Humanoid robots in the construction industry: A future vision – Humanoid robots are still at the pilot stage but could emerge as the solution to the construction sector’s productivity problem. How can industry leaders prepare for their entry into the workforce?
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/engineering-construction-and-building-materials/our-insights/humanoid-robots-in-the-construction-industry-a-future-vision
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From the article
For decades**,** the construction industry has wrestled with both rising demand and shrinking labor capacity. Productivity has stagnated, and the situation could soon worsen: Many workers are nearing retirement, and fewer young people are entering the field because of safety concerns, uncertainty about future prospects, and the physical intensity of construction work. To alleviate the labor crunch, some businesses have already automated a few common activities, including bricklaying and concreting, using purpose-built robots. A logical next step might involve the use of general-purpose robots, which can perform diverse, unrelated tasks across multiple settings.
General-purpose robots could be useful in a range of construction activities, from moving heavy concrete blocks to welding and plumbing. Although these robots come in various forms, humanoids—those that resemble people in size and shape—attract the most attention. Humanoids are still relatively early in development, but they could potentially transform industries if developers and other stakeholders can overcome technological, regulatory, financial, and operational hurdles.
I had a really interesting conversation with a construction executive who talked about the potential of teleoperated robotic systems for construction.
He was fairly convinced that an AI control system wasn’t necessary as long as they could get the sensors good enough to allow workers to effectively manipulate tools and perform tasks, and that it would be a huge potential efficiency booster specifically because a job site without humans present wouldn’t require anything like the level of safety restrictions we have now.
A ton of potentially productive time on site is currently spent just making sure people don’t get hurt, and a lot of processes could be made significantly more efficient if you could do them without considering worker safety in a human-less setting.
Humanoid robots will never work on a construction site. Too many uneven surfaces, need for tactile expediency etc.
That doesn’t mean no robots though.
Ive worked for a company in the US that currently designs and builds autonomous mining vehicles. They are in the top tier for Autonomous anything. I traveled around the world going ahead of where new mine access was happening to set up LTE communications arrays to have throughput for the vehicles.
Mine sites are ideal for getting data on vehicles that operate autonomously because of 1. The well trained people are only allowed in certain areas. 2. They are essentially closed tracks. 3. Environmental conditions vary, much of the work is redundant.
I can tell all of you that machines that investors WANT to have are incredibly far away from what can be made. Construction robots? Ha! Not happening anytime soon.
As well, that we have all this hyped up bullshit from con artists like Musk and Altman. 80% of what they are predicting is they will be able to do in X years is fuckin bullshit.
What happened to the promise of 3d printed buildings?