Trimble, Hilti and Boston Dynamics are exploring the use of autonomous robots in construction to improve safety, productivity and quality.
 
The collaboration aims to integrate California-based Trimble’s and Lichenstein firm Hilti’s construction management software, GNSS technology and reality capture devices with Massachusetts company Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot platform.
 
Autonomous robots can play a significant role in construction, specifically in production and quality control workflows by enabling automation of routine and tedious tasks, reducing workload and improving safety. The companies will collaborate to develop a proof of concept.
 
Equipped with Trimble’s and Hilti’s reality capture devices as its payload and directly communicating with a cloud-based construction management application, the Spot Robot should be able to provide consistent output, deliver improved efficiency on repeatable tasks and enable up-to-date as-built data analysis.
 
“Utilising robots for routine tasks in hazardous environments to improve safety, efficiency and data capture consistency is part of our digital transformation vision,” said Aviad Almagor, senior director at Trimble. “We are excited for this latest collaboration and looking forward to the potential integration of our hardware and software with the Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot to enhance field-oriented workflows, reduce amount of rework and facilitate on-site tasks.”
 
The autonomous, terrain-agnostic capabilities support the dynamic nature of the construction environment, enabling the robot to bypass obstacles and maintain its defined path to support routine tasks such as daily site scans, progress monitoring, asset management and remote support. Multi-directional communications between the robot, Trimble’s and Hilti’s payloads and the cloud application support a continuous flow of information.
 
“Trimble’s and Hilti’s domain knowledge, market leadership and technologies are a great fit for our robotic platform,” said Michael Perry, vice president at Boston Dynamics. “Deploying an integrated solution in the real-world environment doing dirty and dangerous work, before, during and after the construction stage is a common vision for the three companies, which can help drive the transformation of the construction industry.”
 
The Hilti Group supplies the worldwide construction and energy industries with technology, systems, software and services. With more than 29,000 team members in over 120 countries, the company generated annual sales of CHF5.6bn in 2018. The headquarters of the Hilti Group have been in Schaan, Liechtenstein, since its founding in 1941. The company is privately owned by the Martin Hilti Family Trust.