麦肯锡-建筑行业的仿人机器人：未来愿景

Engineering, Construction & Building Materials PracticeHumanoid robots in the construction industry: A Humanoid robots are still at the pilot stage but could emerge as the solutionto the construction sector’s productivity problem. How can industry leaders For decades,the construction industry has wrestled with both rising demand and shrinkinglabor capacity. Productivity has stagnated, and the situation could soon worsen: Many workersare nearing retirement, and fewer young people are entering the field because of safetyconcerns, uncertainty about future prospects, and the physical intensity of construction work. General-purpose robots could be useful in a range of construction activities, from moving heavyconcrete blocks to welding and plumbing. Although these robots come in various forms,humanoids—those that resemble people in size and shape—attract the most attention.Humanoids are still relatively early in development, but they could potentially transform Within construction, large-scale humanoid usage may be a decade away, partly because theserobots still have difficulty navigating busy, unstructured worksites. But construction leadersshould begin preparing for humanoid deployment now, because recent technological advancessuggest the possibility of an accelerated timeline. The priority for business leaders should be to The construction dilemma Although construction technology has significantly advanced over the past two decades, construction industry productivity had a CAGR of only 0.4 percent between 2000 and 2022 —far lower than that of other industries such as manufacturing, which had a 3.0 percent CAGRover the same period (Exhibit 1). Most growth in construction productivity resulted from activity Construction companies have achieved some productivity gains by applying digital tools,including building information modeling and computer-aided design. Overall, however, theindustry has been slower to digitize tasks compared with other sectors, keeping it more relianton manual labor and minimizing efficiency gains. Hiring more workers has been difficult because Automation in the construction sector has advanced even more slowly than digitization. Mostapplications of automation are not in job sites but in off-site manufacturing of precast and Exhibit1 because each project is unique and constantly evolving, with changing workplace layouts,numerous machines and people in motion, and high safety risks. In addition, construction sites A few companies have undertaken pilots involving simple, nonhumanoid robots thatautonomously or semiautonomously perform a single task, such as rebar tying or placement, orceiling drilling for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. These solutions have not yetachieved large-scale deployment. By contrast, pilot programs in groundworks and roadworks Great progress with room to grow Although humanoids are not yet a fixture at construction sites, they represent a potentiallytransformative solution to the productivity crisis. Their power comes from embodied AI, atechnology that enables real-time decision-making. Whereas specialized robots repetitivelycomplete a single task in a structured environment, developers are striving to make humanoid Increasingly sophisticated AI foundation models Vision-language-action foundation models enable humanoids to interpret visual cues and followspoken instructions, which greatly increases their utility. With further advances in AI models andsensor technology, humanoids might be able to master complex construction tasks. Whilehuman apprentices often spend years observing and practicing under supervision, humanoids Better mobility and dexterity Developers have greatly enhanced humanoid mobility, but further advances are needed beforethese robots can expertly navigate unstructured workplaces such as construction sites. Whilehumans rely on experience, observations, directions from colleagues, or maps to get around, Many humanoid models can now handle unstructured tasks, such as lifting irregularly shapedobjects. Additional improvements are still needed for more complex or delicate activities, suchas operating small tools with human-level dexterity. Robots will become more valuable in Increased focus on safety and collaboration Advances in sensors, perception models, and other technologies have reduced many of the risksassociated with general-purpose robots—for example, preventing them from using excessiveforce. The next step will involve creating safety features that allow “fenceless” operations, inwhich humanoids move freely across an entire workplace, rather than being confined to specific Application of humanoids in construction Investors are increasingly funneling money to the humanoid sector (see sidebar “More than $1billion in humanoid investment”). Within construction, leaders will focus on applications in whichhumanoids clearly provide more value than autonomous or semiautonomous single-task robots. Enablers for l