Tablet and Wearable Computers for Integrated Design and Construction

Integrated design and construction teams rely on rapid information exchange between the design office and the point of work on site during construction. But existing means of communication are not compatible with the rugged setting of the construction jobsite, where both paper documents and electronic equipment may be easily damaged or destroyed. Recent advances in rugged, affordable, portable computers promise to dramatically improve communication between construction personnel at the point of work on site and their off-site collaborators. Using a wireless-enabled tablet or wearable computer, a field worker can access the project information needed to complete a task without ever leaving the point of work. Pen-based tablet computers are becoming a popular alternative to keyboard-input notebook computers. Wearable computers are in use today by emergency medical personnel, firefighters and others requiring extreme mobility and instantaneous information access at their point of work. This paper presents the results of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study on this new breed of wireless-enabled portable computers for integrated design and construction. It discusses opportunities for saving time and money on integrated projects, and issues in implementing this innovative technology. Results indicate that tablet and wearable computers may significantly reduce rework, while productivity decreased slightly when tablet and wearable computers were used.