Construction Robots

HRP-5P robot. © Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Institute.

Japan’s Advanced Industrial Science and Technology Institute (AIST) has developed a humanoid robot able to take on a variety of tasks typically performed on construction and renovation sites. Called HRP-5P, it can be seen putting up drywall in a video (link below). The work, though slow, seems satisfactory. The robot isn’t being presented by its development team as a marketable product, but rather as a development platform that could eventually lead to the use of robots on construction sites – for buildings, but also ships and aircraft. Given Japan’s ageing population and its disdain for manual labour, this type of robot is seen as a solution to its labour shortages.

⇨ Engadget, “Humanoid construction robot installs drywall by itself.”