Robots are increasingly being used on construction sites in the US, but they can't yet replace people.

The US housing industry is experiencing serious problems. Housing is in short supply, while the number of skilled construction workers is declining. Robots and automation are seen as a possible way to partially close this gap, but humanoids are not yet ready to replace humans in construction, according to CNBC.

According to industry experts, the greatest impact is currently being achieved by more practical solutions: technologies that help reduce errors, improve coordination between different contractors, and automate repetitive operations. Another area of ​​development is the transfer of some construction processes to factories, where work takes place in a controlled and predictable environment.

According to the National Association of Home Builders' 2026 forecast, the US will face a shortage of approximately 1,2 million homes. By the end of 2025, approximately 300,000 jobs in the industry remained unfilled, and the annual need for new workers is estimated at approximately 740,000—taking into account market growth, retirements, and attrition.

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According to the association's chief economist, Robert Dietz, the labor shortage costs developers approximately $11 billion a year and adds about two months to the average home construction time.

However, when asked whether robotics is already helping to significantly improve construction efficiency, Dietz said: “It’s too early to talk about that.”

"There is no single, simple solution that can be quickly scaled across the industry," he noted, adding that the pace of construction is impacted by regulatory costs, land availability, supply chain conditions, and financing conditions.

While the results so far show that robots can indeed have a significant impact on individual projects, the effect remains too limited to have a significant impact on addressing the housing shortage on a national scale.

Why robots still struggle to work on construction sites

Unlike a factory, a construction site changes literally every day.

Tessa Lau, founder of Dusty Robotics and a former robotics expert, explains that automation is easier in manufacturing because tasks are repeated in a stable environment. Construction is different—conditions are constantly changing as the work progresses.

Developers face the same problem. Patrick Murphy, Investment Director at Coastal Construction, notes that each project has its own unique characteristics: architectural solutions, soil characteristics, contractors, materials used, and client requirements vary. This makes it difficult to create a single, repeatable process, which is typically the foundation of automation.

That's why the greatest impact today is seen in areas with a high degree of repeatability and structure. University of Michigan professor Vineet Kamath notes that this includes, for example, marking, automation in manufacturing, and individual operations such as drilling, fastening, and material handling.

According to him, the key result is not in replacing people, but in increasing the accuracy of work, reducing the number of errors and increasing productivity.

"The question isn't whether the robot can handle a pilot project," Kamath said. "The question is whether it can operate reliably in a variety of conditions and still produce economically viable results."

Murphy clarified that the common perception of construction robots is far ahead of reality. "Many people imagine humanoids walking around construction sites, installing drywall, and painting walls. We're still a long way from that," he said.

Where robotics is already being used

Tessa came up with the idea for Dusty Robotics after renovating her own home.

In one case, a plumber installed incorrect fixtures in two bathrooms. The error was discovered only after the rooms had already been tiled. As a result, the tile had to be removed, the existing fixtures had to be removed, everything had to be reinstalled, and the finishing work had to be done all over again.

"It wasn't a quality issue, it was a communication issue," Lau explained.

She concluded that the root of the problem was the gap between the design documentation and those actually doing the work. To address this, she created the FieldPrinter, a device that transfers digital construction drawings directly to the floor surface. It allows for marking walls, plumbing fixtures, electrical wiring, and utility systems, as well as adding text directions, images, and QR codes so that all contractors are working with the same data.

According to Dusty Robotics, a single operator can mark approximately 900 to 1400 square meters per day, which is approximately ten times faster than traditional methods.

After implementing a robotic marking system, international construction company Skanska reported a 75% reduction in rework and a 35% reduction in marking time.

Oh Snap Layout President and CEO Aaron Love is applying this technology to residential construction in Southern California, combining robotic layout with prefabricated wall panels, prefabricated materials, and other off-site solutions.

However, according to him, simply replacing the worker performing the markings with a robotic system only achieves a partial effect. The real benefit comes when all participants in the process—carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and utility system specialists—work according to a single, coordinated plan. This reduces errors and reduces the number of situations where different teams are forced to redo each other's work.

One example is Reliable Wholesale Lumber's RapidShell system, which combines robotic marking with prefabricated kits, wall panels, ladders, and other elements manufactured off-site.

According to Lav, this design made it possible to reduce the building shell construction phase from approximately 21 days to 11–12 days.

However, developers are still only assessing the overall impact of such decisions. Maximizing benefits requires coordinated efforts among various contractors, and there's insufficient data for an accurate assessment.

“We are now at a stage where this needs to be confirmed in practice,” he stated.

Japanese factories are leaders in robotics

Japan, with its aging population and shrinking workforce, has become a global leader in robotic housing construction. There, home building is increasingly organized as an industrial process: up to 80% of homes are manufactured in factories using robots, and then assembled on-site. Companies like Sekisui Heim use automation for welding, frame assembly, and material handling.

At one plant, the introduction of industrial robots has increased production from 55 to 65 units per day while simultaneously reducing the workforce by 20%, according to equipment supplier Kawasaki Robotics. Sekisui Heim estimates that investments in robotics pay for themselves in approximately three years.

Japan's experience shows where the most noticeable results may emerge in the coming years in the United States.

"It doesn't look as flashy," Murphy said of factory automation, "but that's where the most significant changes happen." He cites prefabricated wall systems and prefabricated modules for bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms as examples.

Murphy, who is managing director of Renco USA, a composite building systems company with an automated facility in Palm Beach County, Florida, said his plant has the capacity to produce materials for about 7000 homes a year.

According to him, Renco structures can be erected approximately six times faster than traditional wood, concrete or metal frames, and the overall construction time is reduced by approximately 30-40%.

Factory production also speeds up those stages that aren't inherently automated. If a 5x5 meter room meets the design requirements, windows, doors, cabinets, tiles, and other elements can be prefabricated.

"Time is money," he emphasized. "The faster construction progresses, the lower the costs of financing and site maintenance."

However, these advantages disappear if the project changes. According to Murphy, any change in dimensions, equipment, or finishes forces manufacturers to reconfigure processes, and the benefits of repeatability are diminished.

Therefore, typical projects—cottage communities, apartment buildings, and other facilities with repetitive solutions—may be the first to benefit significantly from such technologies.

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University of Michigan professor Vineet Kamath believes that robotics will increase housing construction volumes in the next five to ten years, not through a complete overhaul of the industry, but through targeted productivity improvements. Factory automation, modular construction, and robotic marking will develop most rapidly, while on construction sites, robots will initially be used in repetitive, physically demanding, or precision-requiring tasks.

However, even as automation develops, the need for skilled workers will remain.

"The decade ahead is likely to be a very strong one for blue-collar jobs," Murphy concluded. "Welding, electrical work, and plumbing—key parts of construction—will continue to be performed by humans for a long time to come."

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