The future of construction automation: Technological disruption and the upcoming ubiquity of robotics

The following article reviews past and current tendencies and derives and describes opportunities for future construction automation that go beyond the current notion of construction automation. Various indicators suggest that conventional construction methodology has reached its limits. An overlay of S-curves can be used to describe the relationship between the stagnation and technical limits of conventional construction and the initiation, development, and growth of new strategies and technologies of construction automation. Although approaches of construction automation are still in an innovation or seed phase, it can be expected that with continued effort put into research and development these approaches may soon enter into the growth phase and encounter adoption on a larger scale. Furthermore, the article shows that over time, the ability of robot systems has grown, allowing them to work more and more in comparably unstructured environments as well as to be deployed in numerous and diverse fields. Currently, it can already be observed that construction automation technology, STCR approaches, service robot systems, and other microsystems technology are merging with the built environment, becoming inherent elements of buildings, building components, and building furniture.