There's a lot of buzz about self-driving cars, but autonomous driving technology could revolutionize another sector first: construction. According to some experts, this sector has not changed much in recent decades, making it an ideal candidate for automation.

“The way we build today is largely unchanged from the way we built 50 years ago,” said Gaurav Kikani, vice president of Built Robotics. “Within two years, I think we'll really turn the corner and you'll see an explosion of robotics being used on construction sites.”

The sector is also facing a labor shortage that has further complicated the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Covid is causing people to take a step back and say, 'Hey, the way we've been doing things for a long time is just not sustainable,'” said Kevin Albert, founder and CEO of Canvas. “It's just a wake-up call for the sector.”

Canvas is one of many companies working on autonomous construction technology. Major players like Caterpillar and Komatsu, and startups like SafeAI and Built Robotics, see value in using autonomous machines to accelerate construction projects.

The mining industry was one of the first to use self-driving technology. Caterpillar began its first autonomy program more than thirty years ago. The company now has the largest fleet of autonomous trucks. Caterpillar says it has shipped 2 billion tons in just over six years.

Built Robotics is a San Francisco-based startup founded by an ex-Google engineer who already has machines in the field. It has automated various equipment such as bulldozers and excavators.

“You can now collapse your construction timeline so you can leave the work out overnight so it's ready in the morning for your human workers to move on,” Kikani said.

SafeAI is another Silicon Valley startup. It recently partnered with Obayashi for a pilot program. It has retrofitted equipment such as dump trucks, bulldozers and loaders.

Robots also help indoors. San Francisco-based Canvas created an autonomous drywall finishing machine and has worked on projects including the San Francisco International Airport and Chase Arena. People work next to the robot system.

“Drywall is very hard work on the body,” Albert said. “And we have seen that 1 in 4 employees have to end their career prematurely due to injuries. This will create longer careers for people and also allow people to participate in professions that they previously did not have access to.”

The construction industry is one of the largest sectors in the global economy, spending approximately 10 trillion annually. That expenditure accounts for 13% of global GDP, even though the sector's annual productivity growth has only increased by 1% over the past two decades. According to McKinsey & Co. 1.6 trillion in additional value could be created through higher productivity, and autonomy would help the industry achieve that.

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How autonomous robots are changing construction

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