The Elusive Dream of Fully Autonomous Construction Vehicles But after nearly seven years of digging trenches with autonomous excavators, Built Robotics last month announced plans to shift its focus from general construction projects to installation of solar farms.
Wired
How robots could dramatically speed up solar farm construction A number of companies are now using automation and AI to expedite utility-scale solar installations, ease labor shortages and protect workers from unsafe conditions.
Canary Media
How this new robot will help build solar farms in a fast, effective way San Francisco-based Built Robotics launched the "RPD 35," a robot based on an excavator. It can carry heavy solar piles used to support solar panels and install them on a solar farm. This comes as the country is working to meet the White House's goal of creating a clean energy economy by installing 950 million solar panels by 2030.
ABC
Autonomous construction robots are coming to a site near you Built Robotics has introduced an upgrade to construction equipment that converts regular excavators into near-autonomous digging robots
Freethink
Massive autonomous robot is 3 to 5 times faster than a human construction crew The robot can drive heavy steal beams into the ground at a rate of 1 per 73 seconds, which will help expedite solar farm construction
Big Think
Built Robotics Unveils Autonomous Pile Driving Robot, Expediting Solar Rollout Utility solar construction is ripe for disruption, and automation will be critical to get us to our clean energy goals
Forbes
These Robots Might Build Your House The construction industry is in a crisis, and more companies are turning to robots to automate tasks on the job site
Washington post
Built Buys Fellow Construction Robotics Firm, Roin This isn’t one of those cases of a one-to-one technology acquisition. Rather than being competitors, it seems the two construction systems can be potentially complementary, representing two distinct pieces of the broader construction puzzle.
Techcrunch
Built Robotics Raises $64M to Transform Excavators into Robots The company business model is such that it does not charge a large upfront capital cost. Installation and training are included in a monthly rental fee and hourly wage, which makes it more approachable even for a small or mid-sized contractor
Equipment world
Built Robotics Raises Another $64M to Make Construction Equipment Autonomous If you’re still wrapping your head around the idea of self-driving cars, get ready for something that might seem even wilder: self-driving construction equipment exists, and it’s already out there digging away on job sites.
Techcrunch
Built Robotics Digs Up $64M for Construction Vehicle Autonomy Kits Built creates an autonomy retrofit kit for excavators called Exosystem. Once installed, Exosystem turns almost any manually-operated excavator into an autonomous robot.
Robot report
Self-Guiding Bulldozers, Mining Trucks Build in Worker Safety Built Robotics specializes in creating guidance systems and software that are mounted on the equipment and wired into the machine’s electronic controls. Within a year, Built Robotics-equipped machines could be available to contractors working on a small project who might need a machine for just a day.
Bloomberg
It’s 2020: Where Are All The Robots?

If you’re like many people, you’re wondering when robots will be part of your everyday life. In reality, robots are already working in many places at home and work. How do we identify what a robot is, what everyday machines are actually robots, and where will robots be most helpful in the future?

Forbes
Construction Workers Embrace the Robots That Do Their Jobs The IUOE’s new robotic excavator is the result of an unusual partnership with Built Robotics, a San Francisco startup that sells a box that can enable a backhoe or bulldozer to pilot itself for some tasks. It contains a high-powered computer, motion and angle sensors, and a laser scanner called a LiDAR commonly used in self-driving cars.
Wired
Autonomous Vehicles May Become More Common at Construction Sites Than on Roads San Francisco-based Built Robotics is among the first to roll out autonomous construction vehicles at construction sites. The company has three track loaders that can dig, move and grade materials all on their own.
Cbs
Could This New Tech Help Us Build More Houses? San Francisco-based Built Robotics says its autonomous track loader, which has been leveling ground at Bay Area construction sites since last fall, will be a safer, more efficient alternative to using human drivers — and the company plans to expand its technology to other heavy machinery.
The mercury news
Built Robotics Brings Full Autonomy to Dozers, Excavators with Aftermarket Kit Developed as an answer to the worsening shortage of skilled equipment operators in the U.S., Built is bringing full machine autonomy to bulldozers and excavators.
Equipment world
Mortenson Reaches Agreement to Deploy Fully Autonomous Equipment In a bid to speed work on projects in remote sites and cope with labor shortages, Mortenson has announced an agreement with tech start-up Built Robotics to expand the contractor’s deployments of fully autonomous construction equipment on renewable energy projects.
Enr
Startups Pivot to AVS for Farming, Shipping, and More ‘Constrained autonomy’ is an under-explored but potentially massive opportunity. Expect more entrepreneurs and investors to take notice.
Axios
Built Is a New Startup Changing the Construction Industry Built Robotics is a new startup that’s bringing autonomy to the construction industry. They added sensors and trackers capable of withstanding the vibrations and shock of moving around earth.
Mashable
Construction Is as Far From a Silicon Valley Darling as You Can Get—and That’s Why It’s Ready for Automation Construction technology may seem like the opposite of a traditional Silicon Valley sweetheart, but a new startup views it as untapped potential.
Quartz
This Company Turns Old Excavators and Bulldozers into Smart Machines By 2030, analysts estimate that the global construction industry will be worth $8 trillion, with that growth being driven by the U.S., India, and China. Amidst the building rush, however, there has been a shortage of skilled workers.
Popular mechanics
Watch This Autonomous Bulldozer Excavate Dirt without a Human Operator Built Robotics is a new company coming out of stealth today that aims to disrupt the $130 billion excavation industry with its fleet of autonomous earth movers. Rather than sit in the dusty cab all day, operators can program the coordinates for the size hole that needs digging, then stand off to the side and watch the vehicle do all the work.
The verge
Next Up in Driverless Vehicles: Autonomous Excavators A startup called Built Robotics, founded by an ex-Google engineer and currently backed by $15 million of venture capital, has announced that it’s currently building a robotic tractor that digs and moves earth.
Mit technolog review
Built Robotics Raises $33M for Its Self-driving Construction Equipment

The round is lead by Next47 (the investment arm of the European mega company Siemens), along with Building Ventures and previous investors Founders Fund, Presidio Ventures, Lemnos and NEA. As part of the deal, Next47’s T.J. Rylander will be joining Built’s board of directors.

Techcrunch
This Robot Tractor Is Ready to Disrupt Construction In this dusty arena, a startup called Built Robotics is testing what it thinks is the future of construction: the autonomous track loader.
Wired
Hot Construction Tech Startups Raising Venture Funding With proptech funding booming and experts predicting that housing prices will continue to rise in the 2020s, a new slew of construction technology — or contech, for short — startups have emerged that are aiming to make building cheaper, easier, and safer.
Business insider
How Autonomous Robots Are Changing Construction The way we build today is largely unchanged from the way we used to build 50 years ago,” said Gaurav Kikani, vice president of Built Robotics. “Within two years, I think we’re really going to turn the corner, and you’re going to see an explosion of robotics being used on construction sites.
Cnbc