Mobility One Selected for the 2026 Smart Construction Alliance Technology Demonstration Support Program

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will conduct field demonstrations of 10 AI, robotics, and automation technologies for the construction industry while supporting the growth of 12 promising smart construction companies.

MOLIT and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) announced on August 12 that they had selected 10 projects for the Smart Construction Alliance Technology Demonstration Support Program and 12 companies for the Promising Smart Construction Company Program, aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI, automation, and off-site construction technologies across the construction industry.

The Smart Construction Alliance Technology Demonstration Support Program provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have developed technologies and products but lack access to suitable test sites with opportunities to validate their solutions at actual construction sites operated by large and mid-sized construction companies. The program also provides financial support for the demonstrations.

The Smart Construction Alliance currently brings together approximately 380 organizations, including construction companies, universities, research institutes, and public agencies.

This year, the maximum demonstration funding per project has increased from KRW 15 million to KRW 25 million. The 10 technologies selected during the first half of the year will undergo six months of field testing during the second half of 2026 to verify their performance and practical applicability at construction sites.

Of the 10 selected projects, six are demand-driven projects, in which large and mid-sized construction companies identify technologies required at their sites and SMEs provide corresponding solutions.

Daewoo E&C and SierraBASE will demonstrate a SLAM-based crack inspection technology for underground areas of apartment complexes using rotating LiDAR and multiple sensors. The technology creates real-time digital representations of indoor spaces and quantitatively measures the location and size of cracks for use in inspection and maintenance.

Kolon Global and ContiLab will test a solution that combines intelligent edge cameras with Vision-Language Models (VLMs) to detect hazardous work activities and automatically generate safety management documents.

Dongbu Corporation and AngelSwing will demonstrate an AI-based unmanned inspection technology using drone stations to identify potential hazards associated with temporary earth-retaining structures and construction sites.

Kolon Global and Sunggun Engineering will demonstrate a system that automatically calculates the location, length, and width of cracks on bridge piers and girders using drone imagery. By inspecting structures that are difficult to access using aerial work platforms or suspended scaffolding, the technology is expected to reduce the risk of fall-related accidents.

Lotte E&C and Mobility One to Demonstrate Multi-Drone Autonomous Indoor Inspection Solution

Lotte Engineering & Construction and Mobility One will demonstrate a solution in which multiple drones autonomously operate indoors where Global Positioning System (GPS) signals are unavailable, inspecting construction deviations, work progress, potential hazards, and structural defects.

The demonstration is expected to verify the practical applicability of autonomous multi-drone operations in GPS-denied construction environments and their potential to improve the efficiency and safety of indoor inspection work.

Kolon Global and Youngshin will demonstrate a level-management system for apartment earthwork operations that tracks excavator bucket positions in real-time three-dimensional coordinates.

Four additional projects were selected under an open-proposal track, in which companies directly proposed their own technologies for demonstration.

Gongsaero will demonstrate a management system that digitizes surplus construction materials and off-book assets while quantifying reductions in waste and carbon emissions achieved through resource reuse.

SHLAB will test a technology that uses vision AI to analyze aggregate shape and particle-size distribution to ensure consistent ready-mixed concrete quality.

Connected Solution will demonstrate a preventive maintenance robot for bridges equipped with automated spraying modules for cleaning water, anti-carbonation agents, and surface hardeners, enabling maintenance work on high bridge piers.

PiQuant will test an IoT-based monitoring system that measures five types of hazardous gases at construction sites in real time and sends alerts to workers and site managers when abnormal conditions are detected.

The results of these demonstrations will be presented at the 2026 Smart Construction EXPO, scheduled to take place from November 25 to 27.

Meanwhile, the 12 companies selected as promising smart construction companies will receive various forms of support, including up to KRW 30 million for prototype development, disclosure through the Construction Industry Knowledge Information System (KISCON), and opportunities for technology demonstrations.

MOLIT had selected 20 companies annually from 2023 through 2025, but this year selected only 12 companies, placing greater emphasis on competitiveness and growth potential.

The selected companies include IT-One, which has developed a safety management platform combining construction robots and AI CCTV; Hansung Modular, which develops integrated panels combining structural, fire-resistance, insulation, finishing, and building-service functions; and KCT E&C, which has developed a collapse-risk monitoring system for communication dead zones.

Jehovah was selected for its automated construction-duration estimation solution combining weather data, statistical analysis, machine learning, and Large Language Models (LLMs). Upsite developed a multimodal AI construction-management platform that integrates and analyzes design documents, daily construction reports, photographs, and video footage. Next E&M presented a Smart Green Road system designed to simultaneously manage fugitive dust and flooding issues on roads.

SAIM has developed a safety management solution that automatically generates draft safety documents based on work information and detects hazards using AI video analysis. ICON provides edge AI CCTV capable of detecting fires and incidents such as workers collapsing in real time, while GLE Tech has developed an IoT monitoring technology that detects early signs of abnormalities in dust collection, denitrification, and desulfurization facilities.

TritonNet was selected for its map-based system for monitoring hydrogen sulfide concentrations in confined spaces such as sewer systems and manholes. eBM Engineering has developed a three-dimensional construction safety simulation solution combining BIM with an AI physics engine, while BIM Factory has developed an integrated search platform that enables users to locate CAD drawings and specific drawing locations using natural-language queries.

MOLIT will present certificates to the selected companies on August 15 and hold a meeting with the promising smart construction companies to discuss challenges they face and potential follow-up support measures.

Kim Myung-jun, Director General for Technology and Safety Policy at MOLIT, said that continued support for field demonstrations and the development of promising companies is helping establish a smart construction ecosystem. He added that the ministry will continue to pursue a major transformation of the construction industry through initiatives such as the introduction of data-driven Physical AI.

Source: https://www.skyedaily.com/news/news_view.html?ID=307652