High-end contractor Beltane Construction has been trialling new AI-based technology from Oculo.ai for the last six months.

And now it is helping sites operate safely by limiting the need for professionals to be physically present on jobs so they can work effectively from home.

The technology gives project managers, quantity surveyors and health and safety inspectors an interactive 360-degree view of sites.

It was originally designed for documenting weekly progress and completing reports remotely.

But during the current crisis it offers a new way of working on construction projects to follow social distancing rules.

A single individual wears a small 360-degree camera on a hard hat as they make a detailed inspection of the site.

Images are then analysed using computer vision algorithms to uniquely geolocate every frame of the recording in 3D space and create a picture of the site that can be viewed and navigated online.

This visual record can then be used by the construction team and their clients to assess progress remotely, as well as to perform other types of audits, valuations and inspections.

Kevin Murray, director of Beltane Construction said: “Last week, we carried out a Health & Safety audit from the safe distance of our homes, with Project Managers, Health & Safety Managers and the Directors interacting within the virtual site environment.

The site team working together remotely

“Not only is the software proving to be of huge commercial benefit in the scenarios we’re trialling it for, but it is also enabling us to monitor sites in other parts of the country more closely by significantly reducing the travel required.

“And most importantly now, it is allowing us to minimise the number of people onsite whilst still continuing essential work at a safe distance.”