Internet of Things

Five teams of University of Melbourne students and alumni have worked tirelessly to design IoT solutions under the guidance of their academic and industry mentors. After impressive presentations, the winners were announced. These students will now be presenting their findings during this informative event. 

Internet of Things (IoT) is a group of interconnected devices such as chips, software, and sensors that collect and transfer data over a wireless network to a cloud platform where the computer process, analyse and integrate the data. As one of the most transforming innovations in the built environment, including construction, the range of applications is vast to help unlock productivity growth as well as improving other operational and managerial aspects of assets across the life cycle. The wealth of data produced by the system enables more predictive and prescriptive decision-making, which eventually assists in continuous improvements. When combined with BIM, the value of IoT implementation in the built environment cannot be overemphasized.

In the wake of the prevailing COVID‐19 pandemic, the benefits of IoT implementation appear even more immeasurable as it can support the resilience of built environments and society at large. This IoT case competition was aimed to educate students on the application of IoT in construction engineering and project management. Based on the real‐world context, the competition encourages students to design IoT solutions in cross‐disciplinary teams towards a selected use case using research and critical thinking. Teams had the opportunity to engage with practitioners during the competition period. Winners were announced in March last year.

Nibbles and drinks will be offered between each presentation. It will also be the perfect opportunity to engage with your peers!

Limited capacity - Register now to avoid disappointment!

Please note that as per the current COVID-19 regulations, only fully vaccinated people can attend this event.

For more details about each presentations, please read below.

Team L&L: Lu Deng, Melbourne School of Design and Lloyd Hsieh Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning
Hiring an appropriate construction mechanical plant contributes to operational efficiency and the project’s success. Some of the major obstacles for contractors to hire safe and efficient plant services include the lack of market information, lack of access to data for risks and productivity assessment, and shortage of supplies. The proposed IoT application prototypes an intermediary platform between the rental companies and the contractors through the IoT‐based technology, contributing to streamlining the procurement process. Through the platform, effective information and real‐time data on individual equipment’s location, availability and condition are available to both suppliers and renters.

Team Safe Sense: Mayank Bandil, Melbourne School of Design, Nesia Cahyono, Melbourne School of Design and Hwai‐Saint Tan, Faculty of Science
Among other industries, construction records the highest number of accidents in the world, and the third highest rate of fatalities in Australia. According to the Safe Work Australia, 36.5% of the fatalities in construction are caused by activities related to moving objects: being hit by moving objects, vehicle collision, being trapped between stationary and moving objects and being trapped by moving machinery. In the current practice, warning systems related to the moving objects are operated manually by the workers on site. The proposed IoT application is an early warning system. If a worker comes in close proximity to a moving machine, the machine operator and worker both will receive a warning depending on the magnitude of the risk. The solution is based on distance‐based sensors installed in machines and workers’ helmets. All the information received from the sensors are displayed on a real‐time dashboard for the site and safety manager to monitor. The solution is projected to reap significant cost saving by reducing workplace injury and fatalities.

Team Protrack: Felicia Yap, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, Husain Seva, Melbourne School of Design, Mayan Agarwal, Melbourne School of Engineering and Hailey (Hang) Zhai, Melbourne School of Design
Progress tracking and construction schedule updating plays a vital role in construction project management. Current methods of progress tracking and schedule updating are labour‐intensive and time‐consuming, which result in error‐prone decision‐making. The proposed software can facilitate project team’s corrective decision‐making by visualising the construction progress for its assessment with the application of laser scanning technology generating a 3D as‐built model. The model is coupled with the automated construction schedule updates achieved by the software.