Legal Risks Of Virtual And Augmented Reality On The Construction Site
An in depth article on Mondaq discusses the legal risks of virtual and augmented reality on the construction site, particularly with reference to US law.
The construction industry is known for innovation and creative problem solving, and the industry’s early adoption of cutting-edge virtual technologies is no exception.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have the potential to expedite the building process and minimize risks by allowing project team members and clients to see and feel how a finished product will look, and to identify problems before they become worse. Both VR and AR allow users to digitally experience something before physically erecting or transforming it, which saves both time and money. Emerging technology, however, rarely arrives without accompanying risk. As VR and AR products become more prevalent and accessible to all involved in the construction industry, savvy industry leaders must take steps to shield themselves and their teams from the legal quagmires associated with adopting these tools.
The article is a must for anyone in the construction industry but will also be useful to other readers. Key topics discussed:
Uses for VR and AR in the Construction Industry
Legal risks – design error liability, safety concerns on and off the construction site, data privacy, and intellectual property concerns. These are all discussed in detail. A flavour of the discussions is as follows:
- While construction industry tailored AR and VR applications are frequently geared towards increasing project safety, careless use of these products may increase the risk of accidents.
- Ultimately, responsibility for preparing and enforcing safety guidelines for the use of AR and VR technology on-site should be allocated by contract.
- Another exposure companies face when using AR and VR is cybersecurity and vulnerability to hackers. Since confidential or proprietary information may be stored in this technology, a cybersecurity attack on a product’s provider or the user could threaten the security of the user or the customer’s sensitive information.
- Finally, the ownership, licensing, and use of AR and VR technology are intellectual property issues that must be considered by any business using these products.
The full article outlining legal risks can be read here.