Will Robots Take on The Construction Industry?

How many times have we heard politicians promising to bring back manufacturing jobs to the USA? Maybe I'm over thinking it, but unless you're manufacturing some really expensive items it's going to be challenging to provide American workers minimum wage to stand on an assembly line and put key chains and such together. Come to think of it, there are some very expensive items like all of Apple's products that sell for hundreds or tens of thousands of dollars and have low material cost. Those elements could be amazing pay workers a decent wage and to make in the United States. Wait, when they could pay a few hundred dollars a month to do it abroad why fabricate here? And so the difficulty continues.

As sales manager for Union store fixture and factory work facilities I comprehend more than ever important labor unions are to our work force. With many Americans working than we see many corporations cutting on shifts -hours so they are ineligible for health benefits. We're being a nation of part time workers, which is not going to endure us to raise families and live the American dream.

Because of Labor Unions which we're members of, there are many safeguards for us.

We often sit around and talk about the future of our kids along with the brand new generation in regards to what sorts of jobs will probably be accessible to them. Technology comes up a lot. It is a growth industry, not only in the USA but overseas as well. With the world becoming smaller (thanks to the internet) it also becomes more competitive and cost conscious.

Computers and robots have replaced many production jobs. A bottling plant to get a drink company can replace 100 human workers using just 2 workers that are human and a number of robotic stations to turn them on and off. More people jobless by technology. Robotics have been studied by many young school grads in the expectations to develop a lifetime career in that area. You'll find businesses which are really designing robots capable of building robots!

Now let us get onto building! Well, I felt the same way until I found a startling new theory: Robotic construction workers and studied the robotics industry!

Engineers provided the robots with building patterns, and after that left them alone. The TERMES assembled the structures by responding to the other robots around them--with no additional instruction from people and observing. Since they work alone, a dozen TERMES or a hundred of these can execute exactly the same construction plan. Because their directives are so easy--put down a brick that fits in the building plan, where no one else has placed one down- they require little processing power. The prototype TERMES use bricks that are built to assemble towers, castles, and pyramids. The researchers say they may also manage simple tasks like laying sandbags down before floodings.

Envision construction sites where robotics replace human workers. Carpenters and construction workers can be displaced by the robots as well as the websites demanding only minimal supervision.

While this technology is still in prototype, the reality is that they've created the beginning phases of its growth. Future generations may well have to deal with this particular new technology that may endanger those of us middle-aged carpenters' support, while they may well not have to contend with R2D2 taking over our jobs.

My advice to those up and comers in the industry....become a shop steward so you can watch over the robot workers!

There is an interesting video put out by Harvard that shows these Termes in action: http://youtu.be/LFwk303p0zY

About the author: Martin Chase is National Sales Director at Store Force, Inc., leading Union store fixture installers providing clients with fixture and mill work installations around the country. Martin can be reached at 631-672-3150 or by email at: unioninstallers@gmail.com