GS Construction Introduces Quadruped Robot 'Spot' at Construction Sites

The quadruped robot 'Spot (SPOT)'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] GS Engineering & Construction is introducing 'Spot (SPOT)', a quadruped walking robot, to construction sites for the first time in Korea.

GS Engineering & Construction announced on the 13th that it has successfully conducted a demonstration test to utilize Spot, a quadruped walking robot from Boston Dynamics in the U.S., at construction sites in collaboration with construction software startup Cupix. Spot, first developed in 2015 and released last year, is known for its ability to run smoothly even on obstacles or rough terrain.

Earlier this month, GS Engineering & Construction and Cupix installed various advanced equipment such as LIDAR, 360-degree cameras, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors on Spot to conduct demonstration tests at domestic building and housing sites.

At an apartment site in Seongnam, Spot autonomously collected various data inside units where underground parking structure work and finishing work were underway. At a new construction site of a performance hall in Seoul, Spot collected data on the status of temporary construction work through autonomous walking. The collected data was successfully integrated with the 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) data, a smart construction technology already used by GS Engineering & Construction, and utilized to check for interference with subsequent electrical and equipment work and to establish safety management plans.

Based on the successful demonstration test, GS Engineering & Construction and Cupix plan to use Spot for pre-occupancy defect quality inspections at apartment sites and for reviewing progress and quality status at infrastructure bridge construction sites. Furthermore, by equipping Spot with various IoT sensors, they plan to apply it in various fields such as construction site safety management through detection of hazardous gases in dangerous areas and thermal imaging detection.

A GS Engineering & Construction official said, “With the introduction of Spot to construction sites, we plan to apply core technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as big data construction, AI-based video analysis, IoT sensors, and augmented reality at construction sites,” adding, “We will establish a smart construction technology operation system capable of responding to various risks that may occur across all sites including residential buildings, infrastructure, and plants.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.