Construction robots: Key market research findings
- Rise of modular constructed buildings
- Growing robotics technology in interior finishing operations
Technavio has released a new market research report on the global construction robots market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% between 2016 and 2020. Construction robots improve productivity, quality of end-products; reduce manual operations, leading to less errors; shorten construction time; reduce costs; and increase safety in hazardous working environments. Labour shortage in developed countries, growth of the high quality infrastructure projects in developing countries, and shorter construction duration will accelerate the demand for construction robots in the coming years. APAC dominates the global construction robots market, accounting for 66% of the total market share. Japan is the key revenue-contributing country in the region, as it applies robotics in the construction industry owing to its massive labor shortage.
The new industry research report from Technavio discusses in detail the key drivers and trends responsible for the growth of this market and its sub-segments.
“Of late, construction robots are used to manufacture components of modular housing such as in the production of concrete floor, wall and roof panels, laying of tiles, and placing of vertical, horizontal, and triangular reinforcement bars. Such modular construction offers several advantages including reduction of health risks of workers, shorter construction time, greater control on material use and supply, minimum effect of weather conditions on construction processes, decreased waste and productivity and least disturbance to neighbors,” says Bharath Kanniappan, Lead Analyst, Industrial Automation, Technavio Research
Owing to achieve maximum accuracy in the interior designing of homes, interior finishing operators are deploying robots to perform a variety of operations such as extending, compacting, and controlling the thickness of the concrete on the floor; assembly of interior walls and ceilings; and spraying and painting of steel columns. Robots are increasingly being used in buildings with large floor surface areas that have few hindrances such as walls, columns, and openings. They are used in high-rise offices, factories, shopping centers, and warehouses. These robots are six to eight times faster than manual workers. For instance, Surf Robo, a robot by the Takenaka Corporation of Japan, automatically compacts the floor made of concrete by using sets of rotary floats. The robot is also used in inspecting floor ceramic surfaces to ensure the floor is flat and free of obstacles. It also checks each board surface for irregularities.
This market is highly fragmented with the presence of several robotic vendors. The market consists of construction equipment manufacturers such as Hitachi to develop construction robots that can improve quality and increase productivity. The market also comprises robot innovation centers and institutes such as Carnegie Mellon University and MIT, which focus on research and development of specialized construction robots.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report, Global Construction Robots Market 2016-2020.
