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Hazama Ando Corporation and NTT Corporation have jointly released a publicly available document outlining key business areas and prioritized use cases for remote and automated tunnel construction using IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network) technology. Developed with members of the IOWN Global Forum, the document, titled “Use Case and Technology Evaluation Criteria- Construction Site,” has been officially approved by the forum. An online briefing was held to present the release and discuss future developments.
The document focuses on mountain tunnel construction, where operations such as lining, invert work, drilling, blasting, and rock removal are typically performed on-site by skilled workers. Thanks to IOWN’s high-capacity, low-latency communications, you can now manage these tasks remotely and in real-time, even from 1,000 kilometers away. The initiative seeks to tackle ongoing issues like unsafe working conditions and a shrinking workforce. It does this by using remote monitoring, automated processes, and centralized data analysis.
Takahiro Funatsu from Hazama Ando stated that real-time data exchange and AI-driven analysis are key. Budget limits and poor infrastructure often restrict connections between sites, offices, and data centers. Tunnel construction sites often struggle with funding. They usually depend on basic data tools for communication. This limits their ability to transform digitally.
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To tackle these challenges, Hazama Ando teamed up with NTT and other partners. They did this through the IOWN Global Forum. This nonprofit started in 2020 with NTT, Intel, and Sony. Now, it has 168 organizations from around the world. Nobuki Ito from NTT pointed out IOWN’s key technical benefits. These include more capacity, less power use, and much lower latency.
The published guidelines list four practical use cases. They support real-time data collection, analysis, inspection, and structural monitoring using IOWN’s optical network. These use cases allow safer and more efficient construction workflows. This is the first time such standards have been publicly set in the construction sector.
The project will look for partners in different industries. It will also improve system designs and create a model for reference implementation. Proof-of-concept testing is planned by March 2026, beginning with technical simulations and lab tests, followed by field trials. Results will guide future updates. The team aims to build next-generation ICT infrastructure for tunnel construction.
The initiative uses Hazama Ando Corporation’s global construction skills and 日本電信電話株式会社’s international reach. It aims to speed up digital transformation in the construction industry in Japan and around the world. This effort collaborates with IOWN Global Forum members.
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