Ubiquitous Agent-Based Communication in Construction

A large amount of information is generated, shared, and exchanged during a construction project. However, several studies have shown that effective communication in construction is seriously hampered due to a lack of appropriate data channels, inaccurate data transfers, long delays, etc. Web-based and wireless communication technologies, however, offer a rich set of new tools to bridge those chasms but may also overwhelm the many potential users with too much information. To address the apparent danger of information overload, agent mediated communication concepts have been designed to autonomously manage large amounts of information exchanges. This paper presents the result of an effort to test the functionality of ubiquitous communication applications over a wireless fidelity infranet installed on an “unfriendly” construction site. Various applications were successfully designed, built, and tested, demonstrating that a well designed 801.11b backbone network is able to link today’s “islands of information” on a working site. The value of this paper to researchers and practitioners is the lessons learned and the outcome of a variety of field tests with the prototype system.