A new drilling robot ensures faster and safer installations

Hilti, an innovator of tools, technology, software and services, launched its first robot a few months ago — Jaibot. The Hilti Jaibot construction robot is designed for semi-autonomous mobile ceiling-drilling, helping mechanical and electrical installation contractors tackle productivity, safety, and labor shortage challenges.

The Jaibot executes its tasks based on building information modeling (BIM) data. The robot is a completely cordless and easy-to-use system that doesn’t require expert skills. It locates itself accurately indoors, drills the holes dust-controlled, and marks them according to the trade. This is what makes the solution ideally suited for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing trade (MEP).

“The productivity of the construction industry has been lagging behind other sectors for years. Margin pressure and shortages of skilled labor are already facts of life in our industry and make it increasingly difficult to overcome productivity shortfalls,”  said Jan Doongaji, member of the executive board, with the Hilti Group. “But leveraging the opportunities offered by digitization will compensate for it. We do this by intelligently linking processes, teams and data.”

A paradigm shift 
Time and budget overruns are common, particularly for large construction projects. Significant productivity gains are possible with digitally planned construction projects and their realization with the help of robotic solutions. BIM-enabled robotic solutions also make the construction process more transparent with improved execution speed, constant performance, and fewer errors.

Daily progress can be reported from the field to the project office via cloud computing. Potential conflicts between the trades involved on a job site also can be detected at an early stage and then limited, resulting in more projects delivered on-time and within budget.