Applications and Challenges of Robotics in Building Construction in China

Construction robots could offer great opportunities to address various issues facing the construction industry and catalyze its transformation. However, their widespread adoption in building construction remains limited. This paper aims to investigate the current application status and challenges of robotics in building construction in China. The research was carried out through a critical review, interviews and a questionnaire survey with 140 relevant practitioners in China's construction industry. The two most common usage scenarios were identified as the use of robots for concrete construction and drones for construction sites. Ten critical challenges were identified, and the most critical ones perceived by industry practitioners were immaturity of business models of construction robots, uncertainty of economic benefits and lack of inter-disciplinary talents in both construction and automation. The potential impact of construction robots on unemployment rate and the general single-task function of construction robots were not considered as significant challenges. Drawing on the findings, this study puts forth several recommendations for users, developers, and policymakers of construction robots to facilitate the successful applications of robotics in building construction.