b'TECHNOLOGYTECHNOLOGY RESHAPING THE JOBSITEHOW ROBOTICS IS CHANGING CONSTRUCTION By Sarah B. HoodFROM THE JETSONS MAID ROSEYIndustrial Science and Technology (AIST), aRobotics has really grown by leaps and to Optimus Prime, BB-8 and WALL-E,metallic humanoid that can pick up, carrybounds in a relatively short amount of weve all grown up with robot pals. Mostand install a sheet of drywall. The categorytime, and the pandemic has undoubtedly of them have been fictional, but the robotof robotic technology includes drones,hit the fast-forward button, says Josh revolution is now underway in real life, withwhich are now becoming common forCheney, senior manager of strategic potential benefits for both the Canadianfunctions like roof inspections and aerialalliances at Californias Autodesk tech sector and the construction industry. photography, and self-driving vehicles,Construction Solutions, which develops which are already fairly common insoftware for construction robotics and Canadians are already making theirwarehouses and coming soon to a highwayhas offices in Toronto. For example, says mark in robotics. A 2016 report by Globalnear you. Cheney, Autodesk offers a tool that allows Affairs Canada titled Canadas Roboticsconstruction companies to deploy robots Industry noted that Canada is a hotbedIndustrial robots, including a variety ofto collect 360 photo captures of jobsites of automation potential due in part to acollaborative robots, are opening up manyand push that imagery into the Autodesk regulatory environment that is favourablenew applications in construction. MachinesConstruction Cloud with almost noto testing and development and in partthat can work alone or in partnership withhuman intervention.to a wealth of post-secondary institutionsa human worker offer enormous benefits,As we know, the construction industry offering programs in robotics and relatedfrom cost savings to increased safetyhas historically been slow to adopt new fields. In fact, with a 35 per cent annualand the ability to track work functionstechnology, but this is changing, and growth in robot orders from 2010 to 2015,and productivity in granular detail. Farrobotics is a part of that, Cheney says. Canada [was leading] the North Americanfrom replacing human workers, roboticRobotics is playing roles in design rise in demand for robots. equipment can free skilled personnel fromplanning and optimization, reality capture, basic and repetitive tasks, and enablequantity takeoffs, jobsite inspections and Of course, todays robots look more likejunior workers to safely and accuratelyprogress tracking. Were able to leverage R2-D2 than C-3PO, with exceptions like theperform duties that would otherwise berobotics for measurements and spatial HRP-5P, developed by Japans Advancedbeyond their capabilities. and environmental awareness, as well as 22Quarter 22021 BUILDERSDIGEST'