Five Examples of Robotics Being Used in Construction

Automation is becoming a way of life with businesses increasingly looking to find ways of automating time-consuming and repetitive tasks.

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The construction industry is among the many to embrace the current trend for robotics, particularly with regards to how it can help perform dangerous tasks and enhance efficiency. It is finding ways to use automation at every step in the construction stage, from early planning through to the maintenance of the final structure. Even the Health and Safety Executive is looking closely at how Building Information Modelling can help improve safety on construction sites.

Here we take a look at five ways robotics are playing their part in construction.

1. Virtual Reality

Virtual reality systems stimulate a realistic environment for construction companies to look at before work actually begins, or to determine how they can work within an area which already exists. VR automation and its 3D images are highly accurate and eradicate the risk of human error.

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Virtual 3D modelling companies such as BIM Technology (https://www.bimtech-eng.com/) specialise in the creation of such imagery.

2. Drones

Drones allow construction sites to be monitored automatically. As well as reducing the costs of supervision, they can scan areas for potential hazards before reporting back to a centralised control system. Very useful.

3. Autonomous machines

Increasingly popular on construction sites, these self-driving machines can help to avoid putting workers’ safety at risk by taking on the job of transporting heavy materials across a construction site.

Forklifts, diggers and trucks are just some of the types of equipment that can be operated automatically without the need for a driver sitting in the cabin. With robotic technology solutions, efficiency can also be increased as constructor workers operate machinery remotely.

4. Robotics in Concrete Works

Different aspects of concrete works are now also enjoying the use of automation and robotics. Demolition robots are now frequently used to demolish concrete structures, often with the result of reducing operational costs alongside creating a safer environment for demolition workers.

The automation of concrete mixing and floor polishing further reduces the chances of human error and can speed up the entire work process.

5. Sensors

Sensors are vital to the success of all automation. By collecting important information, they can enable different actions to be triggered by automatic machines, taking real-time accurate readings of pressure, location and temperature.

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