Skanska UK has received a funding award worth more than £700 000 to develop the use of robots for on-site and off-site construction.
The award came from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as part of their collaborative R&D programme.
Skanska is leading a research consortium to create robotic construction units that can be deployed on site, or in ‘flying factories’, to carry out cutting, drilling and fixing.
‘Flying factories’ is a system of near-site manufacture, which allows structures to be built in controlled conditions, removing the potential effects of bad weather and other on-site hazards – speeding up the assembly of the building on site.
The advantage of robotics in construction is that it is safe, green, accurate and fast.
Adapted from press release by Joseph Green