The concrete of the future: Sensor technology and AI will pave the way for more sustainable production

An ambitious Danish research project will bring concrete production into a more sustainable and digital future with advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence. Innovation Fund Denmark is investing DKK 10.2 million in the VISTACON project, which will work to achieve major CO₂ savings in the construction industry.

With the research and innovation project VISTACON, the Danish Technological Institute, the Technical University of Denmark, Unicon A/S, Videometer A/S and SKAKO Concrete A/S are joining forces to develop an intelligent system that can monitor and control concrete production in real time. The system will make it possible to optimize the cement content of concrete, thereby reducing the CO2 footprint and significantly reducing the waste of concrete.

- Our ambition with the project is that we can make concrete production much more precise with new digital technology. This will provide savings on both raw materials and CO2, and bring the industry an important step closer to both Danish and international climate ambitions, says Søren Lundsted Poulsen, project manager at VISTACON and consultant at the Danish Technological Institute.

Data and digital eyes in the production line

Today, quality assurance in concrete production is often based on manual sampling and simple measurements, where variations in the properties of the materials can lead to either waste or overuse of cement. With VISTACON, the goal is to make it possible to continuously monitor important material properties – such as moisture content and grain sizes – and on this basis automatically adjust concrete mixtures with high precision. This will be done using tailor-made sensor solutions, where advanced camera technology is combined with AI for automatic analysis of image data. The project's AI models are primarily developed by the Technical University of Denmark, while the technology supplier Videometer A/S is responsible for developing the sensor and image analysis technology.

- In VISTACON, we are using a multispectral camera system that – thanks to new sensor and optical technology – can measure over a much wider light spectrum (400–1700 nm) than previously. This allows for more precise characterization of important properties in the concrete's raw materials, such as moisture, grain size and chemical composition, explains Michael Carstensen, CEO of Videometer A/S.

From the laboratory to full-scale demonstration

In VISTACON, the partners will work closely together to develop and test new solutions – first in the laboratory, where AI models and sensor solutions are optimized under controlled conditions. Next, the technologies will be integrated and tested at full scale in real production environments, so that the results from the laboratory can be translated into practical, reliable solutions with real impact in industry.

Ib Bælum Jensen, technology manager at concrete manufacturer Unicon A/S, has high hopes for the project's results:

- With VISTACON, the ambition is to demonstrate the possibilities of integrating sensors and AI directly into production. This enables us to respond to variations in raw materials in real time, optimize cement consumption and reduce the amount of concrete that is discarded.

René Aborrelund, CTO at SKAKO Concrete A/S, also sees the project as an important step towards more efficient concrete production:

- VISTACON is a natural extension of our ongoing development of SKAKOMAT – our process control system for concrete production. The project brings us closer to a new way to optimize production, where data and automation improve both quality and efficiency.

Contact

Søren Lundsted Poulsen, project manager, Danish Technological Institute
Tel. 7220 2025, email: slp@teknologisk.dk

Line Skouboe, communications advisor, Innovation Fund Denmark
Tel. 61 90 50 39, Email: line.skouboe@innofond.dk

Facts about the project

• Innovation Fund Denmark's investment: DKK 10.2 million.
• Total budget: DKK 14.4 million.
• Duration: 3 years (2025-2028)
• Official title: Integrating in-line vision technology and AI for improved concrete production (VISTACON)