No single company owns the connected jobsite. It’s emerging where machines, data and cloud systems intersect on active projects, allowing equipment to sense risk, communicate and act in real time.
That convergence is already changing how contractors operate by improving safety, speed and decision-making across the jobsite.
Dave Kantler, director of IOT Services at AWS, explains how they are powering these technologies and helping companies connect to the AWS Cloud.
“It’s connecting devices that don't have humans attached to them so they can sense and act upon the world around them,” Dave shares.
The connected jobsite is set to change how projects get done—from start to finish—bringing better visibility, smarter equipment performance, stronger safety and quality built in from day one.
Think big, start small and move fast. The future of construction is not just digital, it is autonomous, data-driven and already taking shape.
ADVANCED SAFETY AND SMARTER JOBSITES
Technology helps companies understand sites, predict outcomes and move toward autonomy.
Adam Howard, with DEVELON North America at HD Equipment, explains how his company is improving jobsite awareness with “advanced safety systems that combine AI power, camera vision and radar technology.”
In practice, that means equipment can detect nearby hazards, assess distance and automatically slow or stop when needed. These systems can also identify early signs of machine issues, helping crews prevent breakdowns before they happen.
This combination improves consistency even with less experienced operators.
TECHNOLOGIES POWERING SMART MACHINES
There are five key technologies required to build connected, smart machines.
1. The internet of things (IoT)
IoT is like a human’s five senses that form the nervous system. And the brain, or in this case, AI, is where inputs are received. In practice, that means machines can detect everything from ground conditions to air quality in real time without relying on manual checks.
2. Edge computing
loT devices have always had processors and execute programs to do their tasks. Edge computing is a little different. It typically applies to anything outside the data center and the cloud.
“When you marry it with AI, you provide the type of intelligence that allows a rugged device, like a smart machine on a construction site, to think,” Dave says.
3. Visual reasoning systems
LIDAR gives machines the ability to perceive the real world around them. It can also track the progress of an excavation and monitor site safety. This also includes visual AI models that interpret the image and stream the data to the cloud.
“The ability to learn can happen at the edge, but it happens very efficiently in the cloud,” Dave explains.
4. Evolution of AI
The next generation of AI is an agent that can operate on its own, Dave shares. That's how companies can get to the point of scaling their workforce with machines that are goal oriented but still working under human control.
5. Connectivity
In order to augment learning and training, these devices must be connected in the cloud. This is possible through satellites. Some already exist and Amazon will launch its own this year.
“Putting all these technologies together is what we call physical AI,” Dave shares.
ACCELERATING AUTONOMY IN CONSTRUCTION
Connected construction focuses on the ability to sense and understand what’s happening in the real world to learn and get better at the job it must do, all under the watchful eye of a human.
Boris Sofman, co-founder and CEO at Bedrock Robotics, has partnered with AWS to accelerate their path toward full autonomy.
Bedrock retrofits existing heavy machinery with autonomous systems. AWS helps power the training of their machine learning models, annotation, evaluation and understanding of the data.
“This technology has a possibility of completely transforming not just the work of the contractors, but the whole ecosystem,” Boris says.
While fully autonomous jobsites are still evolving, many of these capabilities are already being deployed today, especially in controlled environments and repetitive tasks.
For example, a machine equipped with visual AI can detect a worker entering a danger zone and automatically slow or stop—reducing the risk of struck-by incidents.
THE PATH FORWARD
For construction leaders, the message is clear: think big, start small and move fast. The future of construction is not just digital, it is autonomous, data-driven and already taking shape.
“These are really hard problems,” Dave says. “We are all partners together on this journey.”
Dive deeper into how Smart Machines are Reshaping Construction in our free on-demand recordings of the Ground Breakers stage from CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026.
PHOTO CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK/KOSSSMOSSS
