Internet of Things in the Construction Industry: A General Overview

The development of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm over the past few years has gained increasing success and various fields of application. Thanks to the use of this technology, it is possible to visualise and share data on dedicated and easy-to-interface platforms. An Internet of Things network consists of sensors and actuators interconnected and communicating with each other in real time through computer applications. This technology has seen several applications in various sectors, such as automotive, healthcare, telecommunications, education, radically transforming their approach and perspectives. Similarly, the construction industry has also been able to take advantage of this technology and its benefits in various applications. In fact, the IoT paradigm is being applied either to improve construction site phases by connecting the various machines at work or for the sharing of information among all the players in the design phase, or in the complex concept of Smart Cities. The same concept is applied for environmental monitoring for the purpose of living comfort or for structural monitoring for the purpose of structural protection. The aim of this paper is to enrich the understanding of the various applications in the construction world through IoT. In conclusion, we address the new challenges of combining IoT and architectural design with BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology and the use of sensor data in the service of Machine Learning techniques.