Showcasing the best of construction robotics, with Constructing Excellence

We had presentations and demonstrations from our colleagues at BuildingPoint with Boston Dynamics Spot; as well from HP with their SitePrint solution, Hilti with their Jaibot drilling robot and Lincoln Electrics presenting on the robotic cutting, drilling and welding lines they provide. Lots of great examples of robotics being used here and now in the construction industry.

But what was the key thread that linked all of them together? Data.

Without good quality, reliable data none of these solutions can be put to work. This is where the Trimble constructible model comes into its own - yet again. With ‘as will be built’ data these robots can be put to work to improve productivity, reduce health and safety risks, and increase sustainability outcomes for our customers. Without such data these robots become just shiny toys.

But this isn’t the only area where Trimble solutions increase productivity and reduce risk. Robotics is just one of six key breakthrough innovations that Trimble continues to pursue.

IoT

The Internet of Things: sensors. Trimble’s overall drive for open workflows ensures that we can take data from anywhere to help support insights, allowing for better decision-making. Trimble Geospatial offers this with the Trimble 4D monitoring solutions they offer with both Trimble hardware and third party devices. Trimble WorksOS gives dashboard analytics of machine productivity.

Extended Reality

Data in Trimble Connect can be consumed through a whole variety of options, including extended reality with Trimble Connect AR, the Trimble XR10 and Trimble SiteVision offering a whole new set of opportunities for collaboration.

Fabrication and Pre-Fab

Offsite manufacturing is becoming more and more prevalent and Trimble can play its part supporting emerging industries in the same way that Tekla has supported the structural steel and precast concrete industry for decades.

Automating processes within Tekla PowerFab software has been one of the many ways in which our client, Wareing Buildings, has also saved money, time and resources.

Autonomy

Let’s take a recent quote from Trimble CEO Rob Painter, in an interview with International Construction: Painter comments that Trimble sees, autonomy as a progressive series of automation,” and in a way the company have been doing it for 20 years; it was just called machine control. So-called ‘full’ autonomy is a long way off, but automation can play a key role in increasing productivity.

Robotics

In this article by Aviad Almagor, Vice President of Technology Innovation at Trimble, he describes how the uptake of robotics on construction sites is forcing the existing workforce to upskill.

Aviad explains that, Robotics in the construction industry has enabled companies to implement lean practices, increase efficiency and reduce waste. Its implementation signals a change in the economics of construction – moving away from a trade skills-based industry and more towards one where trade and tech skills go hand in hand.

Trimble can offer the data and the partnerships to ensure that robotics can flourish in the factory or on the construction site. Trusted partners such as Hilti, HP and Boston Dynamics have been instrumental in this process of connecting software and hardware.

Sustainability

Another thing that Trimble has been doing for years; by making the industry more productive it has also been improving sustainability outcomes too. Better, more accurate designs from the start that can be viewed collaboratively ensure that time waste is reduced (if not removed completely) from many of the processes.

Trimble’s unique position of providing both software and hardware allows us to take that overall view to really drive better processes throughout the whole lifecycle of a project.

Robotics is just another way we can offer these benefits to our customers.

Learn more about how you can use Trimble software to synchronise your construction workflow.