UltraWis system to control tower cranes from ground

Ultrawis, with investment from Incubit, has a technology solution which the company states is “the industry's first system to transform the tower crane operator's cabin into a cockpit, controlling the crane and the whole construction site from the ground.”

Following a successful live trial on a construction site in Israel where the system was installed on a tower crane by Top Engineering & Equipment, the local representative of Liebherr tower cranes, and negotiations with several multinational OEMs, Ultrawis is now preparing for commercial release of the system.

The system, AI and ML based, continually monitors the site through a set of sensors, generating in-depth data and insights in real time. Using machine vision, the system overlays augmented reality graphics to understand what the crane operator sees. It then builds an accurate, 3D model of the site in real time, which helps manage everything, from plans to execution, to avoid obstacles and crane collisions. The operator controls the crane from the ground in a special cabin equipped with a full operating system, joysticks and high definition screens and speakers.

"Our sensing system, installed on platforms of any kind, enables all users to see anything and understand everything happening at the site in real time," said Lior Avitan, UltraWis co-founder and CEO. “With the mission to automate many procedures and empower the site manager, we offer a significant risk reduction and extensive management abilities."

As a portfolio company of Incubit, owned and backed by the defense corporate Elbit Systems, Ultrawis uses military grade technologies with superior image processing, stability in severe conditions, 3D modelling, and augmented reality.

"This enables us deep understanding of any construction site. We can track every employee and every payload. We can see everything and understand everything," added Avitan.