Built Robotics Inc. is a
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, US-based
vehicular automation
Vehicular automation involves the use of mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent systems to assist the operator of a vehicle (car, aircraft, watercraft, or otherwise).Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control o ...
startup that develops software and hardware to automate
construction equipment
Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...
. The company was founded in San Francisco in 2016 by Noah Ready-Campbell and Andrew Liang. The company’s primary product is the “Exosystem,” an aftermarket kit that adds
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
robotic capabilities onto existing heavy equipment through a combination of
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
,
camera
A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...
, and
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
technology.
Technology
![Built Robotics Exosystem](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Built_Robotics_Exosystem.jpg)
Built organizes its technology products and services into four divisions: a heavy equipment robotic system “Exosystem”), robotic operation software (“Everest”), robotic operation tools (“Field Kit”), and a remote robot monitoring service (“Guardian”).
Exosystem
The Exosystem began development in 2018 and was first brought to market in 2021. The technology is marketed as a means to enable autonomous
excavation and earthmoving. The company’s primary advertised use for the Exosystem is for autonomous trenching.
The Exosystem is installed on the tail of most mid-sized excavators. The company claims the Exosystem can be installed on machinery from
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
,
Hitachi
() is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
,
John Deere
Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...
,
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, and other major manufacturers. The Exosystem consists of an all-weather enclosure that houses hardware and software. Additional sensors such as cameras, GPS, and IMUs are mounted at various points on the heavy equipment.
The Exosystem controls the heavy equipment through the
electric-over-hydraulic (EH) for fully autonomous operation. It allows the existing equipment to maintain manual operation by disabling the robotic computer within the Exosystem.
As with
factory robots, human robotic operators, referred to by Built as “Robotic Equipment Operators” (REOs), must still start the system’s initial operation before autonomous activities take control. REOs use a proprietary web-based
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
, Everest, to supervise and control the robot. The REO can switch from autonomous to remote control mode, which allows an operator to move the robot through a remote interface.
Everest
Everest is a proprietary software system that connects remotely with the Exosystem. The software provides an interface for human interaction with the robot and is where a trained operator can manage
geo-fences, track production rates, monitor activity, remote control the robot, and start and stop autonomous activities.
Field Kit
The Field Kit contains tools for the installation, operation, and maintenance of a robot. Operators use the components from the Field Kit to erect
safety barriers
A safety barrier is a component which prevents passage into a dangerous area, commonly used to mitigate risk. Safety barriers may be hard barriers physically restricting passage or soft barriers that control circuits based on the presence of forei ...
, add
safety signage, install hardwired and wireless
emergency stops, or “kill switches,” and
shoot GPS points for the geo-fence.
Guardian
Guardian is a remote robot monitoring service. Built monitors the robot and notifies a customer of any operational anomalies. A satellite phone in the Field Kit connects customers to Guardian for support.
Safety
Built markets an “eight-layer safety system”
for robotic operation. The layers are advertised as:
*Video feeds that provide 360-degree coverage of the surrounding work area.
*Proximity radar.
*110-decibel safety alarms.
*High-vis LEDs to indicate the status of autonomous operation on the robot.
*High-vis safety barriers that are a physical representation of the digital geofence.
*A digital geofence that confines robotic operations to a specified area on the work site.
*Hardwired and wireless emergency stops, implemented as a hardwired mechanical stop on the machine and as a wirelessly activated stop located at certain points on the safety barrier to enable remote emergency stops.
Human operators also contribute a failsafe by managing the equipment operation through the platform and using shutdown or take over to manual operations.
History
Proof of Concept
Built Robotics began attracting attention in 2018 as one of several new companies bringing automation to the construction industry, which had been relatively slow to adopt technical innovations compared to related industries.
Commentators noted that a dearth of skilled workers available to fill construction and
heavy equipment
Heavy equipment or heavy machinery refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. ''Heavy equipment'' usually comprises five e ...
operator positions,
coupled with a need for
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
renewal and
housing
Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...
,
were likely driving forces behind the industry’s adoption of new technologies.
Built Robotics claims to be the first of these companies to commercially deploy fully autonomous heavy equipment in construction settings.
Founder Ready-Campbell, a former
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
product manager
A product manager (PM) is a professional role that is responsible for the development of products for an organization, known as the practice of product management. Product managers own the product strategy behind a product (physical or digital), ...
who studied software engineering and had previously founded another startup,
Twice
Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaey ...
, got his inspiration for Built Robotics from his father, who worked as a carpenter.
AI Guidance System
The company’s first product was called the “AI Guidance System,” which began development in 2016 and was first brought to market in 2018. The technology was marketed as a solution in the
excavation and
grading business to enable
skid-steers, CTLs, excavators, and
bulldozers
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal #Blade, blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous ...
to function autonomously.
The company started out by expanding its market to other business areas on the functionality that the AI Guidance System can be installed on different types of existing construction equipment, including dozers and skid-steers in addition to excavators. With the development of the Exosystem, it has since narrowed its focus to autonomous trenching.
CONEXPO
At the 2020
CONEXPO-CON/AGG Convention in Las Vegas, the company unveiled a fully autonomous
excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fro ...
,
bulldozer
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...
, and
skid-steer loader
A skid loader, skid-steer loader, SSLs or skidsteer is a small, rigid-frame, engine-powered machine with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.
Skid-steer loaders are typically four-whee ...
and demonstrated its systems’ ability to remotely pilot machinery set up on a jobsite in Houston with keyboard commands.
Built also announced international expansion into Australia and a labor-training partnership with the
International Union of Operating Engineers
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) is a trade union within the United States-based AFL–CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers (also ...
(IUOE).
Company
Financing
Built Robotics is currently a
Series C
A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the ...
startup company, having been financed through three
rounds of fundraising from private venture capital funds. The company has raised a combined total of $112 million USD through its
Series A
A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...
, Series B, and Series C financings. Investors who have contributed to the financings include
Tiger Global
Tiger Global Management, LLC (often referred to as Tiger Global and formerly known as Tiger Technology) is an American investment firm. It mainly focuses on Internet, software, consumer, and financial technology industries.
Background and histo ...
,
Next47,
NEA,
Founders Fund
Founders Fund is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. Formed in 2005, Founders Fund had more than $11 billion in aggregate capital under management as of 2022. The firm invests across all stages and sectors, including aerospace, artificia ...
, Building Ventures,
Presidio Ventures
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
, Lemnos, and other investors. Notable advisors of the company include
Carl Bass
Carl Bass is a former president and chief executive officer of Autodesk, Inc., a maker of professional 3D design software and consumer applications, and was a co-founder of Ithaca Software, which commercialized HOOPS, a 3D graphics system. Bass h ...
,
Jeff Immelt
Jeffrey Robert Immelt (born February 19, 1956) is an American business executive currently working as a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates. He previously served as the CEO of General Electric from 2001 to 2017, and the CEO of GE's Medi ...
, and
Justin Kan
Justin Kan (born July 16, 1983) is an American internet entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of live video platforms Justin.tv and Twitch, as well as the mobile social video application Socialcam. He is also the cofounder and former ...
.
Patents
Built Robotics has a number of patents issued by the US Patent and Trademark office, including “Excavating earth from a dig site using an excavation vehicle;” “Obstacle detection and manipulation by a vehicle within a dig site;” and “Checking volume in an excavation tool.”
Markets
The technology developed by Built has been deployed on job sites in multiple US states,
which do not require regulatory approval for autonomous equipment used on non-public roads.
In March 2020, the company announced that it would be expanding internationally with the onboarding of its first
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n client, MPC Kinetic. Notable customers and business partners include Black & Veatch, MPC Kinetic, Mortenson, and Sunstate.
Labor Relations
In March 2020, the
International Union of Operating Engineers
The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) is a trade union within the United States-based AFL–CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers (also ...
announced a formal partnership with Built Robotics through which the union will train its members to use the Built Robotics automation platform, citing a steady growth rate in jobs for heavy equipment operators coupled with an industry-wide shortage of workers.
References
Further reading
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*
*
*
* {{cite news , last1=Rubenstone , first1=Jeff , title=Tech Start-up Sets Sights on Autonomous Earthmoving , url=https://www.enr.com/articles/43315-tech-start-up-sets-sights-on-autonomous-earthmoving , accessdate=21 November 2018 , work=Engineering News-Record , publisher=BNP Media , date=October 31, 2017 , ref=enr
External links
Official website
New Proposed Article for Robotics Company in San Francisco
Unmanned ground vehicles
Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
2016 establishments in California
American companies established in 2016
Technology companies established in 2016