Where has Construction Automation been successful?
The author analyzes the history of construction automation by reviewing over a century of trade journals using AI-assisted research. The study concludes that automation in construction has only succeeded when tasks are performed off-site in factories or involve highly repetitive, machine-friendly on-site motions.
Why it matters
Understanding the historical limitations of construction automation provides critical insights into why housing costs remain high and where future innovation efforts should be directed.
130 21 16 Share Construction is famously labor intensive: direct labor makes up close to 50% of the cost of constructing a new single-family home in the US, compared to around 6 to 8% of the cost of manufacturing a car. Unsurprisingly, there’s long been interest in automating the construction process to reduce the amount of labor required, and therefore the cost of housing. The earliest attempt at automating construction I’m aware of dates to 1853, with a plastering machine invented by Isaac Hussey, and since then there have been numerous other attempts.
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