Just in time for the holidays is a gear guide for contractors. Check out new wearable safety devices, wifi access points and remote AR for Hololens. Create 3-D mapping from photos and see what’s new in 3-D concrete printing.

Products

DEWALT® Launches Jobsite WiFi Access Points

DEWALT®’s Jobsite WiFi Access Points (DCT100) uses existing ISP to provide jobsite wireless internet coverage. With an operating temperature of -4°F to 122°F, the Access Points are IP67 rated to protect against dust and water submersion. The Jobsite WiFi mobile app will be available soon. DEWALT Jobsite WiFi Access Points can be installed to a user’s optimal orientation on a carabiner, anchor, tripod or wall mount. As the jobsite changes and progresses, the DEWALT Jobsite WiFi Access Points self-heal and adapt, retaining connectivity on site and helping to keep users connected to their data.

Guardian Angel Personal Safety Device

Guardian Angel’s Elite Series multi-use personal safety device features a lithium ion rechargeable battery; built-in rare earth magnet; multiple mounting accessories; high-powered LEDs with a 360° light pattern; independent front, rear and top light controls; and a polycarbonate waterproof exterior. One touch activation of the device allows for quick response and high visibility.

Software & In the Cloud

Assignar SAAS Platform Expands to US

Assignar cloud based SaaS platform provides end-to-end real-time management of a company’s workforce, assets and compliance with scheduling, compliance, communication, workforce management and tracking in real time.

Scope AR Live AR Video Calling Platform for Microsoft HoloLens

Scope AR’s Remote AR for Microsoft HoloLens brings live remote support with 3-D annotation to Microsoft HoloLens. With spatial tracking, field technicians can use the Microsoft HoloLens to connect to a remote expert and receive assistance and perform tasks with speed and accuracy, since they no longer need to hold a mobile device. Remote AR improves knowledge transfer and retention by combining AR with live video streaming, voice, 3-D animation, screen sharing, whiteboarding and world-locked annotations.

Cupix Maps Photos in 3-D

Cupix maps photos in 3-D to create a 3-D model. Cupix calculates photo location using photogrammetry that creates a 3-D point cloud and 3-D mesh. 4-D is also available with Cupix Review for Comparing 3-D Tours which allows users to compare multiple 3-D tours taken on different days. Users can comment and reply to other’s comments with 3-D annotations and viewpoint snapshot links.

Partnerships & Acquisitions

EYP Trials Embr Wave Thermal Bracelet From Boston Tech Startup

EYP, Inc. has partnered with Embr Labs, a technology startup founded by four MIT students, to test Embr Labs’ Embr Wave. This comfort tech wearable leverages the human body’s natural response to temperature to provide thermal relief by warming or cooling on the user’s wrist. By giving the wearer direct control over temperature, the goals of the Embr Wave wearable are to improve human comfort, fuel productivity and present opportunities to conserve office-wide energy consumption.

Video & Cool Stuff

Additive manufacturing removes design limitations for 3-D Printed concrete components

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are experimenting with various processes, including selective binding, to create intricate, bionic structures from real concrete. A prototype of a component created using 3-D printing is a 20 centimeter high thin-walled concrete pipe whose interior contains intricate bracing which stabilizes the structure, which makes it just as stable as conventional cast concrete. The researchers have also come up with an extrusion system for processing lightweight wood-concrete: the mixture of cement, wood and water is pumped through a nozzle, creating strands of concrete as much as approximately two centimeters thick. The nozzle is mounted on a computer-controlled robot arm that precisely places the strands on top of one another to form the desired structure.

BuiltWorld’s Gear Guide for Construction – It’s Not Too Late for Holiday Giving

Just in time for holiday giving is BuiltWorld’s Gear Guide 2017 for VDC specialists, construction managers and craft workers. It’s a master list of the 40 most groundbreaking and impactful technological gear for industry professionals today, including IoT devices, scanners, jobsite WiFi, drones, AR/VR, 3-D cameras and tech gear to get the job done.

Technology Advances and Prevention through Design Help Improve Construction Safety

A study from Dodge Data & Analytics reveals that technologies used on jobsites and the practice of Prevention through Design (PtD) improve construction safety. The study, conducted in partnership with the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) and United Rentals and published in the Safety Management in the Construction Industry 2017 SmartMarket Report, is the third in a series of studies that demonstrate the financial and project benefits that contractors reap from their safety investments. It also shows the impact that new technologies being deployed onsite, from building information modeling (BIM) to drones to wearable devices, have on improving safety. Finally, it suggests that active consideration of safety during building design, known formally as Prevention through Design (PtD) is still an emerging practice, but one well-positioned for wider acceptance in the design and construction industry.