The Arc of Innovation
Tom Yeshurun joins us today from San Francisco. Tom is Founder and CEO of Civ Robotics, a company that automates construction layout. Their robots drive themselves around a site and locate points by paint or laser so they can be marked by their human operators.
Tom shares the names of a few of the robots they currently have operating: Betty, Ugly, and Joey… No #5 yet. Regardless of the name, each robot is a four-wheel drive unit customized for specific terrain.
Several years ago, Tom was a contractor who hired surveying teams. As he talked to these teams, he learned about the limitations they experienced with some of the early survey drones. Within a few years, Tom had founded Civ Robotics and led a team in development of a drone that could drive stakes with QR codes linked to relevant information about that spot on the worksite.
As they sought to generate interest in their drone, they discovered that many workers were intimidated by the drone in one way or another. After hearing this multiple times, Tom and his crew set about building a ground-based unit. They found that 8 of 10 contractors preferred the ground-based unit over the drone.
Much of Tim’s team struggled with this change of direction, but the bold, painful pivot paid off. Three years later Civ Robotics has more than 40 machines in the field.
Tyler asks Tim to talk through the mechanical functionality of the robots. Tim explains that the unit paints a spot or uses a laser to mark a spot where a worker can then drive a stake.
Two people working with the robot can do the work of eight people with handheld equipment. Traditional two-person team places somewhere between 200 and 400 points a day, depending on the terrain challenges. With the Civ Robotics machine, one person following the machine can place anywhere from 700 to 3000 points a day depending on the accuracy needed.
Accuracy is obviously a concern. The base model can mark spots within two inches, and the high-precision model can mark within 8mm, using a laser on a robotic arm.
The unit then audibly tells the field crew worker which marker to place–red, blue, black, and yellow. Due to the addition of this vocalizing feature, some contractors are opting to have just a single human worker team up with the robot.
Some job sites use multiple vehicles, most often two. That means that 1400 marks can be placed within an 8-hour shift, which requires a battery hot-swap at lunch time. (Everyone wants a lunch break.)
Eddie shifts our attention forward to discuss what Tom has in mind next. Today most of Civ Robotics’ work involves horizontal work. Tom discusses possible expansion, including partnerships with Trimble, but he said that Civ Robotics’ focus for the moment is on outdoor, rough-terrain applications.
Tyler talks about the promising job prospects for robotics operators. Tom confirms that the learning curve with their robot is generous enough that people can easily learn to operate it without any special training from the company.
Eddie asks about licensing issues. Tom explains that you don’t have to be a licensed surveyor to do layout in most states. Licensing is required to measure the land and place control points, but not to mark where to build. He also mentions that on-the-ground robots capture more-detailed topographic data than drones do because vegetation won’t throw them off.
We explore what “as-built” means in Tom’s world. He explains that it refers to measurements of what was actually built. It often relates to topographical elements. Different entities have different requirements for how this data is processed.
Tom explains that the “topo” feature can toggle off and on to gather elevation data. This data can then be gathered at the same time as the X-Y data, resulting in substantial time savings.
Tom advises people to evaluate new equipment before buying. He’s seen companies overcommit to specific technologies and waste loads of money. He shares about the various specialized robots he’d like to build or buy. (Here’s the luggage-carrying one Tyler mentioned.)
Tom’s Megaphone Message: Construction automation is coming whether you want it or not. It’s going to help customers build buildings more efficiently and with greater precision. It will empower us to reach our goals as an industry. If you don’t adopt it, you’re going to fall behind. We’re here to build America. It needs to be a group effort. We need to have multiple technologies to meet those goals.
Find Tom Online: LinkedIN - Civ Robotics
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