Yue, H; Sun, Y; Zeng, N; Chen, S; Tan, Y and Wang, Q (2025) Legged robots for construction management: Applications and challenges. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151(8): 03125006, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
In recent years, legged robots capable of traversing complex terrain with height differences have gained widespread attention in construction management. Despite their growing popularity, research on the applications of legged robots in the construction management industry is still in its early stages, and no comprehensive review has yet summarized the applications and challenges of legged robots in this sector. This study fills this gap by methodically categorizing legged robots and delineating their applications in construction, existing challenges, and prospective future directions. This paper first introduces the various types of mobile and legged robots and then categorizes the applications of legged robots in the construction management industry into three principal areas: construction inspection, progress monitoring, and model reconstruction. Additionally, this research presents five key recommendations addressing both the challenges and future directions for enhancing robot functionality in construction settings. These recommendations are (1) improving walking ability in complex environments, (2) finding inspiration from animals, (3) enhancing navigation and scan planning capabilities, (4) strengthening human-robot collaboration, and (5) expanding application scenarios. This study's insights can significantly benefit academia and industry by promoting further development and effective utilization of legged robots in the construction management industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | applications and challenges; construction management; legged robots; quadruped robot |
| Index terms: | academia, inspection, reconstruction, progress monitoring, collaboration, strengthening, functionality |
| Subjects: | design features, building construction, quality assurance, structural engineering, project controls, educational institutions, management |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Education, Engineering Principles, Design Practice, Organizational Design, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here