Talk:Construction robots

COI edit request: expansion of "Earthmoving" section

Before submitting this request, I substantially expanded all the article (diff). I did not edit the Earthmoving section directly due to my conflict of interest with one of the companies mentioned — Bedrock Robotics. I am now asking an independent editor to review this proposed addition to the Earthmoving section – a balanced overview covering all major market players.

Proposed expanded text for Earthmoving

• In 2008, Komatsu Limited deployed the FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) at the Gabriela Mistral copper mine operated by Codelco in Chile — the world's first commercial autonomous haulage deployment. Driverless dump trucks equipped with GPS, radar, and collision detection transported material without human operators.

• Between 2019 and 2021, Mortenson Construction and Black & Veatch were among the first construction contractors to deploy autonomous excavation technology on commercial projects, using systems developed by Built Robotics. Mortenson used the technology for wind turbine foundation excavation in Colorado. Black & Veatch deployed autonomous excavators on a solar energy project in Florida, digging 1,000 linear feet of trenches.

• In 2025, Sundt Construction carried out mass excavation at a 130-acre industrial site in Arizona: Caterpillar excavators equipped with retrofit kits developed by Bedrock Robotics — comprising LiDAR, cameras, and onboard computing systems — operated autonomously, moving over 65,000 cubic yards of earth and rock. This was described as the industry's largest-known supervised autonomy deployment at the time.

References

Wiki Markup (to copy + paste)

* In 2008, [[Komatsu Limited]] deployed the FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) at the Gabriela Mistral copper mine operated by [[Codelco]] in Chile — the world's first commercial autonomous haulage deployment. Driverless dump trucks equipped with GPS, radar, and collision detection transported material without human operators.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Komatsu FrontRunner hits milestone |url=https://www.miningmagazine.com/fleets/news/1351723/komatsu-frontrunner-hits-milestone |work=Mining Magazine |date=2018-11-23 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>

* Between 2019 and 2021, [[Mortenson Construction]] and [[Black & Veatch]] were among the first construction contractors to deploy autonomous excavation technology on commercial projects, using systems developed by [[Built Robotics]]. Mortenson used the technology for wind turbine foundation excavation in Colorado. Black & Veatch deployed autonomous excavators on a solar energy project in Florida, digging 1,000 linear feet of trenches.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Liebeskind |first=Ken |title=Construction Jobs Accelerate With Autonomous Robot Use |url=https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/construction-jobs-accelerate-with-autonomous-robot-use/51398 |work=Construction Equipment Guide |date=2021-02-25 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>

* In 2025, Sundt Construction carried out mass excavation at a 130-acre industrial site in Arizona: [[Caterpillar Inc.|Caterpillar]] excavators equipped with retrofit kits developed by Bedrock Robotics — comprising LiDAR, cameras, and onboard computing systems — operated autonomously, moving over 65,000 cubic yards of earth and rock. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Bedrock Robotics Moves Earth with Autonomous Excavators |url=https://www.enr.com/articles/62211-bedrock-robotics-moves-earth-with-autonomous-excavators |work=Engineering News-Record |date=2025-12-15 |access-date=2026-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260322091304/https://www.enr.com/articles/62211-bedrock-robotics-moves-earth-with-autonomous-excavators |archive-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> This was described as the industry's largest-known supervised autonomy deployment at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waldschmidt |first=Jordanne |title=Bedrock Robotics Deploys Industry's Largest Supervised Autonomous Excavator Test |url=https://www.equipmentworld.com/equipment-controls/autonomous/article/15772863/bedrock-robotics-leads-major-autonomous-excavation-push |work=Equipment World |date=2025-12-03 |access-date=2026-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260212111317/https://www.equipmentworld.com/equipment-controls/autonomous/article/15772863/bedrock-robotics-leads-major-autonomous-excavation-push |archive-date=2026-02-12}}</ref>

Thank you for your time and consideration! Alexandra Goncharik ^-sms- 10:17, 22 March 2026 (UTC)

@Nirmaljoshi: Hello Nirmaljoshi, Would you have time to review an edit request above? You appear to be the creator this article and my fellow-participant in WikiProject Engineering, so I decided to ping you. I recently expanded the article substantially, restructuring all sections and adding sourced coverage of notable deployments.

Your original references to Japanese articles, books, and research sent me down an unexpected path: I ended up finding 1988 symposium proceedings describing the MARK robot, which was already finishing concrete floors autonomously in 1984 — the year I was born. Amazing! I tracked down the original PDF from the IAARC archive and added it to the article.

Thank you for laying the foundation! No pressure at all regarding my request. I just thought you might find it interesting. Alexandra Goncharik ^-sms- 10:42, 22 March 2026 (UTC)

Partly done Alexandra Goncharik The Komatsu info was poorly sourced, so I skipped it. The source for your company didn't mention Caterpillar in the article, only as a caption of the photo it said the company provided. If you have a better source that specifically mentions Caterpillar equipment being outfitted and used at that site, as you describe, I can include their name. STEMinfo (talk) 22:55, 15 July 2026 (UTC)

April 2026 expansion

Hi Alexandra. I have made a few additions to the article, partly picking up on some recent UK news coverage regarding robots and 3D printing (one of the companies involved - Hyperion - was also discussed at the conference I attended yesterday). As previously discussed on my user Talk page, the conference confirmed that a lot of industrialised construction (IC) is happening offsite in factories; onsite use of robots for physical construction (as opposed to surveying, inspection, progress-tracking, etc) remains rare. A survey from Autodesk/Dodge suggested the countries most advanced in IC were Japan and Germany; the US was said to be lagging - the survey report will be shared soon (I've registered to get a copy once it goes public). Paul W (talk) 17:32, 23 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi Paul, thank you for your last additions and for bringing fresh material straight from the conference! It is great to see the article growing richer with real-world examples since you joined in.

I looked up Hyperion's 3D concrete printing on YouTube and found it fascinating to watch in action. The Tilbury Douglas humanoid was also new to me, I had not come across it before.

Also, I would be very interested to see the Autodesk/Dodge survey when it goes public, especially the Japan/Germany/US comparison. That data could be really useful for the lead summary or the Social impact section. Alexandra Goncharik ^-sms- 07:42, 3 May 2026 (UTC)