construction industry, which is increasingly adopting AI and other technologies. Buildots also won both categories in which it was nominated at the recent Building Innovation Awards: Most Innovative New Software Product and Most Innovative On-Site Monitoring Tool.
Buildots co-founder and Chief Product Officer Aviv Leibovici says: “These awards go a long way in showing us the industry’s confidence in our technology and empower us to continue providing construction business leaders with better visibility and control of their projects. We are proud to have been recognised for our exceptional product and trusted to lead the way to better efficiency and visibility in the construction industry.”
Reports have indicated that construction has been slow to adopt technology compared to other industries but Leibovici argues that “the main issue is that construction has seen less relevant technology offered to it compared to other industries. When you combine that with low margins that make spending on sort-of-relevant technologies impossible or illogical, the industry has had less technology implemented”.
How does the Buildots tech work? A member of the project team walks the site with a 360-degree GoPro camera attached to their hard hat. The system captures a video as this person is going about their day, walking in and out of different areas. This video is then analysed, compared to the project’s design (BIM) and the programme, providing a dashboard system that shows progress vs plan, pace of work, delays, incomplete installation, deviations from design and more.
The idea came about in 2017, 10 years after co-founders Roy Danon, Yakir Sudry and Leibovici met in the IDF’s elite Talpiot unit. Without prior experience in or knowledge of the construction industry, the trio spent six months researching projects to better understand the challenges that construction companies and contractors face.
“There are many different challenges in construction, but from our point of view it all starts from the difficulty in controlling processes due to lack of accurate information. We help tackle a part of this challenge, and we believe technology is relevant to help with others as well, for example in the design phase.”
The Buildots tech was first deployed in the UK – even before Israel – and remains the company’s most developed market. UK customers include Wates – one of the UK’s largest privately-owned construction, development, and property services companies – and EcoWorld, a leading international firm developing a number of sustainable projects in London. Globally, clients include Tidhar – Israel’s largest construction company, Build Group – a leading American contractor, and others across Europe, the US and the Middle East.
Headquartered in Tel Aviv, Buildots has an office in London, where Leibovici, who leads the company’s relationship with the British construction industry, lives.
He says the UK construction market is far more advanced than Israel’s. “This is true on all fronts – health and safety, sustainability, project team structure and focus, and more.”
In just over four years, the company has raised £88 million; most recent investments were led by TLV Partners, Lightspeed Ventures, Viola Group and OG Tech, in addition to Tidhar group and other private investors who invested in earlier stages.
Does Leibovici see other opportunities for tech and construction going forward? “Wow, many. I think this is just the beginning. Construction is a manufacturing industry that has historically lacked the control tools that exist in other manufacturing environments. I expect technology to reach every part of construction over the next 5-10 years and transform the industry’s productivity.”
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