Listen: Automation Starting to Change Surveying and Mapping of Construction Sites

Most major construction projects involve a significant number of human participants to reach completion successfully.

A new collaboration between Israeli tech startup Airobotics and Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering Ltd, is making a dramatic change in those personnel requirements. The new joint venture, named “Shapir-Ashtrom”, is using completely automated drones for aerial data gathering and measurements, including stockpile assessments and construction progress monitoring.

The pilotless drones, which are the 1st of their kind in the global market, can complete tasks within a 5Km radius of the central docking station in a 45 minute timeframe, a speed that would be impossible through traditional surveying methods.

The 1st project for this new partnership is the construction of a new seaport in Haifa, Israel, currently the largest port construction in the country. The new port will cover approximately 810 acres, with the ability to process around 1.1 million containers per year and will be valued at just over $1B.