Happy New Year to our readers at Grading & Excavation Contractor!
Just a few months ago, I wrote about the future of automation in construction, describing a newly developed robotic arm called Archimedes that is capable of very precise movements, specifically with fragile materials like mirrors and glass.
We’re just about a week into the New Year and already there are a couple of new developments being discussed in the world of automation and artificial intelligence. According to author Denise Grady in the NY Times, a new technique for analyzing tissue samples is being introduced to the operating room to help brain surgeons diagnose tumors. The process uses both AI and novel imaging techniques, and has reduced the time spent analyzing the tissue down from 20–30 minutes to just 2.5 minutes. “Unlike the usual method, the new one does not destroy the sample, so the tissue can be used again for further testing,” Grady writes. This new technique may have applications in other medical procedures where it’s helpful to quickly analyze tissue samples during an operation.
Grady also wrote an article about a type of AI that is able to read mammograms and spot breast cancer, often performing better than radiologists. The article explains that “Although developers of A.I. often say it is intended to help radiologists, not replace them, Dr. Lehman [director of breast imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital] predicted that eventually, computers alone will read at least some mammograms, without help from humans. ‘We’re onto something,’ she said. ‘These systems are picking up things a human might not see, and we’re right at the beginning of it.’”
While these last two recent examples are directly applicable to the medical industry, we know that developments in one area can often translate to another industry. As the technology continues to develop, maybe we will see an application for automation- and AI-based tools like these in the construction industry.
