Workers of the Chongqing Branch of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd. operate a laser screed machine at the Liangping UAV industrial park in Chongqing, southwest China, May 11, 2026.(Xinhua)

CHONGQING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Robots specialized in laying tiles and mopping floors, drones capable of collecting terrain data, and smart tower cranes together with other diverse smart technologies are breathing new life into the challenging construction industry of southwest China's Chongqing, relieving the tough sector, especially in this renowned "mountain city."

Tourists from both home and abroad are often amazed by the buildings and urban infrastructure built on the undulating, staggered terrain of Chongqing, famed for its fiery hot pot cuisine and its unique rugged mountain landscapes across its urban and rural areas. Now, the practice of "smart construction" is refreshing people's impression of the tough, labor-intensive sector.

A "smart construction site" highlights digitalization, intelligence, and green, low-carbon development in construction for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturing industrial park in Chongqing's Liangping District.

"Taking our construction site as a body, the BIM (Building Information Modeling) full lifecycle management platform is serving as a 'smart brain' overseeing the industrial park project," said He Jian, project director of the Chongqing Branch of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd.

Relying on this core smart platform, the project is capable of integrating multiple models, including architecture, structure, and electromechanical systems, allowing complex construction processes to be "rehearsed" in virtual space prior to practical operations, according to He.

Overhead at the construction site, buzzing drones are collecting topographic data to generate high-precision real-scene 3D models, thereby enabling the precise allocation of nearly 1 million cubic meters of earth and stone and efficiently completing 800,000 cubic meters of earthwork backfilling at the construction site.

He disclosed that these drones can help save 5 days of the project's total construction period by enabling continuous steel-structure processing through on-site hoisting, millimeter-level positioning of components with full-process traceability, and other tasks.

"Drones are also playing roles in helping the smart construction site platform to dispatch workers, materials and equipment in real time. They are replacing experience-based judgment with data-driven decision-making and refreshing our project's construction precision and efficiency," He said.

On the construction site, 22 intelligent tower cranes are equipped with the 3D multi-crane anti-collision system. Serving as "smart anti-collision eyes," the system can help tower cranes precisely avoid obstacles during three-dimensional cross-operations and eliminate hazards in high-altitude work.

Smart-techs are also making safety education people-friendly by building a VR safety experience zone at the construction site. The immersive risk scenarios allow workers to "experience" falls from heights and object strikes, thereby enhancing their safety awareness, according to He.

Covering a total area of 612 mu (about 40.8 hectares), the Liangping UAV industrial park will serve as a hub for R&D, manufacturing, flight tests, and logistics warehousing. Upon completion, it is expected to fill the gap in large- and medium-sized UAV complete-machine manufacturing in Chongqing and become a UAV industry hub in the country's western region.

The tile-laying robots, floor-polishing robots, and installation robots are collaborating at the construction site to replace intensive manual labor in high-intensity, high-risk operations, helping the "labor-intensive" construction efforts become "technology-intensive."

According to He, smart and digital technologies and equipment are also helping make this UAV industrial park low-carbon and eco-friendly.

Patrolling drones are coordinating with intelligent dust suppression systems to ensure the dust monitoring meets standards. As for the waste sorting and recycling sector, it is collaborating with BIM-optimized material cutting to reduce construction waste, creating a win-win for both construction and environmental protection.

"Our project is endeavoring to give full play to the power of smart technologies by using intelligent equipment to replace high-intensity manual labor and better protect the environment. It is a practice of the construction industry's transformation toward industrialization, digitalization, and greening," He said. ■

Workers of the Chongqing Branch of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd. experience immersive virtual reality simulations of hazardous construction scenarios at the Liangping UAV industrial park in Chongqing, southwest China, April 30, 2026.(Xinhua)