10 mins
THE INDUSTRY'S ROBOTICS REVOLUTION IS UNDERWAY
For years there has been an assumption that robots may take over construction. MITCHELL KELLER reports that the revolution is here, but it doesn’t look as many expected it to
AN AERIAL VIEW OF AN EXCAVATOR WITH A BUILT ROBOTICS EXOSYSTEM DOING TRENCH WORK
PHOTO: BUILT ROBTICS
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION ROBOTICS’ (ACR) TYBOT WORKING A BRIDGE JOB IN PENNSYLVANIA, US
PHOTO: ACR
The robots have arrived, and not in the way that Isaac Asimov or H. G. Wells predicted in their science fiction novels.
In fact, not (yet) in the sense that even modern speculators anticipated; a world where human workers are entirely replaced by automation and robotics.
It’s caused some to question when the ‘robot revolution’ will take place, but, in the construction industry, the movement has been ongoing and quickening this decade. Those who know where to look realise that robots and automative processes have arrived and they are playing a key role in construction’s ongoing battle to become more productive.
WHAT IS A ROBOT?
Perhaps this biggest change in recent years regarding construction robotics is determining what machines are deemed ‘robots’.
“The term ‘robotics’ often conjures images of humanoid robots,” says UK-based Advanced Construction Robotics (ACR). “However, in the construction industry, robotics involves various forms of automated machinery tailored to specific tasks; [like] tying or placing rebar.” ACR’s TyBot – ‘the rebar tying robot’ – is exactly one of those automated machines, and it has close to zero human-like characteristics.
“Their form and function are dictated by the requirements of the tasks they perform, rather than by an attempt to replicate human appearance or behaviours,” says ACR.
TyBot looks more like the top of a tower crane than anything, but it’s an advanced robot capable of sensing and navigating its environment without pre-mapping, calibration, or BIM input.
Designed for the roadbuilding and bridge construction segments, TyBot specialises in tying rebar; it works at speeds in excess of 1,200 ties-per-hour using 15-lbs (6.8kg) of wire spool and can tie epoxy coated bar and black bar.
A BUILT ROBOTICS EXOSYSTEM ON A CATERPILLAR 336
PHOTO: BUILT ROBOTICS
It can stretch to a width of 117 ft (35.7m) or operate as narrow as 10 ft (3.05m). A robotics supervisor accompanies the machine during its 12-hour run, after which point it requires refuelling.
Other robotic machines in the industry weren’t initially designed to be automated, but thanks to Built Robotics – a US-based utilityscale automated-equipment manufacturer – existing construction units can be outfitted with robotic capabilities.
Erol Ahmed, director of communications with Built, says, “We have something we call an Exosystem, and this is a set of software and hardware that we could put on almost any kind of heavy equipment and turn it into an autonomous machine or robot.”
Ahmed says Built has focused on using its application for dozers, vibrators, and excavators, all of which play important roles in large-scale solar panel installation.
“Solar is a very automatable kind of process,” he says. “You’re putting in hundreds of thousands of certain items on solar farms in a consistent fashion. So, it’s one of the few construction tasks that is really well aligned with what robots can do.”
Tasks like trenching and drilling, with Exosystem, can be automated using nonautomated machines, offering flexibility for contractors and rental groups that may not have capital to add newly-developed robotics. The machines’ work is as precise as a purpose-built automated unit, Ahmed says. “When we’re talking about solar construction, we’re talking about some measurements at sub-centimetre. We install at very strict tolerances, so you’re looking at a level of precision you’d expect [from a fullyautomated machine].”
While access to affordable, skilled labour also drives the robotics movement, the gains made in safety, efficiency, and circularity should also not be overlooked.
ROBOT-BUILT HOMES
Robots have found a home in residential housing builds in the US, as the country has seen a bevy of new builders enter the segment utilising off-site and on-site robotics. One such company, located near Miami, Florida, US, is Onx home builders, whose X+Construction process, it says, builds single-family homes on one system in as little as 30 days.
Ravi Bhat, chief operating officer for Onx, says the company’s priorities are providing affordable new-build homes that are hurricane resilient in a manageable timeline.
They achieve this at a 150,000 sq ft (13,935m2) facility, which automates the development of concrete walls off-site. The mix is made at the factory, and the walls are outfitted with installation and electrical throughout a robotics-powered assemblyline. Home buyers can visit the Onx factory site, Bhat says, and watch their home move through the automated run.
“It’s part of how we change the customer experience with home buying,” he says, adding the controlled environment and materials mean less surprise costs. The factory setting makes licensing easier, too, which Bhat says has led to their ability to erect homes in as little as one month.
On the Onx floor, there are few labourers at any time; he estimates 15 during the busiest period.
“And they can build four homes per day,” he adds, noting that each stage of the homes’ build involves workers focusing on non-specialty tasks that can be taught to first-time construction labourers. Some workers, for example, will spend an entire day placing bathroom tiles, while another might install the shower.
The homes’ concrete walls are steam-cured, which Bhat says allows Onx to move and store them in eight-hours’ time, instead of the typical 25-plus-day wait-time most concrete walls need to cure.
Once ready for use, the walls are stored on an automatic trolley that can be recalled when ready for on-site installation. At the site, Onx robotics are used to lift in the walls and lay their accompanying foundations, with humans ensuring flush placements and ties.
Automated machines remove workers from some of the most dangerous tasks of construction projects but can also accomplish those tasks quicker and with more precision. “Robots work more efficiently, they are more powerful,” says Ahmed, noting Exosystem machines allow operators to monitor and react from safe distances. “It works more consistently, more safely. Those are the main benefits if you’re a contractor.”
As is the case with ACR’s TyBot, the best robotic products are ones that vastly improve safety, productivity, and sustainability compared to a like human process. TyBot, for example, can run in all weather, day or night. Danielle Proctor, CEO of ACR, says, “Our robotic solutions not only address labour shortages but also significantly improve workplace safety by taking on the most hazardous tasks, such as heavy lifting. “This reduces the risk of injuries and improves overall job satisfaction. Furthermore, by streamlining processes and reducing waste, our technologies contribute to sustainability in construction, aligning with environmental standards.”
AI-POWERED ROBOTIC EXCAVATSORS
What if you could give an excavator a set of CAD drawings and just let it go to work, knowing it would follow directions to within a millimetre of accuracy?
Switzerland-based Gravis Robotics is developing a module for installation on individual excavators, allowing them to navigate jobsites and perform as needed, all without the presence of a human operator.
Neil Woodfin, chief business development officer at Gravis Robotics, says, “What we’ve got is a robotic module which fits onto the roof of the cab. Inside the robotic module is a CPU equipped with cameras to give it a 360-degree view and a LIDAR.”
Sensors on the excavators allow the machine to understand the position of the arm and the boom and the dipper. LIDAR provides measurement of where the machine is on site, while a GNSS sensor provides the GPS reference to the machine.
As a result, the machine can navigate around the site in between its work activities.
“The robotic module learns to operate the excavator and always looks to achieve 100% bucket fill rate when it’s digging,”Woodfin explains. “It’s able to use the AI software to adapt to the heterogeneous environment it’s encountering while digging.”
Woodfin says that once the robotic module is installed on the excavator, it begins to learn how to operate the machine. “Then you can upload CAD drawings of the excavation work that needs to be done,” he says. “We also give you a touch-screen tablet, which sits in the cab, and you can literally draw using your finger where you want on the site, which the trench to be dug. You can type in the depth and the width of the trench, and then the excavator will use that and go off and excavate that trench.”
Gravis is currently working with six OEMs as part of a partnership announced at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, US, in January.
Perhaps some of the biggest gains in recent years have been in sensing and camera technology, a key component of remoteoperated robotics and automated machinery. Drones, which can come outfitted with this tech, are also being used more.
Mason Ford, director of sustainability and equipment services at Skanska, reveals that the sensing segment is top priority. “Our current initiative is the implementation of blind spot detection technology on every machine that we own and operate by 2025,” says Ford.
This will require continued development in sensing, though. “What we’re seeing is a lot of the technology out there only focuses on identification, not avoidance,” he adds.
“We’re very close to our goal of 100% of our equipment fleet having aftermarket or factory OEM technologies on our machines, but it’s crucial for the industry as a whole to maintain momentum in advocating for ‘smarter’ equipment; machines that not only identify hazards but also take action to avoid them once identified.”
ONGOING PROCESS
Robots may be getting smarter everyday, but Ford acknowledges that it’s wise for industry leaders to maintain realistic expectations. The biggest hurdle for massive adoption? Operating in densely populated areas.
A ROBOTIC DRONE AT A CONSTRUCTION SITE
PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
AN ASSEMBLY LINE FOR ONX’S PREFABRICATED BATHROOM UNITS AT THEIR FACTORY LOCATED IN FLORIDA, US
PHOTOS: MITCHELL KELLER
ONX FACTORY MANAGER WALKS THROUGH A CONSTRUCTION SITE NEAR MIAMI, FLORIDA, US
“Realistically, it is rarely feasible in densely populated construction zones,” says Ford. “In these specific projects, the installation of object avoidance technology is essential. In addition to object avoidance technologies, selectively we also employ video surveillance, enabling us to monitor projects closely and identify various hazards as they arise.
“Our hope is for sensors and avoidance technology to be embedded within these machines, intelligently detecting obstacles or individuals, and stopping the machines when necessary. It’s important for industry leaders to continue to challenge the status quo so that we can continue to push for innovation within construction equipment to ensure safer work environments on all project types.”
CONSTRUCTION’S ROBOT REVOLUTION
Aviad Almagor, US-based Trimble’s VP of technology innovation, notes that construction segments also shouldn’t compare themselves to other industries, such as manufacturing.
“In the automotive industry, for example, I’m a bit jealous about what’s going on there,” says Almagor. “You see the full automation of the production line, and, to be fair, they have an easier task to solve because the production line is the same.”
Almagor says ‘cobotics’ – robotics that require human collaboration – are likely to become as prevalent on dynamic construction work sites, while other parts of the industry may move toward off-site prefabrication or modular approaches.
This is likely in the near future, Almagor says, one that sees the industry trending toward dynamic fleets of conventional machines, advanced robotics, and speciality labourers.
UK CONSORTIUM ROBOTIC-AI PROTOT YPE THE ‘FIRST’ FOR TUNNELS
A consortium of mechanical and civil engineering firms released new details on the ‘first’ robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) robotic solution for the installation of mechanical and civil services in on tunnels projects.
Named ATRIS (Automated Tunnel Robotic Installation System), the prototype can autonomously select brackets, locate their end location along a tunnel wall, and install them.
“In doing so, the automated solution can improve on-site health and safety by reducing the risks associated with manual labour at the tunnel work face,” said Costain, one of the companies involved with the venture.
Costain said traditional and manual execution of these services in tunnels has a higher degree of potential hazard, and can be more labour-intensive and time-consuming.
“Once fully developed, the final system can be deployed in tunnel construction for a variety of sectors including transport, water and energy,” added Costain. “It is expected to increase productivity by 40% due to faster installation, reduce installation costs for new mechanical and electrical systems by 30%, and cut construction plant movements by 40% to decrease embodied carbon.”
Four other organisations –Tunnel Engineering Services (TES), i3D robotics (i3D), the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), and VVB Engineering – are involved in ATRIS’ development.
“Robotic fleets should not be one robot,” suggests Trimble’s Almagor. “Construction sites will have a mixed fleet with drones and autonomous cranes and the plaster robot and a brick-layout robot; it’s a mix of tools, and each one of them is different and has someone who understands how to operate and maintain the robot. “There’s so much work to do. What we will need to do is to make sure that those employees will be educated to support the robot, because we’re not going to see sites without any humans in the near future.”