Skanska awarded grant to develop construction robots

Skanska UK has received a £700,000 grant to develop the use of robots for on-site and off-site construction.

Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as part of their research and development programme, have awarded the funding to the two and a half year project.

Skanska is leading a research consortium to manufacture robotic construction units that can be used on site or in ‘flying factories’. These are temporary manufacturing facilities that are created in close proximity to a construction site. Prefabricated structures are then made there and transported to the site where they are then assembled. This greatly speeds up the assembly of the building on site, reduces travel times and the carbon footprint of the project.

The project, Flexible Robotic Assembly Modules for the Built Environment (FRAMBE) will commence in October this year, with the robotic construction units being designed to perform numerous tasks, including cutting, drilling and fixing on site and ultimately transform productivity in construction.

Sam Stacey, Skanska’s Head of Innovation, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this grant. Robotics in construction is an unknown field and provides great opportunities. A robot to drill and fix to the underside of slabs, for example, would eliminate a lot of work at height in dusty, noisy environments.”

Skanska have been working in partnership with ABB Robotics; The Building Research Establishment; Tekla UK; Exelin; and the University of Reading.

On Skanka’s collaboration with these partners, Mr Stacey commented: “This approach, of collaboration with experts from a range of industries, is bringing to construction the levels of quality and cost reduction experienced sectors such as automotive. Our relationship with ABB has been established through the 3D concrete printing project and, in Sweden, with robot solutions for civil works; Exelin is a partner on flying factories.”

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