Rugged Robotics marks first full-scale pilot with Consigli
Houston-based Rugged Robotics has completed its first full-scale pilot on a Consigli job site.
The company has been prototyping and testing for 18 months and is now starting to scale commercially with "several" multi-billion-dollar general contractors.
The collaboration is in line with Consigli’s commitment to support and utilise cutting-edge technologies in an effort to advance efficiencies in the construction process.
Rugged Robotics’ inaugural product tackles the challenge of field layout - traditionally performed using tape measures, chalk-lines, and surveying equipment to manually mark the location of walls and mechanical systems.
Rugged Robotics automates this process, marking fully coordinated designs directly on to concrete floors using small robotic vehicles. Using the rover, construction workers can print much more information than typically seen on a manual layout, reduce the time spent reviewing plans, and as a result, conduct faster, more accurate installations. It also helps eliminate potential oversights and errors in the manual layout.
Recently, the Rugged Robotics rover was put to the test at Cambridge Crossing – Parcel H, where Consigli is building the new headquarters for Sanofi, one of MA’s largest life science employers. At Parcel H, Rugged delivered a multi-trade layout on six floors covering more than 240,000 sq ft. Their automated layout resulted in improved coordination, reduced errors, and significant time savings on the front end.
“Consigli truly believes in our solution and together, we are working to improve the construction industry,” said Derrick Morse, co-founder and CEO of Rugged Robotics. “As someone who is passionate about the construction industry, it has been thrilling to be in the field and working alongside the Consigli team.”
“At Consigli, our leadership and technology teams are always looking for ways to make construction projects more accurate and efficient, and maximize the allocation of resources on each site,” said Jack Moran, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP and Consigli’s director of VDC and Integrated Services. “We see technology as a way to support our workforce and to meet the construction demands of the future. Rugged Robotics proved its value with an automated tool that exceeded our expectations and worked in synergy with our team.”
Following the pilot, Rugged and Consigli continue to collaborate as Rugged refines, deploys and scales its solution. Consigli has US offices in Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Maine, Connecticut, and New York.
Funding continues to pour into robotics as the construction industry continues to embrace digital and 3D construction.
ICON, developer of advanced construction technologies including robotics, software and building materials, recently completed a $207 million series B round of financing led by Norwest Venture Partners. To date, ICON has delivered more than two dozen 3D-printed homes and structures across the US and Mexico.
Diamond Age, a full stack robotics startup that is automating new home construction to make home ownership more affordable, raised an $8 million seed round led by Prime Movers Lab and Alpaca VC.
Using 3D printing and robotics technology, Diamond Age is building a suite of 26 end-of-arm robotic tools to offset 55% of the manual labour required to build a new home, reducing the construction cycle time from about 9 months to 30 days.
Black Buffalo 3D aims to "revolutionise construction" by becoming the leading global provider of smart 3D construction printers (3DCP) from one to four stories.
