The use of cyber-physical systems in temporary structures - An exploratory study

The construction industry has had a high record of structural failures and safety problems for decades. Some of these relate to the inadequacy or instability of temporary structures. In many cases, these structures are regarded as static structures without appropriate monitoring of temporal changes in their stability. Developments in information and communications technologies, notably the advent of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), are changing the way in which structures are monitored. While significant deployments are being made in the structural health monitoring of constructed facilities, such as bridges, dams and other civil infrastructure, inadequate attention has been paid to temporary structures. With the bidirectional coordination possible between physical artefacts and their virtual representations, CPS offer an approach that can facilitate the monitoring and active control of temporary structures in such a way as to prevent structural failures and safety hazards on the job site. This paper reviews the key features of CPS, examines current CPS applications in the built environment and analyzes the applicability, potential benefits and barriers for CPS application to temporary structures. It identifies the promising application areas, and discusses how CPS could be applied in these contexts and the potential benefits.