What if you could compress weeks of construction monitoring into just a few hours without sacrificing accuracy? At NEOM, the world’s most ambitious gigaproject, that’s already happening.
At the Construction Technology Confex UAE 2025, Ismail Azam, NEOM’s Director of Construction Technology and Applications, revealed how AI and computer vision are transforming site monitoring. His session, “From Months to Hours,” demonstrated a radical shift from traditional tracking methods to a unified digital strategy that’s faster, smarter, and more cost-effective.
The Problem with Traditional Construction Monitoring
Despite NEOM’s scale and ambition, it faces challenges common to megaprojects worldwide: inaccurate data, manual reporting, disconnected systems, and costly delays. Industry studies show that up to 30% of construction investment is lost to inefficiencies.
According to Azam, the biggest obstacle is fragmented data. Construction sites generate massive amounts of information; drone footage, sensor readings, Excel sheets, PDFs, and reports from countless subcontractors. When these systems don’t communicate, the result is predictable: delays, miscommunication, and budget overruns
The Solution
To tackle this, NEOM developed ADISA, an AI-powered platform that Azam describes as “Google Earth on steroids – with a brain.”
ADISA integrates multiple data sources into one intelligent system:
- Reality capture: Drones, LiDAR, 2D/3D scanning
- Situational awareness: Cameras, sensors, smart gates
- Textual data: PMIS logs, reports, Excel files, documents
- AI integration: Computer vision for image analysis, generative AI for natural language processing
This unified platform doesn’t just display real-time progress. It flags risks, verifies contractor claims, and answers complex queries in plain English.
Real-World Results
One powerful example showcased how drone-based computer vision tracks excavation work. Traditionally, this required multiple staff members, manual measurements, and days of reporting.
Now, with one operator and a few hours, NEOM captures the entire site, builds a 3D model, and uses AI to calculate volume, fill, and elevation, delivering near-instant feedback with remarkable accuracy.
Generative AI Transforms Progress Reporting
The second case study highlighted how generative AI is revolutionizing progress reports. Instead of waiting days for compiled summaries, project leaders can now query ADISA directly with questions like “Show monthly excavation by contractor” or “Compare subcontractor performance.”
The platform instantly generates charts and insights. But it goes further, suggesting optimizations, predicting delays, and providing role-specific recommendations tailored to each stakeholder.
Beyond Smart: Building a Cognitive City
Azam emphasized that NEOM is pushing beyond smart construction toward a cognitive city where the built environment not only collects data but interprets and learns from it.
This evolution from Construction 1.0 to 2.0 is projected to save billions and establish a new standard for how gigaprojects are delivered globally.
A Blueprint for the Industry
NEOM’s ADISA platform offers more than impressive technology; it provides a proven blueprint for how large-scale, high-risk construction projects can reduce waste, improve accuracy, and accelerate delivery.
As Azam concluded, “Other industries have been transformed by AI. Construction is next.”
Join the Conversation
Want to learn more about how AI is reshaping the construction industry? Don’t miss the Construction Technology Confex 2026, where industry leaders will share the latest innovations transforming how we build.
