L122 : The Future of AI in Construction - Insights from Dr. Ranjit Suman’s Research

An interview with Dr. Ranjit Suman, a construction technology researcher, about his career journey and insights on AI applications in construction. He discusses his background starting from civil engineering studies in India to PhD research on knowledge systems and reinforcement learning for construction scheduling in the UK. Key topics include leveraging codified knowledge instead of large datasets for AI in construction, implementing a reinforcement learning algorithm to generate construction schedules, and insights on construction analytics, blockchain, metaverse and the future of the construction sector. Overall, the interview provides perspectives on Dr. Suman's cutting-edge research to integrate AI methods like reinforcement learning into the construction industry for applications like optimized scheduling. 00:00 - Introduction 00:33 - Ranjit's background and journey 02:00 - Education and early interest in construction technology 03:00 - Internship experience and competitions 04:00 - Graduate studies at IIT and research 05:00 - PhD research on construction automation 06:00 - Implementing research on real construction projects 07:00 - Postdoc research on semantics and machine learning 08:00 - Idea for decentralized construction technology 09:00 - PhD research on reinforcement learning for construction scheduling 10:00 - Research at ETH Zurich 11:00 - Current projects 11:24 - Applications of AI in construction 12:00 - Scheduling and optimization 13:00 - Computer vision 14:00 - Ranjit's interest in reinforcement learning 15:00 - Knowledge systems instead of datasets 16:00 - Implementing reinforcement learning for floor plan design 17:00 - Modeling constraints for construction scheduling 18:00 - Providing data-driven insights to managers 19:00 - Benefits seen in industry collaborations 20:00 - Growth of reinforcement learning research 21:00 - Need for open benchmark construction datasets 25:00 - Potential for industry platforms and standardization 30:00 - Importance of systemic innovations 31:00 - Digital twin for full building lifecycle 32:00 - Knowledge blockchain system 33:00 - Opinions on metaverse and blockchain for construction 34:00 - Real certificates and accountability with blockchain 35:00 - Metaverse for collaboration 38:00 - Interactive models instead of separate metaverses 39:00 - State of research in construction analytics 40:00 - Warning systems and predictive analytics 41:00 - Research role models and inspirations 42:00 - Influential books 43:00 - Advice for young construction tech researchers 44:00 - Importance of systemic innovations 45:00 - Closing message on sustainability and systemic innovation construction technology, artificial intelligence, AI in construction, construction industry, civil engineering, PhD research, knowledge systems, reinforcement learning, construction scheduling, construction analytics, blockchain, metaverse, future of construction, optimized scheduling, research interview, career journey, researcher interview, AI applications, engineering research