The construction sector is one of the largest consumers of resources and one of the main generators of waste worldwide. In the European Union, 1.8 billion tonnes of materials are extracted annually, approximately half of which are used in construction activities. Additionally, construction and demolition waste (C&DW), which includes materials such as concrete, wood, metals, plastics and bricks, represents one of the most significant sources of waste, amounting to nearly 800 million tonnes per year.

The construction sector is also responsible for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this context emerges the DISCOVER project, led by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC). This initiative combines advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and building information modelling (BIM) to create a comprehensive system that transforms material management and promotes waste reduction.

Construction: a giant to transform
The construction sector suffers from a lack of efficient processes for identifying, reusing and recycling materials, especially during demolition phases. This has resulted in fragmented management that fails to harness the potential of emerging technologies. Currently, demolition processes often generate large quantities of waste, with limited options for recycling and reuse.

DISCOVER is a project that aims to develop an integrated solution to address the sector’s waste and emission challenges. The key? A combination of tools and technologies that enables the efficient, sustainable and circular management of construction materials. The project is led by Alba Pérez Gracia, a researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, a professor at the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering (ETSEIB) and director of the Industrial Equipment Design Centre (CDEI). She states that “this project aims to contribute to the incorporation of digital, automated and robotic technologies into the construction sector.” She adds: “We want to help create precision demolition based on information access for all stakeholders, improving process efficiency and the recovery and reuse of materials.”

Thus, the three pillars of DISCOVER are:

• Real-time data capture and analysis: Thanks to advanced robotics, sensors and artificial intelligence technologies, materials and components in existing constructions can be continuously identified and analysed. Autonomous robotic systems will be developed for data capture and analysis, and artificial intelligence algorithms will be implemented to classify and quantify construction materials. This will provide detailed information about materials in existing buildings.
• Optimising demolition processes using BIM-based protocols: Using building information modelling (BIM), the system will measure and manage materials, optimise demolition and material recovery processes and minimise costs and environmental impacts. This technology facilitates identifying which materials can be recovered and reused and how to do so most efficiently.
• Creating a secondary materials database: The project will establish a database offering traceability and accessibility to recovered materials, promoting their reuse and recycling in new projects.

Ultimately, the DISCOVER project not only contributes to environmental sustainability but also creates new economic opportunities for the construction and recycling industries. The combination of technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and BIM paves the way for a future in which the construction sector can be much more efficient, minimising its environmental impact.

The initiative will run for four years, with a total budget of €5,997,208.50, funded by the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe. A consortium of 14 partners from eight European countries is participating. From the UPC, which leads the project, it features researchers from the research groups in Analysis and Technology of Structures and Materials (ATEM) and Geophysics and Earthquake Engineering (GIES), the Industrial Equipment Design Centre - Machine Dynamics (CDEI-DM) and the Innovation and Technology Centre (CIT UPC).