ABSTRACT
In the mid-1980s, a research post-graduate at Brunel University wrote a foresightful essay for the CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building) essay competition. That essay indicated that there would be fewer people on construction sites and more use of robotics, prefabrication and new materials. That particular look into the future was entitled “Wot no people?” The essay won an honourable mention rather than the first prize. However, the vision portrayed in that essay is now nearing reality on our construction sites with the use of exoskeletons, robotic construction methods, intelligent craneage, the use of drones and photogrammetry to track progress and a whole host of other digital and technological advances.
