A long time has passed since Google Glass first put forth its revolutionary idea of wearable tech and then promptly fizzled out. Wearable devices, or wearable sensors, are not much more streamlined and easier to incorporate alongside other sensor-based technology. Not only that, but companies are looking at how to use these devices to minimize construction-site hazards and maximize healthy work environments for employees. The following five devices are emerging technology on the cutting edge of construction’s future and are making waves, sometimes before they even hit the market.
Smart Watches
Smart watches blended into everyday life so seamlessly, many people have overlooked the possibilities they offer for jobs that incorporate work hazards, manual labor, and teamwork. Certainly a watch that functions as a phone, email app, and calendar can be useful there, but there are other possibilities. The Garmin Fenix, for instance, is so rugged that there’s very little issue of breakage, and it can be used as a GPS tracker (for site safety), an LED flashlight, and a wellness monitor. What could be done for worker health and safety if a smartwatch tracked not only heartrate but microsleep from fatigue? What about mental health? Early alerts for exhaustion or depression could be addressed earlier and more effectively with heartrate and brainwave metrics, although steps would need to be taken to assure workplace compliance with HIPAA and a guarantee against retaliatory attacks or discriminatory hiring based on neurodivergence or genetic conditions.
Smart Helmets
While hard hats may be the most straightforward of wearable sensors, they are perhaps the most immediately useful. Smart helmets, like those made by Technosoft Engineering, have cameras built right into them, which can allow workers to capture images or videos of a site issue and share it with a supervisor or client. They also feature the ability to communicate via a two-way connection for a hands-free report or check-in. While the safety considerations are immense, the efficiency of gadgets like this cannot be overlooked.
Smart Vests
Falls account for thousands of construction-site deaths each year, and one of the ways in which wearable devices are making a difference is in how workers can relay critical information to authorities, healthcare workers, and supervisors in an emergency. smart vests are a great solution to the danger of workplace falls and other hazards. They can do everything from sensing falls to sending reports to lighting up in LED to detecting gas leaks, all while remaining an essential, high-vis piece of PPE.
Power-Producing Boots
Easily the entry with the widest application, the Sole Power industrial boots are a gamechanger for those both in construction and, well, anywhere else. Imagine a construction boot (or a hiking boot, or a military boot) that can charge devices with every step you take, including the sensors in said boot. No need for bulky battery packets—walking around the site takes care of the device itself and can power a phone, GPS, or even temperature tracker (to monitor environmental conditions that could cause harm). While this technology isn’t available quite yet, it promises to make things easier (and lighter) on and off the site.
AR Glasses
We’ve come full circle back to Google Glass, but now the product in question is The Atom, augmented reality glasses intended specifically for construction sites. These are essentially wearable computers—with competitive wi-fi, memory, and ram. The purpose, unlike previous entries, is highly technical. These are designed to allow the wearer to see models of a site or project and project it onto the actual construction. Accurate down to the millimeter, they can also help users spot potentially hazardous objects, obstacles, and ledges.