A Look Back at Robots in Construction this Year

One of the biggest trends to come up in technology and impact the construction industry has been the recent rise of the robotic worker on the construction field. From something as simple as completing easy industry tasks to things much more complicated, like fully automating onsite jobs, the role of the robot has seen a constant state of change, and ZBRELLA has compiled a short list of all the ways robots are ruling the workforce.

1. Hitachi’s Robot Bosses- One of the biggest advancements this year in robotic technology for the construction field came when construction leader Hitachi announced that they had been using robots at several undisclosed warehouses since early September. Their artificially intelligent system quite literally takes the place of human workers, introducing the technology as an authority figure on Hitachi’s premises by allowing them to oversee how humans work, approach problems, and problem solve. Through data feedback and analytics, the robots analyze the choices made to determine future actions, ideally leading to increased efficiency onsite. The company has already yielded an eight percent productivity increase.

2. Brick Building Robots- Robots have been making strides in construction automation for quite some time, but when it comes to automating one of the most laborious and time consuming aspects of construction, bricklaying and paving, there are already several robots making big innovations in the industry. From Dutch company Vanku VB’s Tiger-Stone technology that literally lays entire sheets of pre-paved brick flooring down to Construction Robotics’ semi-automated machine SAM (semi automated masonry) that does the job of a manual brick layer, robots are automating the brick building industry like never before. And the technologies aren’t just a breakthrough in tech, they’re also saving time, money, and labor by outperforming their human counterparts in half the time.

3. Tunnel Automation Robot- With the aim to cut down on wasted time, money, and labor that typically plagues construction, the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union developed a technology now known as Robinspect, an artificially intelligent robot outfitted with advanced tunnel inspection capabilities. For a job that is routinely performed by human workers using little else but the naked eye, Robinspect was developed to perform to a higher standard at much higher accuracy rates to achieve precise tunnel inspection unlike ever before. Slated for 2016, the robot made waves in the industry back in February when it promised to address the errors in tunnel inspection by working faster, independently (IE: requiring only half of the human labor typically needed), performing inspections without the need to shut down the entire tunnel system (eliminating traffic backups), and various other advantages. The construction industry is still eagerly awaiting the final product.

4. Superintendent Robots- Although only a prototype resulting from collaborative efforts at this year’s Architecture Construction Engineering (AEC) Hackathon event in NYC this past March, the superintendent robot still remains a testament to the applications possible for robots in construction. Named the Punchbot, the technology essentially allows real superintendents to be everywhere on the jobsite at once, without ever having to step foot on the property. The creators made this possible by mounting an iPad onto a Double Robot through which an app that allows workers onsite to communicate with superintendents off-site is accessed. And thanks to the durability of the Double Robot, the Punchbot can rove the entire worksite with abilities such as turning, spinning, and rolling, and even approach site workers autonomously. The concept robot is basically meant to provide superintendents with the ability to see and manage their projects in real-time for optimal productivity.

5. Cement Laying Miniature Robots- Last summer, researchers out of the Barcelona Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia revealed a robot prototype designed to solely automate the cement laying task in construction. Using three miniature robots called minibuilders, each robot as an individual works together to complete separate components of the cement laying process. Starting with the foundation, the robots work their way upwards and can even construct entire buildings once the initial cement is laid. Other various structural accessories include exterior walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, and structural support beams. The speed, strength, and ability to print horizontally are all what enables minibuilders to build structures around the cement they lay and essentially un-task human labors with manual labor.

The rise of the robot revolution has already happened, one only has to look around at the advancements in technology and construction to see the ubiquity of robots in the industry. The ways in which they have yet to contribute to construction, however, still remain to be seen, and we’re sure that even in just another year’s time, the applications that will be imagined for our artificially intelligent friends will continue to push boundaries and make strides.