CATEC has played a leading role in the European BEEYONDERS project, an initiative under the Horizon Europe 2022–2025 programme that has recently concluded and which aimed to revolutionise the construction industry through the use of cutting-edge technologies such as collaborative robotics, autonomous vehicles, additive manufacturing, smart wearables, digital twins and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This project, led by Acciona Construcción and bringing together 25 partners, including companies, technology centres and universities, had as its main objective to improve efficiency, safety and quality in the construction of various infrastructure projects, whilst reducing environmental impact through the use of these new technologies. With a focus on European technological sovereignty, the project has also extended its scope to Japan, having collaborated with experts from that country on a case study of its application in the field of maritime construction.
CATEC’s work within the BEEYONDERS project has focused on developing autonomous capabilities for aerial robots in various construction environments, including roads – where AI algorithms have been used to carry out real-time maintenance – and indoor environments, where fully autonomous navigation and mapping algorithms for drones have been developed. Indeed, the greatest technological advances have been made in indoor environments, buildings and tunnels under construction, where GNSS positioning systems are not available and positioning must be achieved using on-board sensors.
The aerial robot deployed by CATEC has proved most valuable in tunnels under construction, as when the ‘drill and blast’ method is used, following each explosive detonation to advance the tunnel, workers must wait between 45 and 60 minutes for the smoke and harmful gases to clear, causing stoppages that seriously hamper the progress of the works.
This autonomous drone is capable of entering the tunnel entirely on its own, exploring it right up to the face of the excavation and returning without any human intervention. Furthermore, throughout the navigation process — in a lightless environment with smoke and reduced visibility — it generates a real-time 3D map that the site operator can use after the drone has exited, to measure progress or ascertain the exact condition of the tunnel interior. This system has been evaluated in two real tunnels, demonstrating the repeatability of the fully autonomous navigation system and real-time mapping of the environment.
Although similar solutions exist on the market, the unique value of this drone developed by CATEC lies in its ability to explore environments with poor visibility completely autonomously, whilst simultaneously generating a real-time 3D map.
To validate the quality of the generated model, it was compared with the model obtained using a total station, which is considered the gold standard for cartographic accuracy. The comparison showed that whilst the total station takes several days to complete the mapping, the drone delivers a map with a low margin of error in just 8 minutes, achieving high accuracy in a significantly shorter time. Furthermore, by comparing maps generated at different stages of the project, CATEC’s drone system is capable of accurately measuring the actual progress of the excavation, thereby also serving as a tool for monitoring and managing the works.
