ABSTRACT
Presently, the U.S. construction industry is facing the following problems: The U.S. working population is aging; the U.S. government imposes increasingly stringent regulations concerning construction related safety, health, and environmental impacts; and owners of the constructed facilities are facing more intense international competition. They demand higher construction productivity and quality in order to realize greater economic efficiency from their investment in the constructed facilities.
To deal with these problems, collaborative research is considered as one of the most important strategies by academics, industry professionals, as well as many government agents. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the current development of collaborative construction research in the United States. Hopefully, this overview can bring readers a picture about the driving forces behind collaborative construction research and the corresponding development in the past 15 years in the United States.
This paper will begin with the description of those catalysts driving the collaborative construction research in the U.S., followed by some perceptions and solutions. The major collaborative research effort and development in construction will be introduced. Then, construction automation research will be discussed. Finally a conclusion will be made.
