Robots Pitching in for the Construction Industry Are in Major Flux

Roomba or self-propelled trench diggers are the robots that might construct your home.

Self-propelled trench diggers are Drones that can simulate structures in 3D. Roomba-like machines that draw the placement of each floor beam.  As houses, offices, and industrial sites rise across the nation, the construction site of the future is already here. At a time when the construction industry is going through a lot of change, robots can lay bricks, hang plasterboard, and tie rebar are helping out. Matthew Johnson-Roberson, the head of the robotics institute at Carnegie Mellon University, said that construction robots are a perfect illustration of how robotic technology could affect people's lives. They want to automate a challenging industry that includes moving parts and a variety of intricate sites and structures.

A crisis in the building industry is accelerating innovation. Thousands of jobs remain unfilled, and building expenses are growing. A growing number of those in the field are getting older and working in hazardous situations. Federal funding is flooding in to improve infrastructure among this. More construction companies are using robots to automate work on building sites as a result of a convergence of circumstances. In the industry, robots are not new. Amazon employs a variety of robots in its operations, including the humanoid-like Sparrow and the Roomba-like Kiva, which move packages. Elon Musk, who is infamous for saying he will automate Tesla's production, recently introduced the Optimus humanoid robot prototype with the intention of changing the nature of physical labor. Google recently demonstrated artificially intelligent robots that can assist people with daily duties. Even some robots are developing frying and cooking skills.

Johnson-Roberson noted that the dynamics of building, however, have changed. Since the duties are typically more outlined and call for less refinement in large-scale constructions like dams, bridges, and highways, robotic technology has been adopted more quickly in these contexts. Because many of the duties require fine motor control, which robots struggle to perform, the home construction sector has lagged, he continued. Nevertheless, Johnson-Roberson said it's unlikely that humanoid robots would soon be working on construction sites, hammering nails into planks of wood. Instead, significant jobs like digging, surveying, pouring concrete, and carrying heavy objects around will probably be automated using advancements in laser range-finding technology, artificial intelligence software, robotic gear, and sensors.

Fastbrick Robotics, an Australian start-up, creates the Hadrian X, a mobile robot that can lay up to 1,000 bricks per hour. Advanced Construction Robotics in Pennsylvania creates robots that can connect up to 1,100 rebar junctions every hour. The San Francisco-based company Canvas has a mobile robot that can complete a drywall.

The founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics, Tessa Lau, started her company by refurbishing her own house. She became aware of how many processes were necessary and that there was almost always a chance for error, potentially leading to delays. The actual sketching out of a home or work floor to indicate to builders where each beam has to be nailed or plank needs to go was one of the areas that might be automated, she concluded after studying the construction business. She had a foundation in artificial intelligence and robotics. Her business developed a Roomba-like tool that prints an imprint on the real floor of the construction site to accomplish that. Instead of drawing lines with chalk, individuals upload digital drawings into software that tells the Roomba where to go with an accuracy of 1/16th of an inch.

Lau acknowledged the worry that robots would replace labor on construction sites, but she pointed out that as fewer people enter the field, more people are retiring from the industry. She claimed that this is causing a crisis for construction companies, who must find a method to complete the work while there is a talent shortage. She declared, "Our machines are stealing jobs." "People aren't filling those positions, therefore the only way we're going to be able to meet the world's need for housing and infrastructure is if we construct robots to take those jobs away."