![[insert Domo Arigato Mister Roboto joke here]](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/66/66eb58a5517fdc1db4baba28d1068bb0.gif?auto=compress%2Cformat "[insert Domo Arigato Mister Roboto joke here]")
The HRP-5P is a humanoid robot from Japan’s Advanced Industrial Science and Technology institute that can perform common construction tasks including — as we see above — install drywall.
HRP-5P — maybe we can call it Herb? — uses environmental measurement, object detection and motion planning to perform various tasks.
— TechCrunch
Ever had to install large sections of drywall and wondered if there wasn't a machine available that could do that for you while you take care of a bowl of nachos? Well, now there is: Japanese researchers have developed a humanoid worker robot, HRP-5P, which appears to be capable of performing the backbreaking task over and over again without breaking into sweat.
Sure, the robot still needs to pick up the pace a bit to meet construction deadlines, but it's a start, and the machine could—maybe, one day—become a helpful tool in Japan's rapidly aging society where skilled workers become increasingly rare.
All images via 産総研広報's video on YouTube.
Until they replicate the butt crack, it's not complete.
All 12 Comments
it needs to hold a drill to screw it in? big fail!!!
allows it to switch to a grenade launcher in less time.
Until they replicate the butt crack, it's not complete.
Can it tape and spackle?
Are we going to take every job from Trumpers?
I would not worry too much about this, this robot like many of the autonomous robots and cars can't operate in situations with debris, uneven floors, plastic bags, dirt dust or other things typically found in construction sites. AI and automation still has a long ways to go before construction jobs are truly in danger. However in a prefabricated building shop this could reduce labor cost if the initial investment is not too outrageous that a tool that can only do one thing can be useful and economical as opposed to a person who can be trained and is capable of doing many things.
Over and OUT
Peter N
in prefab environment we call this CNC and it doesn't need to have "legs" or "hands"
How's this robot gonna curse and swear at the framer?
Where's the request for extras function?
Graceful.
@Peter Normand - it's not a matter of if, but of when
when = never
right, when will it match the salary of a highly skilled immigrant that does the job in half the time your robot takes to just get the brain started?
Nobody—human, robot or otherwise—should be installing something as horrible as drywall.
"Hubots" like Kraftwerk are allowed. Couldn't say about "Roman", because those were installing opus incertum instead of drywall.
how much does this piece of junk cost?
Drywall is around $10 per sheet.
I have a budget of 50k in drywall for a 4500 sq ft house, material and labor, finished to level 5, in about 4 weeks; how many houses do I need to get to the price of this robot and how fast can he do it?
You shouldn't be using drywall at all, it's toxic, a health hazard, sometimes even radioactive, it makes for unhealthy living, is not very hurricane or flood proof...all it is, is cheap short-term money-wise but expensive environmentally planet-wise.
ok
thank god I live and work at 8000 ft in the mountains, don't have to deal with high tides and sea storms, much less hurricanes and floods.
I'd hire him in a heartbeat if he actually worked... let's see him cut around an electrical box and not fill it with mud... how does he install sheets that require scaffolding... and to second peters comment... never seen a construction site that pretty. What happens when he trips over a chord or falls down an open stairway hole? I'm all for robots, but get me one that actually works. Man what a dream. No talking back, no smoking in the house, no eating food in the house, no stealing tools, working 24/7, no missing work because they're hung over. I'd buy a fleet of them... wait... is this guy union or open shop?
Robots get no insurance, health care, overtime, or retirement benefits. They get no vacation time or sick days.They don't pay or collect unemployment insurance or incur payroll taxes. Robots are disposable - when one breaks down you just replace it with another.
In other words they are no different from most subcontractors and laborers, especially immigrants.
The only real difference is that robots require a reliable power source and a fleet of maintenance technicians.
westworld is a way more interesting fantasy; you can print human bodies instead of clumsy robots.
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