The buzz of drones on construction sites is becoming ever more common, enabling crews to scan or inspect their work from above. At the same time, those drones can distract workers and cause accidents or injuries.
Under Zhenhua Zhu, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers are using an innovative virtual reality experiment to see how workers react to drones in a variety of simulated scenarios.
Construction Engineering and Management PhD student Wei Han, who is leading the project, says the research focuses on a few aspects of drone distraction hazards. Crucially, a drone buzzing near a worker can impair hazard recognition and reaction times.
“For this project, we know that different configurations will have different impacts on workers,” Han says. “We hope these findings will help inform whether drones should be limited to a certain distance from workers; what is the relation between drone size and distraction level. One of the most important outcomes of this study is to provide a foundational understanding of drone-related distractions, so drones can be used safely in the future.”
Wei Han sits by a computer screen showing a virtual testing ground. Han, a PhD student studying civil and environmental engineering, is leading a unique project to study how drones can safely be used around construction sites. Credit: Joel Hallberg.
In a set of experiments, 24 participants moved through a virtual construction site with and without drones present. They wore a virtual reality headset paired with handheld controllers and a special circular treadmill that allowed them to walk in place. The researchers measured the participants’ attention around potentially hazardous areas like fences, openings and ledges without drones, and again during drone intrusions. Some of the study participants worked for construction companies, while others had experience on construction sites as interns.
“Our results show a reduction in workers’ fixation time, which means that when a drone is present, they’re not as focused on those areas as they should be,” Han says. “So overall, that means they’re paying less attention to their surroundings and they might notice less.”
Just like looking at a cell phone can imperil a motorist, construction sites demand constant vigilance. Han says the team is planning to expand its virtual testing to explore how drones could affect tower crane operators, since cranes can be some of the most dangerous pieces of equipment on construction sites. In that scenario, a crane operator might be moving materials on site while a drone is flying in view. While that happens, the operator would need to keep the payload as stable as possible, while avoiding collisions.
The group is also collaborating with Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Fei Dai at West Virginia University to assess how drones affect construction worker stability. For that part of the study, workers will be painting—in virtual reality—while standing on simulated scaffolding with force plates that can measure their balance as drones fly by.
“Falling is the highest cause of fatalities and injuries in construction,” Han says.
Drones will likely continue to proliferate at construction sites as the technology develops. Now is the time to consider how tomorrow’s construction workers might interact with drones, and how they can do that safely.
“It’s better to be looking at this now, rather than waiting until drones are already a requirement on construction sites,” Han says.
The research team is also collaborating with Professor of Statistics Wei-Yin Loh at UW-Madison for assistance on experiment design insight and data analysis.
Zhu is the Mortensen Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The research is supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Featured image caption: UW-Madison civil and environmental engineering PhD student Wei Han demonstrates a virtual reality system his group, under Professor Zhenhua Zhu, is using to research how drones affect construction worker safety on work sites. Credit: Joel Hallberg.