Bidirectional human–drone safety communication in construction

The presence of drones on construction sites introduces additional safety concerns because it increases interactions between drones and nonoperator construction workers within already-hazardous environments. This study proposed a bidirectional communication protocol that integrates natural modalities (gesture, speech, light, sound, and flight paths) to facilitate safe interactions between general construction workers and drones on construction sites. To evaluate the effectiveness of this communication protocol, a virtual construction site scenario was created for a within-subject experiment comparing conditions with the proposed communication modalities against those without them. The study assessed the safety implications concerning physical risks, physiological impacts, cognitive load, and worker perceptions. The results indicated a strong preference among users for gesture-based or multimodal (gesture plus speech) communication when employing the proposed protocol. Moreover, integrating the proposed bidirectional communication protocol significantly enhanced worker safety by reducing physical contact risks, lowering stress levels, and improving worker attitudes and perceptions of safety.