Investigating the Perception of Various Construction Industry Stakeholders in Adopting Robots

Abstract

Over the past few decades, there have been no significant improvements in the construction industry's productivity. Outside the construction industry, robots have proven to be beneficial in improving productivity, safety, and quality. There is a growing interest in adopting robots in the construction industry to address these issues. As robots get introduced to the project sites, human-robot interaction becomes an important consideration for wide-scale adoption. Identifying the expectations of different stakeholders about robotic technology is crucial to ensure the effective utilization the human-robot teams. There is limited research that analyzes the point of view of industry stakeholders in adopting robots. The objective of this research was to study the perception of the construction industry about using robots, the level of trust, and the level of comfort they have in using robotic technology. The research used a questionnaire to collect relevant data from various construction industry stakeholders. The results suggest that the construction industry stakeholders have a positive attitude towards the adoption of robots, with drones and layout robots receiving the most favorable response. However, factors such as high costs and the lack of a skilled workforce were identified as barriers to robot adoption. This research provides a decision-supportive framework for deploying robots in the construction industry and contributes to the knowledge base on stakeholders' perceptions of robots in the sector.