The terms “robotics” and “automation” can become confusing in the construction industry. Say “robot” and one might immediately imagine an upright humanoid device performing tasks normally performed by a skilled tradesperson.
Indeed, two-legged humanoid devices are one aspect of robotics experiencing serious advancement in many fields of work and life and are certainly very eye-catching. They are, however, a subset of the larger category of automation. It’s important to understand the difference, where they overlap and where future development might take them in construction.
In terms of automation, the construction industry has seen significant development. Automated machinery in factories are now key to creating buildings and infrastructure along with MEP componentry, improving efficiency, precision and providing labour solutions. Such machines are usually large, permanently installed, and programmed to perform repetitive tasks.
Automation in construction can also move outside the factory and take the form of autonomous self-driving vehicles such as bulldozers, excavators and dump trucks that follow pre-programmed paths to grade land or transport materials.
Semi-autonomous road paving trains can now connect asphalt pavers, intelligent rollers and other machines to a digital platform. These can include automated material feed and rollers with smart technologies that automate compaction energy based on continuous density feedback and location.
However, such machinery should not be considered “robotic”, at least not in the current technical sense.
“The term ‘robotics’ specifically relates to machines that can see, sense, actuate and, with varying degrees of autonomy, make decisions,” says Danish-based Universal Robots. This is an area of automation that is rapidly developing.
The latest iterations of devices are called “collaborative robots” or cobots, and are not often humanoid in shape. Cobots are designed to be moved from site to site and easily reprogrammed for different tasks rather than one fixed specific task as in the past.
Such cobots can take the form of moving arms that can perform programmable precision actions, like 3D Concrete Printing.
Like many new technologies now available to construction, industry enthusiasm for robotics is strong but the uptake is cautious. The 2025 report from BuiltWorlds says under half of survey respondents reported employing at least some form of robotic or automated machinery, down from two-thirds in the year before.
“A large section of last year’s reported robotics use came in the form of pilots,” said Audrey Lynch, report author and senior research analyst at BuiltWorlds. “This year, we’ve seen a much smaller share of pilots but more repeated use on projects, suggesting more selective though serious implementation, albeit on smaller scales.”
This has not slowed further innovations.
As described recently, a DEWALT robot can drill repeatable holes on the floors or on ceilings with minimal human intervention. Remote-controlled robots can also be used for hazardous demolition tasks.
Working with rebar in concrete construction projects has been one interesting focus of recent robotic development.
Tybot, by Advanced Construction Robotics, automates the slow and tiresome process of rebar tying activities, leaving crews free to focus on other tasks, while Ironbot lifts, carries and self-places horizontal and longitudinal rebar into position.
Another recent robotic rebar device is the CONIT Runner that moves across wet concrete at a speed of up to 10 mph, creating grooves to the surface of each layer, thereby reducing rebar use by up to 30 per cent.
Hadrian can also automate bricklaying, while Canvas works alongside humans to speed up drywall plastering and painting. And of course Spot the robot dog, commercially introduced in 2020 by Boston Dynamics, can be used for various industrial tasks including inspections, construction monitoring and remote sensing.
Robotics for construction continues to be pushed forward by technology leaders like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston.
Researchers have produced a robotic assembler and a user-friendly interface to generate three voxel-based building layouts fed to robots.
Voxel-based building layouts utilize 3D volumetric pixels (voxels) as modular, lattice-structured units to create high-strength, efficient and reconfigurable architectural structures.
This could reduce the carbon emitted during the lifecycle of building materials by as much as 82 per cent, compared with popular techniques like 3D concrete printing, precast modular concrete and steel framing.
Inchworm-like robots crawl across a voxel structure by anchoring and extending their bodies. These Modular Inchworm Lattice Assembler robots (see video) use grippers on each end to place voxel building blocks and engage the snap-fit connections.
And not to forget actual humanoid robotics, U.K. contractor Tilbury Douglas has deployed a C$28,000 robot on a live worksite.
“The robot is capable of autonomously navigating the construction site to capture 360-degree imagery and detailed progress reports,” the company says. “This data will also support health and safety monitoring and reporting processes.”
The initiative is expected to save an average of 40 hours per month, driving greater efficiency while maintaining high standards of compliance and oversight.
Although widespread robotic adoption has yet to gain a consistent foothold in construction, BuiltWorlds is optimistic.
“A growing commitment among a small share of contractors does signal the technology is slowly but surely transitioning from ‘future tech’ to a truly modern-day jobsite solution.”
John Bleasby is a freelance writer. Send comments and Inside Innovation column ideas to [email protected].
