Technology Catch-Up: Construction Industry Strives to Adapt, Adopt, Reshape

Drones that tie rebar. Robots that make roadway repairs. Machines that perform earthwork with little or no human intervention.

These are just a sampling of the robotic solutions many believe can influence and improve construction performance and safety, as a key part of transforming how the industry works.In its “Worldwide Robotics and Drones Spending Guide,” International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts a worldwide $128.7 billion in global spending for robotics systems and drones in 2020, with construction taking a good share of the investment lead.

Construction robotics spending has a predicted 25.2 percent compound annual growth rate between 2019-2023.But will that be enough to reverse familiar industry woes that include delays and cost overruns, low margins and still too-high risk, and limited process improvement? Construction’s productivity growth rate has run just 1 percent annually for the past two decades, a recent McKinsey & Company report noted.