Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1245531
I DA U N I V E R S A L M ay -J u n e 2 0 2 0 38 uilt Robotics executives are fond of saying that their autonomous system for construction equipment, like dozers and excavators, might be further along than many autono- mous vehicles. In fact, CEO Noah Ready-Campbell insists you'll see autonomous vehicles in controlled industrial environments – like construction sites – before you see level 5 driverless cars on public roads. That may be in part because autonomous construc- tion equipment often operates on privately owned land, while public roads face increased regulatory scrutiny. "There's a quote that 'Cold fusion is 20 years in the future and always will be,'" Ready- Campbell told VentureBeat. "I think there's a chance that might be true for level 5 self-driving cars as well." That might have seemed like an absurd thing to say back when autonomous driving fi rst entered the collective imagination and companies established their intention to solve artifi cial intel- ligence's (AI) grand autonomous vehicle challenge. But Waymo now takes billions from outside investors, and the delay of major initiatives like GM's Cruise and taxi service and Ford's autono- mous driving program call into question the progress automakers have made on autonomous vehicles. One thing Ready-Campbell credits autonomous vehicle companies with is generating excitement around AI for use in environments beyond public roads, like on construction sites. From computer vision systems and drones to robots walking and roving through construction projects, Built Robotics and a smattering of other companies are working in unstructured industrial environ- ments, like mining, agriculture and construction, to make autonomous systems that can build, manage and predict outcomes. To take a closer look at innovation in the fi eld, the challenges ahead and what it's going to take to create fully autonomous construction projects in the future, VentureBeat spoke with startups that are already automating parts of their construction work. Autonomous excavators and heavy machinery Built Robotics creates control systems for existing construction equipment and is heavily focused on digging, moving and placing dirt. The company doesn't make its own heavy construction equip- ment; its solution is instead a box of tech mounted inside heavy equipment made by companies like Caterpillar, Komatsu and Hyundai. Built Robotics VP of Strategy Gaurav Kikani told VentureBeat that the company started with autonomous skid steers – the little dozers that scoop up and transport sand or gravel on construction sites. Today, Built Robotics has autonomous systems for bulldozers and 40-ton excavators. "We have a software platform that actuates the equip- ment that takes all the data... being read by the sensors on the machine every second and then makes decisions and actuates the equipment accordingly," Kikani said. Built Robotics focuses on earthmoving projects at remote job sites in California, Montana, Colorado and Missouri – far removed from human construc- tion workers. Autonomous heavy equipment monitored by a human overseer tills the earth in prepara- tion for later stages of construc- tion, when human crews arrive to do things like build homes or begin wind or solar energy projects. In the future, the startup, which raised $33 million last fall, wants to help with more infrastructure projects. Kikani and Built Robotics CEO Ready-Campbell say the company is currently focused on projects where there's a lot of dirt to move but not a lot of qualifi ed operators of heavy machinery. Robots, AI, and The Road To a Fully Autonomous Construction Industry Built Robotics excavator and dozer on a construction site B