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Japan Created a Robot That Can Install Drywall

The robots really are coming for our jobs and the latest to be under threat are those of construction workers. This robot may have a long way to go before you can leave it drywalling an entire house, but it will get there eventually and take lots of jobs with it.

October 1, 2018
AIST Drywall Robot

If you're a construction worker you may already be concerned about robots that can build walls 24/7 without ever getting tired, but surely the more intricate tasks such as installing drywall will remain the domain of human workers, right? Not so, as Japan's robotic researchers are demonstrating.

Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, more commonly known as AIST, is a Tokyo-based research facility focused on tackling socio-economic problems. This extends to building cool robots with which to solve them.

As TechCrunch reports, the institute's latest breakthrough is a humanoid robot called HRP-5P. As you can see in the video above, it's a robot capable of handling drywall installation.

HRP-5P calls upon a range of different technology including object detection, motion planning, and environmental measurement in order for it to be able to carry out such a complex task. As you can see, it's capable of understanding the layout of a room, finding and picking up drywall panels, positioning them correctly, and attaching them to the wall.

The actions may be a little clumsy and slow, but the drywall looks to be positioned correctly and secured properly. Add to that its ability to work 24/7 without getting tired or needing breaks, and it surely won't be long before HRP-5P looks like a tempting investment for construction companies. That of course depends on how much it costs to buy and maintain such a robot.

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About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

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