Komatsu Considers Using GPUs for Visualization/Analysis at Construction Sites

NVIDIA announced that it has entered into a partnership with Komatsu to introduce artificial intelligence to construction sites to enhance safety and efficiency.

At the GTC Japan event, held over two days starting on the 12th, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang explained that this partnership between the two companies focuses on how Komatsu can utilize NVIDIA's GPUs for the visualization and analysis of entire construction sites. Moving forward, the NVIDIA Jetson AI platform will serve as the brain of heavy equipment deployed at construction sites, aiming to improve safety and productivity.

At GTC Japan, the final event of the seven-part Global GPU Technology Conference held this year, CEO Jensen Huang stated, “With artificial intelligence being widely used across various industries, the next area to pioneer will be the field of autonomous intelligent machines.” He added, “Future machines and work sites will provide a more efficient and safer working environment by sensing surrounding conditions and continuously maintaining an alert posture. In particular, the construction and mining sectors will benefit significantly from these technological advancements.”

The construction sector is the most recent area to be pursued among the fields in which NVIDIA has entered into a series of agreements to promote innovative operational methods with leading companies across various industries. In addition to GE Healthcare and Nuance in the medical imaging field and FANUC in the robotics field, NVIDIA has partnered with 225 vehicle manufacturers, startups, and research institutes, including Audi, Tesla, Toyota, and Volvo in the autonomous driving field.

The construction sector where the advantages of artificial intelligence can be maximized

Construction sites are exposed to significant risks due to the operation of heavy equipment, uneven terrain, and continuous work activities. According to the Japan Construction Occupational Safety and Health Association, construction sites in Japan alone recorded 300 deaths and over 15,000 injuries last year.

In addition, Japan's construction industry is facing a crisis due to the increasingly severe labor shortage caused by the aging population. According to the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors, it is projected that approximately 1.1 million skilled workers—one-third of the 3.4 million active skilled workers in Japan (as of 2014)—will stop working within the next 10 years.

To solve recurring problems at construction sites, Komatsu launched the 'SMARTCONSTRUCTION' project in 2015, which connects data related to on-site workers and objects to improve safety and productivity at work sites. This project has been introduced to over 4,000 workplaces across Japan and is expected to be expanded domestically and internationally in the future.

Yuichi Iwamoto, CTO of Komatsu, stated, “We plan to start by integrating NVIDIA GPUs into Komatsu’s construction sites,” adding, “By leveraging NVIDIA’s expertise in image processing, visualization, and artificial intelligence, we will be able to transform the construction industry into the workplace of the future.”

NVIDIA GPUs will serve as an AI platform for analysis and visualization by communicating with drones and cameras at construction sites. This will be supported by the collaboration of companies that are members of NVIDIA’s Inception program, which supports AI startups, and partners of Komatsu. SkyCatch provides drones that collect and map 3D images at the edge to visualize the terrain of the work site, while OPTiM, a specialist in IoT management software, supplies applications to identify individuals and machines collected by surveillance cameras.

At the heart of this collaboration plays a key role in the credit card-sized NVIDIA Jetson platform, which enables AI computing at the edge. Operating in conjunction with NVIDIA's cloud technology, Jetson is to be mounted on cameras attached to Komatsu's construction equipment and used to prevent collisions or other accidents by immediately identifying nearby people and machinery through 360-degree filming.

In addition, Jetson is mounted on a stereo camera located at the top of construction equipment, enabling it to analyze rapidly changing work conditions in real time and provide situation-appropriate guidance to the equipment operator. In the future, high-resolution rendering and virtual simulation are expected to become possible alongside machine automation in the construction and mining sectors.