A new trend in home construction involves the use of robots. Recently, a Tokyo-based research facility known as ASIT developed the first humanoid robot that installs drywall. In the United States, there are companies that use robots and machines to create builder-specific house frames with windows, plumbing, insulation, and electrical wires. The walls, roof, and floor are then trucked to the house construction site. This process creates a house in half the normal time when humans, and no robots are involved. Stephen Kim, a senior housing analyst for Evercore ISI says that up to 20% of houses will follow this robotic process in the next five years. Kim states, “I think this will be a significant change in the way houses are built.”
Japan’s ASIT focuses on socio-economic problems. Its drywall-hanging robot, HRP-5P, addresses population shortfalls due to Japan’s aging population and shrinking birthrate. HRP-5P uses different technologies including object detection, motion planning, and environmental measurements to understand the room’s layout, find and pick-up drywall panels, position the panels correctly, and attached them with a screwdriver. Although HRP-5P does not have as much freedom of movement as a human, it can flex into positions that humans cannot. In addition, HRP-5P does not get tired like a human worker, does not call in sick, and can work 24 hours a day. ASIT wants to collaborate with private companies for further breakthroughs with this technology in the aircraft and ship manufacturing industries.
In the United States, companies such as Blueprint Robotics in Maryland use machines and robots to create house panels for any blueprint that a builder submits. 30 software engineers and architects convert builders’ plans into programs that computerized machines and robots follow. This same technology has been utilized in Europe for decades. Robots cut wood to exact lengths, form holes for electric sockets and wiring, nail wall studs at precise intervals, create bigger holes for windows and doors, and shoot insulation in spaces between the studs. Tasks that take traditional construction workers hours to complete are done in minutes by the robots. The panels for the walls, roof, and floor are then trucked to the construction site where the builder finishes the house with drywall, carpet, and cabinetry.
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Construction Robotics of New York developed a bricklaying robot known as Semi-Automated Mason, or SAM. SAM lays 2,000 – 3,000 bricks in eight hours compared to 400 – 600 for a human mason. SAM costs $2,900 per week to rent, but due to its increased productivity, it actually results in an overall reduction in masonry costs for a construction project.
The United States has a shortage of workers in the construction industry. Many workers left the field after the housing crash in 2008. Baby boomers are retiring and fewer high school graduates are choosing to enter this labor-intensive industry. Additionally, immigrant construction workers face government crackdowns. Robotics answer these shortages and provide advantages such as not being vulnerable to weather, human error or illness, and miscoordination of efforts among multiple subcontractors. The robots also provide increased productivity that outweigh the costs. For example, builders pay 15% more for the work completed by Blueprint Robotics. However, the increased productivity and timeliness of building results in builders building more houses and conversely, selling more houses. Robots solve the worker shortages while producing at a higher level with lower overall costs allowing for increased profits for builders. This will result in continued and increased robotics in the housing industry in the future.
