The usage of robotics in the $126 billion-Indian construction industry is set to go up, with initiatives like Make in India and Digital India giving a push to the use of robots for early project completion as well as environment sustainability.

In 2015, Make in India invested over $13 billion in robotics. “With the Indian Government’s target of investing about $377 billion in infrastructure by 2019, the usage of robotics in construction is expected to witness a high growth in this period,” Velprakash K, National Director at JLL India said in a press note today.

Globally, the use of robots is growing at the rate of 6.73 per cent annually, while the growth in India has been around 12 per cent. Construction industry employs around 40 million people in India, accounting for nearly 8 per cent of the country’s GDP.

Cost effective solutions

“An increasing reliance on technology, along with robotics, to tackle the complexities of mega projects, has started pushing companies to explore newer and cost effective solutions. A multi-purpose drone, bulldozer automation systems, robots cutting, stacking and packaging materials and welding structural frames are increasingly becoming a common feature across large, complex construction projects,” he said.

Robots also help cope with mundane activities like lifting, shifting, loading-unloading and other repetitive jobs, reducing dependence on human intervention and external factors such as fatigue, interest, skills, work timing and human errors. “Apart from addressing the issue of productivity, robots also play a key role in challenging work environment like mines and tunneling, where work has to be carried out in confined spaces and extreme weather conditions, human intervention in these areas is impossible,” Velprakash said.

Pollution

Robots, with their precision, can contribute towards reducing the carbon footprint by cutting the use of fossil fuel, reduced air and noise pollution and minimize other environmental risk associated with construction.

Moreover, as projects continue to become increasingly complex, contractors face a huge risk on timely delivery. The advent of pre-cast technology in the present form and integration of robots with technology helps to optimize and expedite project timelines. “With the tremendous progress that this field has demonstrated in the past couple of years, it will not be wrong to assume that the future of construction industry is going to be dominated by robotics,” Velprakash added.

Related Topics