Site plan: will robots soon be building our homes?

With the construction industry in crisis, AI-powered machines are being used more than ever before, says Pranshu Verma. What can they do – and what are the risks?

Dusty, a robot for used for construction layouts (Dusty Robotics)

Self-driving trench diggers. Drones that digitally recreate buildings. Roomba-like devices that outline where every beam on a floor should go.

The construction site of the future is already here as homes, office buildings and industrial sites go up around the country. Robots that can lay bricks, put up drywall and tie rebar are pitching in at a time when the construction industry is in major flux.

Meanwhile, start-ups are pouring even more resources into the field, including building robots that survey and monitor, as well as heavy machinery that can operate on its own. They are hoping to automate a complicated field involving moving parts and vastly different sites and buildings.