The construction industry has failed to adopt and apply new information system technology as quickly as most other U.S. industries. Specifically, construction field site management and supervision has seen little improvement in techniques for data gathering, progress reporting, and communications between both field and corporate office. The objective of the research is to create a "wearable" information system device that provides up-to-date project information such as budget, schedule, and change order details and enables the supervisor to easily and accurately record job progress and construction site conditions. The research focuses on the creation of a prototype apparatus using commercially available components such as a portable micro-computer, a miniature display monitor, a voice recognition system, and a bar code reader. The interfacing devices (monitor, microphone, and speakers), can be fitted to a standard construction hard hat. Additionally, a voice-activated menuing system will provide the field supervisor with an array of site management applications. Finally, a detailed set of design specifications is being developed to be used to construct the next generation of wearable information systems. The introduction of such a device into the construction industry market could yield great benefits in construction site productivity, and should lead to reduced errors caused by inaccurate or outdated information. Widespread implementation of wearable information systems should greatly improve the effectiveness of communications on the modern construction site.The potential commercial application as described by the awardee: Research will result in the provision of a commercially available construction site information system that is entirely contained within a hard hat, utilizing a voice recognition system. The apparatus could execute both in-house developed and commercially available site management software.
