DAWN OF THE DROIDS

摘要

Nearly four years ago, Balfour Beatty made a bold forecast. Rubbing its crystal ball, the UK's biggest construction firm predicted that, by 2050, building sites would be largely devoid of people. In this brave new world, robots would work in teams to build some sections of projects, while other parts would self-assemble, and drones would inspect the work. Humans would be reduced to the role of observers, monitoring multiple projects via 3D and 4D data. At the time, it felt like an ambitious statement, especially given the industry's notoriously slow uptake of new ideas and technologies. Balfour itself admitted it seemed "far-fetched". But it added: "Technology has already revolutionised contemporary life to such an extent that it's not so hard to imagine radical changes for construction."