Robotic Innovation Will Improve Labour Productivity
Emerging robotics technology may soon help construction companies and contractors create buildings in less time, at higher quality, and at lower costs. Purdue University innovators developed (are now testing) a novel construction robotic system using a custom end effector design, which allows for material to be both placed and fastened in the same operation using the same arm, limiting the amount of equipment that is required to complete a given task.
As Will Knight states in a report for Wired.com, it has long been impractical to deploy robots at construction sites, because the environment is so varied, complex, and changing.
In the past few years however, advances including low-cost laser sensors, cheaper robotic arms and grippers, and open source software for navigation and computer vision have made it possible to automate and analyse more construction.
The more advanced machines marching onto construction sites will help make construction less wasteful.
According to a McKinsey report titled “Reinventing Construction: A Route To Higher Productivity”, productivity in construction has improved less than in any other industry over the past couple of decades.
The arrival of more automation may also alter demand for labour in a number of building trades.
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