• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.367-374
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• 2024

The detection and tracking of construction workers in building sites generate valuable data on unsafe behavior, work productivity, and construction progress. Many computer vision-based tracking approaches have been investigated and their capabilities for tracking construction workers have been tested. However, the dynamic nature of real-world construction environments, where workers wear similar outfits and move around in often cluttered and occluded regions, has severely limited the accuracy of these methods. Herein, to enhance the performance of vision-based tracking, a new framework is proposed which seamlessly integrates three computer vision components: detection, tracking, and re-identification (DTR). In DTR, a tracking algorithm continuously tracks identified workers using a detector and tracker in combination. Then, a re-identification model extracts visual features and utilizes them as appearance descriptors in subsequent frames during tracking. Empirical results demonstrate that the proposed method has excellent multi-object-tracking accuracy with better accuracy than an existing approach. The DTR framework can efficiently and accurately monitor workers, ensuring safer and more productive dynamic work environments.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.336-338
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• 2015

This research is to propose an applicable framework for real-time health surveillance and safety monitoring at construction sites. First this study aims at finding (1) a framework for health surveillance that is likely to benefit employers and employees in the industry, (2) a valid way to identify factors or conditions with potential health concerns that can occur under particular work conditions, (3) An effective way to apply wireless/mobile sensors to construction workers using real-time/live data transmission methods, and (4) A relationship between a worker's vital signs and job site environment. Biosensors for physiological response and devices for weather/work related data are to collect real-time data. Relationships between jobs and physiological responses are analyzed and factors that touched particularly contributing to certain responses are identified. When data are incorporated with tasks, factors affecting tasks can be identified to estimate the magnitude of the factors. By comparing work and normal responses possible precautionary actions can be considered. In addition, the study would be lead to improving (1) trade-specific dynamic work schedules for workers which would be based on various factors affecting worker health level and (2) reevaluating worker productivity with health status and work schedule, thereby seeking ways to maximize worker productivity. Through a study, the paper presents expected benefits of implementing health monitoring.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.303-310
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• 2023

A single vision system limits the ability to accurately understand the spatial constraints and interactions between robots and dynamic workers caused by gantry robots and collaborative robots during production manufacturing. In this paper, we propose a 3D pose registration method for dynamic workers based on a multi-domain vision system for safety monitoring in manufacturing environments. This method uses OpenPose, a deep learning-based posture estimation model, to estimate the worker's dynamic two-dimensional posture in real-time and reconstruct it into three-dimensional coordinates. The 3D coordinates of the reconstructed multi-domain vision system were aligned using the ICP algorithm and then registered to a single 3D coordinate system. The proposed method showed effective performance in a manufacturing process environment with an average registration error of 0.0664 m and an average frame rate of 14.597 per second.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.423-430
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• 2024

The task of vision safety monitoring in construction environments presents a formidable challenge, owing to the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of these settings. Despite the advancements in artificial intelligence, the nuanced analysis of small or tiny personal protective equipment (PPE) remains a complex endeavor. In response to this challenge, this paper introduces an innovative safety monitoring system, specifically designed to enhance the safety monitoring of working both at ground level and at elevated heights. This novel system integrates a suite of sophisticated technologies: instance segmentation, shape classification, object tracking, a visualization report, and a real-time notification module. Collectively, these components coalesce to deliver a safety monitoring solution, ensuring a higher standard of protection for construction workers. The experimental results…..

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.879-886
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• 2024

In the dynamic construction industry, particularly within the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), ensuring worker safety in high-risk environments is a critical challenge. This study explores the integration of wearable technology in construction safety, focusing on its potential to enhance personal protective equipment (PPE). The primary goal of this study is to understand the factors influencing USACE employees' acceptance and adoption of wearable technology. Additionally, the research aims to assess the experiences of employees who have already used such technology to identify its practical benefits and levels of user satisfaction. A mixed-method approach was employed to gather qualitative insights from interviews with USACE safety experts and quantitative data from an online survey of USACE personnel. The findings indicate a general reluctance among workers to adopt wearable technology for monitoring work activities, mainly due to privacy concerns, usability issues, and perceived additional workload. However, there is interest in technologies that provide direct safety benefits, such as hazard alerts. This study illuminates the gap between the potential benefits of wearable technology and its current level of acceptance in the construction industry. It identifies the need for strategies to enhance worker acceptance and offers recommendations for future research.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.1311-1311
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• 2024

Recent advances in artificial intelligence technology have led to active research aimed at systematically managing the productivity and environmental impact of major management targets such as heavy equipment at construction sites. However, challenges arise due to phenomena like partial occlusions, resulting from the dynamic working environment of construction sites (e.g., equipment overlapping, obstruction by structures), which impose practical constraints on precisely monitoring heavy equipment. To address these challenges, this study aims to enhance automated multi-object tracking (MOT) in scenarios involving long-term occlusions across consecutive frames for heavy construction equipment. To achieve this, two methodologies are employed to address long-term occlusions at construction sites: (i) tracking-by-detection and (ii) video inpainting with generative adversarial networks (GANs). Firstly, this study proposes integrating FairMOT with a tracking-by-detection algorithm like ByteTrack or SMILEtrack, demonstrating the robustness of re-identification (Re-ID) in occlusion scenarios. This method maintains previously assigned IDs when heavy equipment is temporarily obscured and then reappears, analyzing location, appearance, or motion characteristics across consecutive frames. Secondly, adopting video inpainting with GAN algorithms such as ProPainter is proposed, demonstrating robustness in removing objects other than the target object (e.g., excavator) during the video preprocessing and filling removed areas using information from surrounding pixels or other frames. This approach addresses long-term occlusion issues by focusing on a single object rather than multiple objects. Through these proposed approaches, improvements in the efficiency and accuracy of detection, tracking, and activity recognition for multiple heavy equipment are expected, mitigating MOT challenges caused by occlusions in dynamic construction site environments. Consequently, these approaches are anticipated to play a significant role in systematically managing heavy equipment productivity, environmental impact, and worker safety through the development of advanced construction and management systems.