BuiltWorlds’ 2025 Equipment & Robotics Benchmarking Report finds construction professionals are more approving of their companies’ efforts towards robotics innovation
Construction companies are getting better at identifying and implementing innovative equipment and robotic technologies for specific tasks, or at least the sentiments surrounding their efforts are, according to BuiltWorlds’ newly released 2025 Equipment & Robotics Benchmarking Report.
“Contractors, owners, and tech providers alike are exploring how robotics for tasks like layout, drilling and/or material transport, when combined with connected equipment and data-driven decision-making, can create a more efficient, responsive, and scalable construction environment,” writes Audrey Lynch, director of research for BuiltWorlds as well as the report’s author.
“This shift reflects a broader industry movement toward intelligent, tech-enabled workflows that bridge field execution with digital planning and performance optimisation.”
The Equipment & Robotics Benchmarking Report collects data from a wide range of contractors in the field, featuring a mix of general, specialty trade and subcontractors, ranging in revenue from $2m to over $5bn. The sentiments of this group represent a baseline for the industry’s attitudes towards equipment and robotics innovation at the company level; and year over year, those attitudes have improved.
The report reads: “Notably, negative attitudes towards internal, enterprise-wide robotics strategies have dropped considerably year over year, with ‘fair’ evaluations falling 14 percentage points and not a single ‘poor’ evaluation appearing in this year’s survey – a stark difference from last year’s 7.4%.
“Meanwhile, positive attitudes are reportedly increasing. Evaluations considered ‘good’ or better rose from 74% in 2024 to just over 95% this year, including a near 10 percentage point jump in ‘excellent’ evaluations.”
Top solution providers by use case and key adoption motivators in construction robotics
Examining robotics more closely, the report revealed that robotics, as they currently exist, most often fall into one of four use case categories: layout and site printing; vertical work and finishing; drilling and installation; and mobility and surveillance.
“Each use case category has a few brands that are, so far, standing out,” Lynch said.
For instance, Dusty Robotics and Civ Robotics are seeing high implementation for layout and site printing; Canvas and Finish Robotics are seeing the same for vertical working and finishing; Hilti’s Jaibot is the standout for drilling and installation, and Field AI and Boston Dynamics are the most popular mobility and surveillance robotic solution providers out there, according to BuiltWorlds data.
When asked about the strongest motivators for adopting these particular solutions, survey respondents identified a number of key drivers, including an effort to reduce manual labour for workers (78%) and improve safety (67%).
In a recent article from BuiltWorlds on the linger risk dilemma robotics pose on jobsites, DPR construction field innovation leader Tyler Williams, using Jaibot as an example, explained how the reduction of manual labour and improved safety can also tie into cost savings.
“So, the overhead concrete anchor drilling robot – you have the height, which creates a more probable situation for something to happen,” Williams wrote.
“You have silicone exposure. You have repetitive drilling to where now we have strain on our workforce’s shoulders, and over time that’s a pretty expensive incident.”
Hardhat Robotics founder Henning Roedel admits that his company has taken to using safety as a strategy for contractor buy-in, focusing on what he calls “STICKY” tasks.
“It means ‘stuff that can kill you’,” Roedel explained. “I think that’s a perfect opportunity for a robot to go in and perform that task.”
While sentiment rises, implementation (in some ways) dips
However, despite the uptick in positive sentiment alongside growing use cases and a promise of safety and potential cost savings, when looking at levels of actual tech implementation, specifically as it relates to robotics, the year-over-year numbers show slight regression.
Where 65% of respondents in 2024 reported employing at least some form of robotics or automated machinery, only 46% said the same in this year’s report. At a glance, this seems to reflect falling interest in robotics, but it may be a matter of growing discernment.
“A large section of last year’s reported robotics use came in the form of pilots,” said Lynch.
“This year we’ve seen a much smaller share of pilots but more repeated use on projects, suggesting more selective though serious implementation, albeit on smaller scales.”
The takeaway is that while widespread robotic adoption remains in its early stages, a growing commitment among a small share of contractors does signal the technology is
slowly but surely transitioning from “future tech” to a truly modern-day jobsite solution.
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