Theresa Arevalo was in high school when she first tried finishing drywall at her brother's construction company. "It's a fine art," she says of mudding--applying and smoothing drywall. "Like frosting a cake, you have to give the illusion that the wall is flat." Fast-forward a few decades: Arevalo now works at Canvas, a company that's built a robot using artificial intelligence that's capable of drywalling with almost as much artistry as a skilled human worker. The robot has been deployed, under Arevalo's supervision, at several construction sites in recent months, including the new Harvey Milk Terminal at San Francisco International Airport and an office building connected to the Chase Center arena in San Francisco.

Theresa Arevalo was in high school when she first tried finishing drywall at her brother's construction company. "It's a fine art," she says of mudding--applying and smoothing drywall. "Like frosting a cake, you have to give the illusion that the wall is flat." Fast-forward a few decades: Arevalo now works at Canvas, a company that's built a robot using artificial intelligence that's capable of drywalling with almost as much artistry as a skilled human worker. The robot has been deployed, under Arevalo's supervision, at several construction sites in recent months, including the new Harvey Milk Terminal at San Francisco International Airport and an office building connected to the Chase Center arena in San Francisco.

People who work behind a computer screen all day take it for granted that everyone's work will be tracked and accessible when they collaborate with others. But if your job takes place out in the real world, managing projects can require a lot more effort. In construction, for example, general contractors and real estate developers often need someone to be physically present on a job site to verify work is done correctly and on time. They might also rely on a photographer or smartphone images to document a project's progress. Those imperfect solutions can lead to accountability issues, unnecessary change orders, and project delays.

Spot, Boston Dynamics' famous robot dog, dutifully follows my every command. The machine traipses forward, then automatically scrambles over a raised bed of rocks. I command it up a flight of stairs, which it tackles with ease. It meets its match when I steer it at a medicine ball, though; it takes a tumble, and for a moment lies paralyzed on its back. Such unfailing obedience, yet I'm nowhere near Spot, which is roaming about the company's testing grounds in Boston. With almost zero latency, I either use the robot's front camera feed to click on bits of terrain--think of it like scooting around in Google's Street View--or flicking my keyboard's WASD keys in the most expensive videogame imaginable.

Various technological innovations are injecting productivity, efficiency, and work safety into construction practices. The industry heads towards the smarter era! FREMONT, CA: Technology has advanced at a rapid pace. Just like every other industry, the construction industry has seen numerous developments to equipment, practices, and operational processes. All of the developments can easily be attributed to the growing technological prowess of construction companies. Several innovative application of modern technologies has disrupted age-old models of construction, enhanced productivity, improved safety, and ensured reduced wastage and costs.

This method of concurrent 3D-printing, known as swarm printing, paves the way for a team of mobile robots to print even bigger structures in future. Developed by Assistant Professor Pham Quang Cuong and his team at NTU's Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, this new multi-robot technology was published in Automation in Construction, a top tier journal for civil engineering. The NTU scientist was also behind the Ikea Bot earlier this year where two robots assembled an Ikea chair in 8 min 55s. Using a specially formulated cement mix suitable for 3-D printing, this new development will allow for unique concrete designs currently not possible with conventional casting. Structures can also be produced on demand and in a much shorter period.