AI-powered 20 foot robots coming for construction workers' jobs
Rise of the machines: Er, are we sure we want to outsource the welding?
Yea, well...for the heavy lifting it could be nice. But I'm not letting AI build my house.
Lifting heay crap to the roof or something like that? Sure. That is what machines are good at.
Welding? Well welding robots have existed for long time, they just need to programmed perfectly. I've worked with a couple of them, the results are not always consistent and they required some quality checks. It is easier. Manual welding takes more skill and takes longer. I just don't need the AI part though. That makes it unpredictable. And if I let a robot do something, it should be predictable.
I do woodworking and fixing around the house. Even when building new stuff, there are always issues that you have to solve on the spot. Walls that are not straight, angles that are not perfect, spaces you cannot reach et cetera.
As long as AI does not get it 100% right every time it is not touching my house. And yes, a professional doesn't reach that rate either, but at least they know and doublecheck themselves and know how to fix things.
AI can also know to doublecheck themselves and how to fix things.
Well, why did it not do it right the first time then? If the doublecheck gives a different result, then which is the right result? If I can ask the same question twice and I get two different answers, how I or the machine known which is the right answer? And if the machine knows, then why would it need to doublecheck? A machine can do it right the first time if it knows how, right?
"AI-powered" and "20 foot robots" are not phrases that should be used in the same sentence. Also, surely leasing an autonomous robot for $20k a month is more expensive than leasing a regular machine and hiring a worker or two to operate it. Construction workers aren't paid anywhere near $240k a year, and you'll need someone with an emergency stop button watching the autonomous robot anyways.
That’s why it won’t happen. Plus the rich have an interest in keeping you in your place.
I thought the rich had an interest in replacing everyone.
Presumably their end goal is to reduce the human population to themselves and their mates.
the robot doesn't need sleep, won't get sick, and could (assuming they actually want to be competitive with human labor) require fewer safety precautions on the site (just make the entire area where the robots are as being hazardous and ensure that things won't fall out of it) allowing for a roof to be constructed before the walls then building the walls underneath it.
You've never worked construction, at least not on the GC level. You'd be flabbergasted by how much human input and decision-making there is in any building. Constant discussions about constructibility, safety, value, coordination, and on an on. A lot of these discussion lean on experience of the construction team. Robots can't replace experience of construction workers period. There's far too many variables that robots or people who have never been "in the field" can't account for.
Some parts of construction have been helped by automation (see layout robots, CNC cabinetry fabricators, etc.) but that's drop in the bucket of a massive industry. The human element will not be removed from construction.
What to I do? I'm a construction worker. Yeah I work construction. Early in the morning I press this button on my phone to start the robots. Then I run around with this brush and backup vacuum cleaning all the rolling surfaces. Yup, that's construction alright!
What do I do? I‘m a cooker. Yeah I cook meals. Early in the morning I press this button and meals get ready and dishes cleaned and served. That’s cooking today.
I love it old school. Cooking on a stove, cleaning dishes by hand and peeling vegetables manually. Automation is evil, you know, it takes jobs. That’s why I cook on a stove
Lol, you don't love modern cooking.... Go to Amazon and buy a new one when the old one burns out?
No they're not.
I was at a conference, and they were making AI-based vehicles around boat docks - since they said they couldn’t find workers to drive trucks everyday in the port. And also, they were discussing about AI machines doing way more than just 1 thing (like what we currently have).
I know they already have AI controlled cargo container cranes (the big square ones you see at docks). That's a pretty easy task to automate since the manifest will already contain all of the information about all of the containers.
are we sure we want to outsource the welding?
The Register when someone informs them of robotic welders in vehicle manufacturing:
They keep trying that but they are not working out. Like all those pancakes concrete house printers. Just failing
Fake news.
Well done. It’s needed so urgent. Craftman still work like in the 60-90ies. They are sooo old school. And call it „tradition“.
If they use a laser for measuring things, that‘s advanced. If they use a smartphone and digital apps for notes and customer contact (instead of pen and manual notebook) that’s advanced. Wtf.
I had quite many craftman in my house last years and it’s unbelievable how they work nowadays. Two of them even didn‘t send me a final invoice. Well, that’s stupid backoffice work. Many couldn‘t send me an offering after having a (time consuming) site visit at my house. One showed up twice because he lost his paper with the measurements. And didn‘t send an offering.
Nono, I lost all my respect about any modern capabilities of craftman. It’s insanely old schooled.
Coming back to the 3d printer: How is construction building up a house nowadays? One after the other is doing their work. Nobody thinks ahead. How do they lay out pipes, lighting or power lines? By cutting into the wall. Why? Because of tradition. Any documentation? With pen and notebook? No way. How laying tiles in a bathroom? Showing up with a stack of tiles and cut it one by one. Laser measure it first and cut ahead at their shop to save time? Well, the leaning walls and tradition, they will answer.
I do not wonder that building up houses became insanely costly.
Sorry for my rant. But my experience were just eyeblowing and frustrating. (And as my mother was a craftman I know that matter a bit)
I was disappointed when this didn't turn into satire.
I‘m very sorry. Just a frustrated guy
Not doing back office work is stupid.
the rest is a good thing as technology would just cost money for no gain. The old ways work. Pen and paper is cheap and it works unlike the expensive advanced gadgets you seen to think are automatitally good without any critical thinking.
Their entire process is broken. Usually the one who does the site visit isn’t the one who does the work and who does the invoice. How to connect those people if not with eg. an CRM? By paper and phone?
Two weeks ago, I got a new heat pump for heating. Everything, that I discussed ahead with the salesguys wasn‘t known by the construction team. Wtf. I had to explain and discuss it again. Some calls and mails to the sales guy included.
Pen and paper is crap. No documentation, no archive, no easy workflow. Not talking about errors due to data entry issues into different excelwhatever crap. As said one showed up twice as he lost his paper with the measures. He was the boss btw.
Those companies that are setting up modern, digital processes will take over the rest. At least here in Germany, where the youth has no desire to work as back in the 90ies (including the hierarchies and sexism that is called tradition)
