�山ǿ��

Obayashi Corporation leadership and Singapore officials celebrate the opening of a new R&D facility in Singapore. Pictured from left are Tan Chee Kiat (deputy CEO, Singapore Building and Construction Authority [BCA]), Hajime Onojima (executive officer, Obayashi), Kelvin Wong (CEO, BCA), Naoki Kajita (senior managing executive officer, Obayashi), Yoshiaki Takahashi (deputy chief of mission, minister, Embassy of Japan in Singapore), Heng Teck Thai (deputy CEO, BCA). (Image: Obayashi)

A launch event was held on 18 July at Obayashi Construction-Tech Lab Singapore (OCLS), with company leadership on-hand for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. The facility is located at the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Braddell Campus, which is part of the Built Environments Innovation Hub (BEIH) Ecosystem.

Obaysahi is one of five major Japanese construction companies along with Shimizu Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Kajima Corporation, and Taisei Corporation.

The BEIH launched in October 2023 as a collaborative space for like-minded individuals to “connect and showcase innovative technologies, exchange ideas, and transfer knowledge” in the construction industry.

“Moving forward, OCLS will serve as a hub for fostering and deploying next-generation construction productivity technologies in the Asian region and for strengthening our research and development efforts through proactive collaboration with internal and external stakeholders,” said Obayashi.

The OCLS is but another physical space dedicated to discovering emerging construction technologies; Obayashi also has a Technology Research Institute in Tokyo, Japan, a Silicon Valley Ventures & Laboratory in California, US, and recently opened the Asia Digital Lab in Singapore.

Development of a new R&D centre, the company said, is meant to help provide solutions for burgeoning problems plaguing the built environment in the region.

“In Singapore, labour-saving and productivity improvement have become major social issues in the construction industry, triggered in part by the shortage of foreign workers due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Obayashi.

New Obayashi lab to collaborate on innovative construction technologies

Render of the new Obayashi Construction-Tech Lab Singapore. (Image: Obayashi)

Obayashi said the OCLS will have a specific focus on construction robotics, with collaboration coming from Asian universities, research institutions, construction companies and start-ups.

“The focus will be on construction robotics technology – which is being actively developed and applied in the Asian region – and supporting its application to construction sites in Asia,” said the company.

“In the future, OCLS will expand its scope to fields beyond construction robotics, actively promote the results of its research and development outside Japan and promote the spread of its technology.”

The centre will include collaborations with Chinese robot-maker Fang Shi Technology, Singapore-based 3D-printing firm SC3DP, and Singapore University of Technology and Design, which will focus specifically on construction mapping technology using artificial intelligence.