Top 5 Applications of Construction Robotics
- Surendra Singh
- Nov 24, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 25, 2024
The construction industry has huge economic importance, yet it is beset with inefficiencies. As a result of this, the productivity in the construction industry has hardly increased. In such a situation, ‘robotics’ have a great potential to revolutionize the construction industry and drive in several advantages to it. Construction is a labor-intensive sector and the robotic system can prove to be very effective in reducing the labour costs, while at the same time enhancing the safety, productivity and quality in construction.
Here are the top five applications of robotics in the construction jobsite:
Robotics for Ensuring Construction Site Safety
Safety in the construction site has always been a matter of concern for all. According to the International Labour Organization, 30% of the workplace injuries occur in the construction sites and the construction workers are 4× more vulnerable to undergo fatal accidents compared to other industries. This is where robotics can play a prominent role. By making the robots perform dangerous tasks or work in unsafe places and make them handle heavy and huge loads can reduce dangers on the part of the construction workers and thus, ensure jobsite safety. Apart from this, these robots can ensure safety in the jobsite by detecting the various instances of safety non-compliances on the part of the workers.
Robotics for Enhancing Construction Site Productivity
Studies have predicted that the total value of global construction industry shall witness a rise by 85% over the next decade to $15.5 trillion worldwide by the year 2030. It has also been held that the robotic automation in the construction industry has great potentialities of bringing high growth in the construction industry in general and certain key sectors of construction, such as 3D printing and pre-fabrication, in particular. Robotics can enhance the productivity of the construction jobsite by: automating the fabrication of modular homes and building components off-site; robotic 3D printing of houses and customized structures; and robotic welding and material handling on construction sites. Apart from this, by helping avoid rework and ensuring construction jobsite safety, the robots can further enhance the productivity in the construction jobsite.
Robotics for Construction Site Surveillance & Inspection
Surveillance & inspection in the construction sites are required from time-to-time before, during and after a construction project. Multiple assessments are required to review the jobsite. Generally, the Project Managers and supervisors walk down the construction site to conduct inspections now and then. However, the construction robotics can be of great help in this process of site surveillance & inspection. The robotic systems, such as aerial drones and ground-based robots, can be used to survey the jobsite and collect multiple types of data. Simultaneously, using Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), the operators can have a realistic and a real-time vision of what the robotic systems are viewing.
Robotics for Progress Tracking in Construction Site
Progress tracking is a crucial task in the construction industry. It is through progress tracking that the stakeholders keep a track of the schedules, check the costs involved in the project and analyze the team productivity. It gives the owner a holistic view on the progress of his project and thus, accordingly ideate his further actions. Conventionally, the industry has been seen to rely on manual means of progress tracking. It is generally the Project Engineers or Field Engineers, who walk down the construction jobsite, observe, calculate and note the progress of the project. However, with construction robots this task becomes much easy. The smart AI and computer vision enabled robots can easily track something as simple as the progress of a wall to tracking the minutest of error on each floor of a building that too in lesser time and with minimal human interference.
Robotics for Auto-Documentation in Construction Site
Construction documentation is yet another important task in the construction jobsite that has great impacts on the success of a construction project. However, construction documentation and management are not very interesting thing to do. This task becomes even more complex in case of large-scale project. Traditionally, the construction companies are seen to adopt manual documentation for their projects, which is definitely not the smart way. Manual documentation has several inherent disadvantages such as it is cumbersome, time-taking and erroneous; has accessibility issues; requires more manpower and such others. However, the construction robots can eliminate these shortcomings of manual documentation very easily and with lesser human interference. The smart robots powered by AI & Computer vision can easily detect any non-compliance in the jobsite and track progress and simultaneously record the smart insights in the cloud-based document repositories.
Thus, the construction robotics is opening up new ways of revolutionizing the construction industry and enhancing the safety, productivity and quality in the industry.
With the aim of revolutionizing the construction industry, viAct has introduced its smart robotic system working in a collaborative robot background, which is a value addition to viAct’s existing monitoring solution based on AIoT; thus, making the entire process of construction site monitoring more accurate, optimal and error-free.
Fascinating how robotics is reshaping the construction industry-from bricklaying to site inspection, the efficiency gains are impressive. Automation is clearly the way forward, not just in construction but in other labor-intensive sectors too. For example, industries like pest control are also embracing digital tools to streamline their operations, with solutions that help manage scheduling, customer records, and technician routes more efficiently. Tech is transforming everything-one smart upgrade at a time.
Construction robotics are revolutionizing the industry by boosting productivity, improving safety, and enhancing precision. However, to fully harness these benefits, it’s essential to implement reliable equipment tracking. Without it, managing high-value robotic tools and machinery can become chaotic, leading to costly downtime and inefficiencies. An effective equipment tracking system ensures every piece of technology is accounted for, maintained properly, and available when needed, maximizing the ROI on these advanced construction assets.