How Built Robotics Made Excavators Autonomous on Active Job Sites
Construction technology — autonomous heavy equipment
30%
Productivity increase
1:5 ratio
Operator requirement
2cm
Trenching accuracy
Zero
Safety incidents
What they were up against
Construction faces a 500K+ worker shortage, and earthwork — trenching, grading, compaction — is the hardest to staff because it's repetitive, physically demanding, and geographically remote.
- Earthwork operators are among the hardest construction roles to fill, especially for remote solar and pipeline projects
- Projects delayed 2-6 months waiting for equipment operators, adding $500K+ in penalty costs
- Manual trenching and grading quality varies significantly between operators and across shifts
- Safety incidents with heavy equipment cause the most severe construction injuries
What they deployed
Built Robotics installs an autonomous guidance system on standard excavators, enabling them to perform earthwork (trenching, grading, compaction) without an operator.
Built Robotics Exosystem — autonomous retrofit kit for standard excavators
- Retrofit kit installs on standard Caterpillar, John Deere, and Komatsu equipment in 2-3 days
- GPS-RTK guidance achieves 2cm accuracy for trenching and grading
- Operates 24/7 on pre-programmed routes with real-time LiDAR obstacle detection
- Human supervisor monitors 3-5 autonomous machines remotely via tablet
How they did it (2-3 weeks from delivery to autonomous operation)
Equipment retrofit
3 daysInstall sensors, GPS, hydraulic controls on existing excavator
Site mapping
2 daysSurvey and program job site geometry, boundaries, and dig plans
Supervised autonomous
1 weekRun autonomous with on-site supervisor validating operations
Full autonomous
OngoingRemote supervision of 3-5 machines by single operator
What they achieved
30%
Productivity increase
24/7 operation vs single-shift manual
1:5 ratio
Operator requirement
One supervisor for five autonomous machines
2cm
Trenching accuracy
GPS-RTK guidance, consistent across every pass
Zero
Safety incidents
No operator injuries on autonomous earthwork projects
6-12 months per project
“We used to delay solar projects 3 months waiting for operators. Now we deploy autonomous excavators in 2 weeks and run them around the clock.”
Key takeaways
Retrofitting existing equipment is key — contractors don't want to buy new excavators, they want their current fleet to work harder
GPS-RTK accuracy (2cm) exceeds most operator capabilities, especially over long trenching runs
Remote supervision (1 person monitoring 5 machines) is where the labor math really works
Night operation was the unexpected killer feature — doubling productive hours without overtime
Insurance companies are starting to offer lower premiums for autonomous earthwork operations
Ready to get results like these?
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