Application of Robotics to Building Construction

Abstract

presentation during the First Conference on Robotics in Construction. 1 Statement of the Problem Employment of robots for performance of various production tasks is gaining an ever growing application in the manufacturing industries . The number of robots employed in the US industry grew according to [R2] from 200 in 1970 to 5,000 in 1981. It is estimated by the American Robot Association that the number of robots in the US will reach 15,000 in 1985, and 100,000 in 1990. The growing employment of robots is accompanied by a considerable research and development effort in this area. According to [R10], research in robotics is carried out at the present in 20-25 academic research centers and government scientific laboratories, and a similar number of commercial enterprises. The volume of government sponsored research in robotics in the U.S. was about 20 million dollars in 1982. The investment in research of the private sector was probably even larger.