Intelligent Robots and Human-Robot Collaboration in the Construction Industry: A Review

The construction industry is a typical labor-intensive industry, which suffers from low productivity and labor shortage in the past decades. Recently, the developments in robotics and artificial intelligence technologies highlight the evolutionary reforming potential in the construction industry. An increasing number of robots are joining construction tasks and collaborating with human workers. This study reviews the major developments in intelligent robots and human-robot collaboration (HRC) in the construction industry. The technological foundations and fundamental concepts of construction robots and collaborative robots are reviewed, organized, and discussed to reveal that progress has been made. Based on a comprehensive review, the major challenges and future research directions of HRC have been proposed and examined. This study finally developed a comprehensive and in-depth discussion of the state-of-the-art implementation of robotics technologies in the construction industry and shed light on its path to future development.