Dive Brief:
- Robotics in construction are on the rise, and new market research shows that the sector is expected to swell in value as contractors look to technology to combat safety and labor shortage issues.
- The global construction robotics market is poised to reach $164 million by 2030, according to market research firm Straits Research. The U.S. and Europe will be the largest geographic areas for adoption.
- The global market was valued at $50 million in 2021, and had a compounded annual growth rate of 14%, according to Straits. As more people across the world migrate into cities, notes the report, demand for infrastructure and transportation services, along with housing, will drive up construction demand, leading employers to robotics to fill labor gaps.
Dive Insight:
Straits expects the construction robotics market in the U.S. to reach $54 million and the European market to reach $52 million. However, current adoption favors the European market, which has 1.2 robots for every 10,000 construction workers, over the American market, which has 0.2 robots for every 10,000 construction workers.
Key players in the development of construction-related robots, according to the research, include Melbourne, Florida-based 3D printer Apis Cor and Mountain View, California-based firm Dusty Robotics, whose chief product is a layout robot that using autonomous technology to streamline the generally tedious and time-consuming layout process.
Additional key players include Stockholm-based machine development company Husqvarna and Copenhagen-based 3D printing company COBOD, which recently netted an investment from global venture capital firm CEMEX Ventures, an arm of building material giant CEMEX.
While the uptake of robotics in construction has been slow by some measures, experts are prepared for the technology to explode, predicting mass adoption within the next two decades or as soon as five years from now.
