Hong Kong’s first AI system to spot scaffolding issues deployed in local project

Hong Kong’s first artificial intelligence (AI) system to spot loose or tilting scaffolding, built by a developer at a cost of HK$1 million (US$127,390), has been deployed in a local construction project, in the wake of a series of fatal accidents in recent years.

Sun Hung Kai Properties said on Thursday that its subsidiary spent the past six months developing a system called TIE.Ai (Tension and Tilting Inspection Engine AI system), which could be applied to bamboo, metal and mixed scaffolding.

“This is the first of its kind [an AI system that provides real-time intelligence for risk analysis in scaffolding] in the market,” Eddie Ho, deputy general manager of Sanfield (Management) Limited, the subsidiary company, said.

The technology, which was recently applied to a project in Kwu Tung in the northern New Territories, sends alerts to the construction team whenever the system detects any danger, he said.

He explained that the system consists of a line sensor, a control gateway and AI technology, which analyses the tension, tilt and load on the scaffolding while transmitting data.

The system checks the scaffolding every five seconds and can detect structural inclinations that cannot be spotted by the naked eye.

The development cost for the system was over HK$1 million, not including the manpower and time costs, Ho revealed.