Excavator robots: The new construction workhorse

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• October 16, 2023

Insight summary

Engineers are transforming the traditional excavator into an autonomous robot with exceptional accuracy in digging trenches. These robots use special algorithms and smart hydraulic systems filled with sensors to operate. Despite challenges like the robot's (2023) inability to map its rapidly changing environment, the technology aims to make construction faster and more efficient. This trend toward automation has various implications, including potential job displacement, increased construction speed, reduced workplace injuries, and the likelihood of more construction-as-a-service business models.

Excavator robots context

Swiss and German engineers collaborated to convert a traditional excavator into an independent robot capable of excavating trenches with precise measurements. The robot's accuracy is exceptional (about 3 centimeters). The project's developers claim that construction workers require such machines to expedite trenching, especially in multiple job sites. 

Furthermore, the robot's accuracy surpasses that of humans, excluding highly skilled professionals. The developers opted to replace the excavator's hydraulic systems with smart ones that incorporate various sensors and detectors. However, there are challenges, such as displaying a map of the robot's surroundings and the machine's inability to determine its location in a rapidly changing site configuration.

Special algorithms were developed for the robot, enabling it to construct an accurate environmental model and precisely calculate the required bucket movements to excavate a trench of the desired shape. Researchers faced a challenge where the soil would crumble back into the trench after the bucket leaves, returning a portion of the soil to the excavation site. However, the algorithms addressed this issue and provided the excavator with the necessary instructions.

Disruptive impact

Autonomous construction systems like excavator robots are likely to attract funding from investors. In 2022, construction autonomy firm Built Robotics received a Series C funding of nearly $64 million USD. The company built the Exosytem, which can be installed and configured in less than 24 hours. Exosytems can be rented as standalone equipment, or contractors can lease pre-upgraded excavators from Built Robotics. Renters can access the autonomous software for an hourly fee. Built Robotics says this method can save companies 20 percent of costs. 

This autonomous construction-as-a-service business model will likely become more mainstream as more robots are developed specifically for the industry. In addition, more organizations are likely to create similar solutions to cater to a growing demand for automated construction systems. For example, in 2022, nonprofit SRI International demonstrated its prototype robotic excavator, which can also be controlled through virtual reality (VR) goggles and hand controls. 

The human operator "teaches" the excavator robot to recognize pre-determined tasks, depending on the construction project. These tasks are recorded, and the machines mimic them after the operator presses the play button. SRI hopes these robots can make working conditions in the industry safer and a lot more comfortable to prevent high job turnover. The development of autonomous construction machines can also encourage other companies to look for ways to make construction safer and less reliant on human workers being onsite. These developments can include better cameras with 3D depth perception, X-ray vision, and remote operations.

Implications of excavator robots

Wider implications of excavator robots may include: 

• Job displacement for many construction laborers. However, due to the ongoing demand for housing construction and climate-resilient infrastructure over the coming two decades, new construction innovations will likely lead to more construction work for workers open to being reskilled to operate these machines remotely or on the construction site.


• The development of more autonomous construction machines that can operate 24/7 without human intervention, leading to faster construction completion metrics.


• Reduced healthcare costs for construction firms as their workers experience fewer workplace accidents and injuries.


• More startups collaborating with construction firms to create customized solutions for them.


• Governments heavily invest in and regulating autonomous machines to support their infrastructure projects.


• Buildings that more strictly follow building codes due to enhanced accuracy and compliance enabled by automated construction.


• Construction-as-a-Service becoming popular among small and midsized construction firms that can’t invest in expensive equipment.

Questions to consider

• If you work in the construction industry, what automation initiatives are being rolled out in your company?


• How else can autonomous machines like robot excavators improve the industry?