AI-Driven Assistant for Worker Safety in Future Construction: Examining Opportunity and Challenges

The integration of robots, particularly drones, into future construction sites introduces new safety challenges requiring enhanced situational awareness (SA) among workers. To address these challenges, this study explores the effectiveness of an AI-driven assistant designed to inform workers about dynamic environmental changes via auditory and visual channels. A mixed-reality bricklaying experiment was developed, simulating worker-drone interactions across three interaction levels: coexistence, cooperation, and collaboration. One hundred five construction-background students participated in tasks with and without the AI assistant, during which their eye-tracking data, productivity, and subjective perceptions were collected. Results indicated that the AI assistant significantly expedited workers’ awareness of approaching drones but concurrently reduced bricklaying productivity. Although participants reported high perceived usefulness and low distraction by the AI assistant itself, findings revealed a trade-off: improved SA toward drones came at the cost of decreased task performance, likely due to increased attentional shifts toward drones. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the assistant varied depending on the interaction level with drones. This study highlights both the opportunities and challenges of applying AI-driven informational systems in future construction environments, offering critical insights for designing human-centered AI technologies that balance safety enhancement with productivity maintenance.