Hilti Jaibot

When Neil Gershenfeld published his book “When Things Start to Think” in 1999 and the notion of the Internet of Things had just started to slowly make its way to change industrial production only 10 years later, the digitisation of commercial construction sites was still in its infancy. The construction industry is traditionally local, with regional differences and fragmented value-creation chains. With the semi-autonomous Jaibot drilling robot, the Liechtenstein-based construction technology group Hilti has now opened the door to the concept of “Construction 4.0”. Standing for Jobsite Artificial Intelligence robot, Jaibot introduces artificial intelligence to construction sites. The mobile robot is designed for drilling very large quantities of precisely located holes, such as those required for installing pipes and ductwork. This is not only a laborious and error-prone task, it can be dangerous too if working on ladders or scaffolds is required. Each installation on the ceiling also implies the use of different work disciplines: electrical, drywall construction and fire protection, the procedures and steps of which are repetitive. The Hilti Jaibot can take over all these types of work and carry them out cleanly and precisely. It incorporates a five-axis, telescopic robotic drilling arm, continuous tracks and a laser-guided orientation system, so that construction workers can operate it from the ground using a tablet. The completely cordless system has a battery life of up to eight hours and features an integrated solution for dust extraction and hole markings. During the drilling and marking processes, the robot synchronises itself via the mobile data network, allowing the current status of the project to be conveniently monitored in real time for documentation.