June - 2020CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM8We are now in what experts are calling the "Fourth Industrial Revolution." The first, of course, came with the transition to new manufacturing processes, including the development of machine tools and rise of the factory system, around the turn of the 19th century. The second involved a period of intense industrialization through the end of the 19th century and through the world wars, prompted by large-scale iron and steel production, electricity, the invention of the internal combustible engine and the assembly line spurring mass production. The term was resurrected in the 2000s when economists labeled the digital age the third industrial revolution, where mainframe and personal computing, the Internet and mobile telephony were introduced into business and society in general. Now we're into the fourth--the era of big data, robotics, artificial intelligence and the other incredible technologies that have changed our world over the last decade. The construction industry essentially missed the third industrial revolution. While other industries were completely shifting their product delivery model to leverage the power of the digital age, our industry largely stuck to its typical processes. But that era is over. The digital transformation of the construction industry is well underway, and it's changing everything. Thanks to cloud-based tools and mobile devices, FROM DRONES TO THE CLOUD: HOW DIGITAL TOOLS ARE CHANGING CONSTRUCTIONBY TERRY ROBBINS, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, STRUCTURE TONEIN MYOPINION
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