Drone-Related Deployment Limitations in Construction: A Research Roadmap

Abstract

Drones’ recent advancements, distinctive flying capabilities, and ability to efficiently accomplish tasks have allowed these platforms to shift from passively following humans’ control commands to actively collaborating and interacting with other robots and construction personnel on jobsites. This shift has highlighted the need for advanced research on deployment challenges associated with drone usage on construction jobsites with the aim of better integrating this technology in the domain. A narrative review was conducted to propose a research roadmap and discuss the challenges and requirements of drone-related deployment limitations in construction. The paper categorizes and discusses four elements of this proposed roadmap: (1) drone technology improvement; (2) operator training and psychological effect assessment; (3) flight space and weather condition adaptation; and (4) legislative and ethical rule standardization on jobsites. The contribution of this study is to better understand the human-drone interaction requirements that would ultimately ensure safe and efficient drone adoption in construction.