From Factories to Homes: How Robots are Assisting at Construction Sites

Before a home takes shape on a building site, some of its construction work can begin inside a robotic factory. 
 
That is the model behind Promise Robotics' new multi-year agreement with D.R. Horton, America's largest homebuilder by volume. Announced on October 13, the deal will provide robotic manufacturing capacity supporting more than 1,250 homes, making D.R. Horton the first major US homebuilder to use the company's production platform. 

The pilot joins several other initiatives that demonstrate how robots can be used throughout the construction process. While some are being used to produce building elements away from the site, others are making walls, drill holes for building services, or gathering data so construction teams can track progress. 

Beginning at the Factory 

 Promise Robotics' Factory-as-a-Service platform adapts to a builder's existing home plans, converting them into manufacturing layouts and robot instructions. It links the manufacturing and factory operation with home installation at the construction site.  

It is appealing for D.R. Horton because it provides access to automated production capacity without having to create and run its own factories. The builder is seeking a quick cycle , additional capacity and a leaner, more predictable operation. Promise frames its system as a solution to labor shortages. 

Building walls on site 

ICON's Vulcan robotic 3D printers in Georgetown, Texas, produced wall systems for the 100-home Genesis Collection at Wolf Ranch, a development by Lennar and Bjarke Ingels Group in 2025. The homes are approximately 1,500 to 2,100 square feet. 

Australian company FBR is building walls along with robots. Their Hadrian X robot stacks the blocks and glues them together with a special type of glue. 
 
Preparing buildings for services 

Hilti’s Jaibot is drilling holes for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing installations using a digital drilling plan is Sweden. Construction crew members identify the machine's location and operate it, while the drills move automatically inside its reach. According to Hilti, this allows crews to shift away from strenuous overhead drilling and stay involved in positioning and guiding. 

Checking the work as it progresses 

Robots can also give team members, the band of the team, the assurance of what is happening all along a site as it is evolving. 

During a February 2020 trial at London’s Battersea development, Foster + Partners used Boston Dynamics’ Spot to scan progress of the construction site. Spot prowled the abandoned building with its scanning tools; it dodged fallen debris and uneven surfaces. The scans were then cross-referenced against the digital models of the building to determine how far along the project was and to see if what was built was consistent with the initial design.