Rebar placing robot unveiled at bauma

rebar robot

Advanced Construction Robotics (ACR) unveiled its new rebar placement robot on the world stage at bauma.

IronBot is an autonomous rebar placement robot created to lift, carry and place rebar in horizontal, reinforced concrete applications, eliminating the backbreaking chore for workers, and allowing them to tackle other tasks on the construction project.

ACR’s second rebar related robot

The machine is ACR’s second rebar related robot. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company previously introduced TyBot, an autonomous rebar-tying robot

The use of TyBot at bridge construction projects was often met with a request for a similar solution to rebar placement, leading to the creation of IronBot.

In bridge construction, workers lift, carry and bend in unison to place the long and awkward rebar into position on the bridge deck. This labour-intensive task is difficult, and safety risks increase as workers walk on irregular mats of rebar.

Like TyBot, IronBot provides a solution for the industry-wide challenge of finding skilled workers in a scarce labour market.

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IronBot eases the high level of physical exertion and repetitive movement for the worker, leading to less injuries and making it possible for workers to extend the longevity of their careers, according to ACR.

Ironworkers perform these repetitive tasks more than 70 per cent of the time, according to the Center for Construction Research and Training estimates. The robot can function without interruption day or night adding to the ability to keep a project on schedule.

ACR intends to move IronBot to its commercialization phase in 2020.

In 2016, ACR was created by Stephen Muck, Chairman and CEO of Brayman Construction Corporation and Jeremy Searock, formerly of Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center.

Their vision is to utilize robotics and AI to innovate and commercialize a wide range of autonomous products to lead a transformation of the construction industry towards enhanced productivity, improved safety, increased profits and reduced schedule risk.