Main findings for robotics in the construction industry

Construction is a harsh, geographically large and disparate, unstructured and perpetually changing environment where high cost critical operations must occur. Robotic technologies can play a crucial role in reducing injury and fatality rates and also improving productivity. Due to the scale of many construction projects, even a small improvement to the efficiency of a process can result in a substantial cost saving. The ongoing skills shortage in the construction industry is exacerbated by the younger generations’ reluctance to pursue traditional occupations. Robotics and automation can help fill jobs vacated by an ageing workforce. Typical robot technologies such as motion control, navigation and computer vison are increasingly integrated in previously manned platforms, advances in technology will see robotics tackling increasingly complex physical and cognitive tasks. There will also be a strong industry need for regulation technology (RegTech), robotic and vision systems that can be deployed to monitor and enforce worker safety and identify and ameliorate potential hazards. Robotics is increasingly seen as an enabler for architectural design allowing custom, one of a kind, sometimes additive build-up of complex structures.