From Japan to the US, labor shortages are becoming a serious problem. Eighty-three percent of US construction companies report that they have trouble hiring skilled workers. Japan is also facing the similar situation due to the country’s aging population.
Flying robots are already performing survey and mapping related tasks on construction sites, but researchers feel that they have a greater role to play when it comes to construction.
Komatsu plans to solve the problem of the labor shortage in Japan by letting drones, driverless bulldozers and excavators do the work. Komatsu is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy machinery for construction.
Komatsu launched a new business called ‘Smart Construction,’ to lease and operate the devices for customers.
Komatsu plans to use San Francisco-based drone service provider Skycatch’s services to deploy UAVs on construction sites. The UAVs will conduct surveys to produce 3D models of the terrain. Komatsu’s unmanned machines will then use these models to start digging and moving earth as per design plans.
