Working prototype / Field test next

From DWG plan to measured progress.

WorkGuardAI reads the DWG plan you already have and measures groundwork progress from ordinary site photos, location by location. The prototype works on a real project's plan and imagery. Now we are looking for the first pilot site.

Born in FinlandWorking across EuropeFounded 2024

25–26 Nov 2026 Pitching on stage at MeOut Summit, Budapest
Open excavation with a sloped earth wall and a sandy floor.
Illustrative overlay on an excavation photo. Local grid, not real site coordinates.

01 · How it works

From a DWG plan and ordinary photos to progress at each location.

Illustration of the concept
  1. 01 Capture

    A photo at a plan point

  2. 02 Analyse

    Depth estimated from the photo

  3. 03 Compare

    Estimated depth against planned depth

  4. 04 Act

    Email alert with coordinates and depths

01

Capture

Photos from fixed site cameras, taken automatically every four hours, or uploaded from a phone, camera or drone at coordinates from your plan.

02

Analyse

Depth estimated

An open-source AI depth model (Depth Anything V2) estimates the excavation depth in metres from each photo, at its plan coordinate.

03

Compare

62% complete (sample data) DWG plan Detected on site

The estimated depth is compared with the planned depth from the DWG, giving progress at each point of the plan.

04

Act

Site progress 62% Deviation flagged to manager

Each point shows its status by colour, an overall progress bar sums up the site, and email alerts report the coordinates with current and planned depth.

Illustrative concept with sample data. Working prototype; field test pending.

From the field

Ordinary site photos, like the ones the prototype measures: taken by phone or drone, by day and at night.

Sloped excavation wall with a sandy floor.
Excavation · day
Excavation floor with standing water and a long shadow.
Excavation floor · day
Deep excavation with steel shoring, lit at night.
Shored excavation · night
Drone controller screen showing an aerial view during a photo capture test.
Photo capture test · Espoo
City construction site at dusk with a plate compactor and safety barriers.
Urban site · dusk
Construction materials and barriers staged on an urban site at dusk.
Site materials · dusk
Wide open excavation with standing water, beside apartment blocks.
Open excavation · day
Wide view of a city construction site at dusk, with barriers, a compactor and a hotel behind the site fence.
Urban site, wide view · dusk
Shored excavation along a city street at night, with a crane behind.
Shoring by the street · night
Tower crane base and patterned paving on a city site at dusk.
Crane and paving · dusk
Cleared ground with machine tracks on an urban site at dusk.
Cleared ground · dusk
Street-side construction works with a crane at dusk.
Street works · dusk

02 · The prototype

Built on a real project's plan and imagery.

The prototype has been demonstrated on a real DWG file and real site photos. It has not yet run on a live site. The first field test is the next step.

Upload by coordinateSCREEN 1
DWG coordinate mapSCREEN 2
Progress alert by emailSCREEN 3

Prototype interface, tested on a real project's plan and imagery. Field test next. Client file names, site coordinates and figures are blurred.

See a sample alert

Progress alert by email

Prototype notifications listing excavation in progress, with coordinates blurred.

Prototype interface, tested on a real project's plan and imagery. Field test next. Client file names, site coordinates and figures are blurred.

What it does today

  • Reads the DWG plan and turns it into a grid of plan points, each with its planned depth.
  • Estimates excavation depth from each photo with an open-source AI depth model (Depth Anything V2).
  • Shows progress per point against the planned depth, colour-coded from not started to in progress to complete, with an overall progress bar.
  • Takes photos from fixed site cameras every four hours, or from photos uploaded by coordinate.
  • Sends email alerts with the coordinates and the current and planned depth.

What comes next

  • NextA field test on a live site, with a contractor or infrastructure owner, comparing the estimated depths with surveyed measurements.

03 · What you get

One view of the site against the plan, from ordinary photos.

Your DWG plan, your site photos and the depth estimated from them come together in one dashboard. Your team sees progress at every point and gets an alert when a point needs a look.

Sample data

01 Progress on the plan

  • Your DWG plan as a map

    The plan you already have becomes a grid of points, each with its planned depth.

  • Progress at every point

    Each point shows the estimated depth against the planned depth, coloured not started, in progress or complete.

  • One figure for the site

    An overall progress bar sums up the whole site at a glance.

02 Photos without extra work

  • Fixed site cameras

    Cameras on site send a photo automatically every four hours.

  • Uploads by coordinate

    Your team adds photos from a phone, camera or drone at a coordinate on the plan.

  • Depth from each photo

    An AI depth model estimates the excavation depth in metres from every photo.

03 Know when to act

  • Email alerts

    Alerts give the coordinates with the current and planned depth, so the right person can check the right place.

  • Notifications by point

    The dashboard lists what changed and where, point by point.

  • A written results report

    In a pilot we check in every week and compare the results with your own measurements.

We deliver the software and help implement it on site: set-up, connectivity and testing.

Vision

Where the platform is heading

The same plan and photos open the way to more. These ideas are on our roadmap.

  • Look-ahead scheduling

    The idea is to turn measured progress into a forecast finish and suggested next steps, each waiting for approval.

  • Cost linked to measured work

    The idea is to link measured quantities to contract rates, so invoicing can follow the work actually done.

  • Soil and rock volumes

    Designed to estimate how much soil and rock has been excavated and how much remains, from the same photos.

  • Machine and worker safety

    The idea is to flag when a person is inside a machine's working zone, without identifying who it is.

  • Utility cable checks

    Can help compare the dig with utility plans, as a reminder to check for cables and pipes before work continues.

  • Structure condition monitoring

    The idea is to follow changes in structures such as dam walls over time, from repeated photos.

  • BIM and supplier data

    The idea is to bring in BIM models and supplier data, so the plan, deliveries and progress can be compared in one place.

  • Higher precision

    Camera GPS combined with LiDAR, to place photos and measure depth more precisely.

The safety ideas are concepts. They do not replace site safety procedures or utility location services.

04 · Who it is for

For the people who build and own the groundwork.

Groundwork and infrastructure contractors

You already have the DWG plan. WorkGuardAI uses it to show how far excavation and groundwork have come at each location, from photos your team can take on a normal site visit.

Public infrastructure owners

Cities and agencies that commission roads, utilities and public works can follow progress per location against the approved plan, measured from site photos.

Large urban earthworks site with spoil heaps, two excavators and two tower cranes under a blue sky, apartment blocks behind.
Earthworks on a large urban site: the kind of groundwork WorkGuardAI is built to measure.

05 · About

Born in Finland, working across Europe.

WorkGuardAI was founded in Finland on 30 July 2024. The team works across Europe, close to the contractors and public owners who would use the product.

  • Finland · home base
  • Denmark
  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Albania
Endrit Kola in a hard hat and high-visibility vest, holding a notebook, standing in a street trench in central Helsinki with new manholes, water pipes and a valve.
Utility works · central Helsinki
Three people smiling on a construction site, one in a high-visibility vest marked Inxhinier (engineer), with a dump truck and an excavator behind them.
With the site team · on site
Hands holding a drone controller with a map on its screen, beside a forest road.
Photo capture test · Espoo

06 · Milestones

From a pre-incubator idea to a working prototype, and onto Europe's pitch stages.

Three years of programmes, competitions and building, each step recorded with its source.

Endrit Kola holding the Sisu Factory certificate of achievement in front of the Sauna Pitching screen.
Winner · 24 Feb 2025Endrit Kola after winning Sauna Pitching at Sisu Factory, Helsinki.

MeOut Summit · Budapest, Hungary

1 of 20

startups selected from roughly 200 applications to pitch on stage at the MeOut Summit Pitch Marathon in Budapest, Hungary, 25–26 November 2026.

Baltic Impact Accelerator

€8,000

in programme funding from LUT University's Baltic Impact Accelerator (Interreg Central Baltic, co-funded by the EU), used to build the MVP.

Timeline

  1. AIREX 2026 PropTech Competition · Baku

    Pitched at the AIREX 2026 PropTech Competition in Baku on 6 November, to a jury of investors and ecosystem representatives.

  2. MeOut Summit · Budapest, Hungary

    Selected as one of 20 startups, from roughly 200 applications, to pitch on stage in the Pitch Marathon on 25–26 November, in front of an investor panel. Featured on EU-Startups.

    Article on EU-Startups (opens in a new tab)
  3. Finland Global Startup Accelerator · Plug and Play and the City of Tampere

    Shortlisted to pitch for the 10-week growth programme, commissioned by the City of Tampere, and pitched to the selection panel on Selection Day, 9 September.

  4. VINCI Energies · Startup Connect

    VINCI Energies expressed interest after an initial review, and we applied to its 2026 challenge “Expertise meets AI”.

  5. Baltic Impact Accelerator · LUT University

    Completed cohort 3 of the six-month accelerator, funded by Interreg Central Baltic and co-funded by the European Union, with €8,000 in programme funding.

    About the programme (opens in a new tab)
  6. MVP completed

    The core engine was built with a development partner, funded through the Baltic Impact Accelerator. Built with input from a site manager at an infrastructure contractor, and tested on one real project plan.

  7. Slush · Helsinki

    At Slush 2025 among the Helsinki Incubators alumni.

    Announcement on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
  8. Circular Buildings Innovation Challenge · Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa

    Took part in the joint innovation challenge of the three cities and submitted an offer in their tender.

  9. PitchBob.io

    Featured in the Secret Seeds startup spotlight.

    Read the feature (opens in a new tab)
  10. Polar Bear Pitching · Oulu

    Guest startup at Polar Bear Pitching in Oulu on 27 February 2025, the prize for winning Sauna Pitching.

  11. Sisu Factory · Sauna Pitching

    Won Sauna Pitching on 24 February 2025.

    Announcement on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
  12. NEXUS Incubator · University of Helsinki

    Completed the six-month Helsinki Incubators programme, with mentors and weekly workshops on business models, sales and pitching.

  13. WorkGuardAI founded

    Company founded in Finland on 30 July 2024.

  14. Compass pre-incubator · Helsinki

    Where the idea began, as remote monitoring for vehicles. Mentor feedback and pitching turned it towards construction sites.

SUPPORTED BY

Interreg Central Baltic Programme, co-funded by the European Union. Baltic Impact Accelerator.

Programmes completed: Baltic Impact Accelerator (LUT University, Interreg Central Baltic) and NEXUS Incubator (Helsinki Incubators, University of Helsinki).

Certificate of participation: WorkGuardAI has successfully participated in the Baltic Impact Accelerator, cohort 3. Dated 18 February 2026.
Baltic Impact Accelerator, cohort 3 · certificate of participation · 18 Feb 2026

07 · News

Latest news

  1. MeOut Summit Pitch Marathon, Budapest

    Selected as one of 20 startups, from roughly 200 applications, to pitch on stage in the Pitch Marathon on 25–26 November, in front of an investor panel. Featured on EU-Startups.

    Article on EU-Startups (opens in a new tab)
  2. AIREX 2026 PropTech Competition, Baku

    Pitched at the AIREX 2026 PropTech Competition in Baku on 6 November, to a jury of investors and ecosystem representatives.

    Official source (opens in a new tab)
  3. Finland Global Startup Accelerator

    Shortlisted to pitch for the 10-week growth programme, commissioned by the City of Tampere, and pitched to the selection panel on Selection Day, 9 September.

All news Follow our progress

08 · Team

Team

09 · FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is it?

We do not know yet, because it has not been measured on a live site. That is what the pilot is for: we compare the estimated depths with your own measurements and give you the results in a written report.

What about privacy and people on camera?

The prototype estimates the depth of the ground at points on the plan. It does not identify or track people. Which cameras are used, where they point, who can see the photos and how long they are kept are agreed in the written pilot agreement before any photos are taken.

What do you need from a pilot site?

A DWG plan of the site, and access to site cameras or someone who can take photos at plan coordinates.

Has it been tested on a live site?

Not yet. The prototype works on a real project's DWG plan and imagery. A pilot is the first test on a live site, and we compare the results with your own measurements.

10 · Work with us

Work with us

11 · Events

Meet us at

12 · Pilot

Book a pilot call.

We are looking for the first live site. If you run groundwork or infrastructure work and have DWG plans for it, a short call is enough to see whether a pilot fits.

How a pilot works

  1. 01
    A short call

    We show the prototype on a demo project and check that your site fits: groundwork or infrastructure, DWG plans, and someone who can take photos.

  2. 02
    A written scope

    One site, a fixed period and clear data handling, agreed in a short pilot agreement. We load your DWG plan and set up access for your team.

  3. 03
    Field test and review

    Your team takes photos at plan coordinates. We check in every week and compare the results with your own measurements. You get a written results report.

Pilots are agreed one site at a time. Pricing is set after the field test, based on what it shows.

Partner with us

For technology, surveying and construction partners, and for funding bodies, cities, universities and investors who back early European construction technology.

ek@workguardai.com
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