San Francisco-based startup Built Robotics, which was founded in 2016, builds the robots that build the world. Robots are intelligent tools, and Built Robotics put these tools into the hands of the skilled craft workers of the 21st century. The company upgrades off-the-shelf heavy equipment with AI Guidance Systems that enable machines to operate fully autonomously. The AI Guidance System combines sensors such as GPS, cameras, and motion units with advanced software, and it can be installed in a few hours.
Built Robotics is the only company with fully autonomous construction equipment operating on job sites today. A key enabler is how quickly existing equipment can be upgraded because the software and hardware have been designed to install on the most common machines used in construction. Vehicles like dozers, excavators, and skid steers can be upgraded to run Built’s AI Guidance System without the need to purchase new equipment.
Today, Built Robotics’ robots are deployed across the $1 trillion earthmoving industry, and they’re being used to build critical infrastructure such as wind farms, gas pipelines, and new housing developments. With automation, the industry can meet the demands of new technologies, keep up with a backlog of existing projects, introduce a new class of skilled labor, and improve the safety and working conditions on job sites.
ROBOTICS ARE TRANSFORMING WORKFORCE PRODUCTIVITY TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGES OF TOMORROW
In 2017, McKinsey Global Institute published a startling report: labor productivity in construction had fallen 50% since 1970. Construction is the only major sector of the United States economy where labor productivity has actually fallen over the last forty years. For comparison, agriculture has grown nearly four times in that same period of time, and the overall economy has nearly doubled in terms of labor productivity. While other industries have been transformed, construction has stagnated. The effect is that, adjusting for inflation, a building today costs twice as much as it did 40 years ago.
Changes in climate, energy, transportation, and urban growth are requiring new ways to build. Major infrastructure projects are often too costly and time consuming with our current methods of earthmoving, which results in a backlog of existing construction projects. Robots can enhance workforce productivity during the day, work after hours or overnight, and prevent thousands of injuries each year on job sites.
GLOBAL COMPANIES ARE PAVING THE FUTURE OF CONSTRUCTION WITH BUILT ROBOTICS
Built Robotics has deployed autonomous heavy equipment on construction projects across the United States and Australia. The robots have excavated foundations for wind turbines across the Great Plains, handled demolition operations for parts of the I-5 highway system in California, graded pads for large-scale residential developments, and dug trenches for energy projects.
Built has since formally partnered with some of the world’s largest developers including: Mortensen, MPC Kinetic, and Black & Veatch. With over $100M in committed business, Built’s goal is to scale over the next few years and continue to work with key partners in energy, renewables, and infrastructure.
Mortenson, one of the largest wind energy developers in the nation, deploys excavators running Built’s robotic technology to work on renewable energy projects and Black & Veatch utilizes Built’s technology on solar and renewable energy projects. Most recently, Built Robotics’ AI Guidance System was used to autonomously operate an excavator to dig trenches on a solar development in Florida. The machine was able to work in inclement weather, where it would have been dangerous for human operators.
“Deploying robots on our project sites makes our crews safer, makes us more efficient, and lets us track our equipment more effectively. Black & Veatch’s mission is to be the most rapidly evolving E&C company in the world, and Built Robotics is a part of that goal,” said Tyler Parker, the Business Optimization Manager of Global Renewable Energy at Black & Veatch.
BUILDING A FUTURE WITH LOT NETWORK
As the first commercially deployed robotics solution in construction and the market leader, Built Robotics focuses on protecting its innovations as it continues to grow.
Being a part of the LOT community enables Built to safely sell its proprietary product to partners and improve the overall customer experience, while supporting and joining the innovative companies it’s long admired that are a part of LOT Network.
“As a startup, Built Robotics is acutely aware of the unexpected roadblocks that can happen when developing frontier technology,” said Noah Ready-Campbell, CEO of Built Robotics. “Built is thrilled to join forces with LOT Network’s robust, global community of organizations to strengthen our defense against PAEs.”
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS BRING INNOVATIVE LEADERSHIP
Noah Ready-Campbell, founder and CEO of Built Robotics, began his career at Google, but his first job was working as a carpenter’s helper for his dad — renovating old houses in rural New England. Noah decided he wanted to combine his life-long passion for robotics with his experience in construction by automating heavy machinery. Noah’s dad told him he’d better learn how to operate equipment before he tried to automate it, so the next morning, he rented a Deere 135G excavator and dug a pond in his family’s backyard. Soon after, he met Andrew, his co-founder, and six months later they had their first prototype up and running.
Built Robotics deployed its first robot at a local community garden. Since then, the company has grown to take on major renewables, energy, and housing development projects across the United States and Australia. These humble beginnings have largely shaped the culture at Built Robotics.