Robots could become mainstream in construction as firms replace aging workers. (1965) This is part of an aging workforce.
"Statistics show that one-third of workers (construction workers in Japan) are over 54 and plan to retire soon," he says. Sakamoto, Deputy Head of Production Technology at Shimizu
These employees are not being replaced by younger employees. "The number of workers under 30 is just over 10%," he says.
In September, Sakamoto's company bought a promising new worker: a robot.
Japan is currently building a building built in Osaka, carrying heavy plasterboard every night.
But this machine is not the only colleague of Sakamoto. from the suspension and install ceiling panels.
The robots function autonomously and perform the functions badigned to them by a supervisor from a tablet.
The Robo-Carrier can escape obstacles and the Robo-Welder uses a laser to determine the contours of the robot. Object that is welding.
"There must be more and more robots in buildings," says Sakamoto. "Labor shortages are a problem at the national level."
The number of construction workers in Japan will fall to 2.2 million by 2025 (compared with 3.4 million in 2014), according to the Shimizu construction company. [19659019] Growing Market
In other countries, the construction industry is also turning more and more to robots.
Globally, the construction robot market has been transferred to $ 200 million in 2017 and is expected to grow by 2025. According to QY Research, this amount is expected to reach 420 million US dollars.
In the United States, construction workers are also aging. According to Jeremy Searock, co-founder of Advanced Robotics Robotics Factory, the average age is currently 43 years old.
Ten years ago, the average age was about 35 years old.
80% of American entrepreneurs. UU According to a survey conducted in August, they say they have trouble filling vacancies of skilled workers.
There is a "clear trend," says Searock. "The younger generations do not enter the field of construction."
That's why Shimizu has invested 179 million US dollars since 2015 to develop construction robots, said spokesman Hideo Imamura. Their robots reduce the labor requirements for a given task by 70 to 80 percent, he said.
In the United States, nearly half of jobs in construction could be replaced by robots by 2057, according to researchers at the University of Illinois and the Midwest Economic Policy Institute .
In addition to being tireless, robots can perform the toughest and most dangerous jobs on a construction site, which could prevent injury and death.
In the future, 5G mobile networks will improve connectivity and facilitate cooperation between multiple robots.
Many small robots can perform different tasks of the same task.
Robots are an example. Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is able to print concrete on a computer card
Currently, Shimizu controls its robots with 4G mobile networks and wireless internet, which means that when they work in buildings of more than 200 m high, they have to expand the wireless network reach with the help of repeaters.
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Difficult Jobs
One of the most difficult aspects of bridge construction is to bademble reinforcing steel reinforcing bars. concrete. 19659004] There could be hundreds, if not millions, of intersections to moor.
In 2017, Advanced Construction Robotics developed a robot, TyBot, to do this work on the Freedom Road Bridge in Pennsylvania.
Spliced 24 thousand intersections of rebar bars at a speed of 5.5 seconds each
Meanwhile, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tokyo has built a prototype robot, called HRP-5P, for installing gypsum partitions.
Construction Robotics, New York, recently built a semi-automatic mason that placed 250,000 bricks in a building in Virginia.
According to its creators, it places 380 bricks at the hour, a mark that makes it six times faster than a human mason.
Given the shortage of labor, the first construction companies using efficient robots will have a significant advantage, says Will Hughes, professor of economics and economics. Construction Administration at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.
So do not worry if in a few years you open the door of your house and see a robot
You can be there to transform your apartment.
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