Trimble, Hilti, and Boston Dynamics Partner to Explore the Use of Autonomous Robots in Construction
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Trimble, Hilti, and Boston Dynamics announced a collaboration to explore the integration of Trimble’s and Hilti’s construction management software solutions, GNSS technology, and reality capture devices with Boston Dynamics’ Spot Robot platform.
Autonomous robots can play a significant role in construction, specifically in production and quality control workflows by enabling automation of routine and tedious tasks, reducing workload and improving safety. The companies will collaborate to develop a “proof-of-concept” solution. Equipped with Trimble’s and Hilti’s reality capture devices as its payload and directly communicating with a cloud-based construction management application, the Boston Dynamics Spot Robot will be able to provide consistent output, deliver improved efficiency on repeatable tasks and enable up-to-date as-built data analysis. The autonomous, terrain-agnostic capabilities support the dynamic nature of the construction environment, enabling the robot to by-pass obstacles and maintain its defined path to support routine tasks, such as daily site scans, progress monitoring, asset management and remote support. Multidirectional communication between the robot, Trimble’s and Hilti’s payloads, and the cloud application support a continuous flow of information and closes the loop for the construction environment.