FW-HTF-P: Redesigning the Future of Construction Work by Replicating the Master-Apprentice Learning Model in Human-Robot Worker Teams

The construction industry could benefit significantly from increased productivity, use of modern work processes, improved relationships among stakeholders, and increased attention to safety and health issues of construction workers. In the absence of these improvements, a chronic shortage of skilled construction workers has developed, largely due to a retiring workforce and the reluctance of younger generations or people of different abilities to pursue such careers. More recently, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious economic difficulties and schedule delays on construction projects, since it is hard to maintain social-distancing on construction sites. These impacts further emphasize the need for construction techniques that can allow workers to perform tasks remotely, decreasing the number of on-site workers at any one time to ensure worker health and safety. This planning grant will support investigation of the potential of human-robot teams to transform future construction work and the profile of future construction workers. It is expected that such changes would result in new career opportunities and significant benefits to the industry. The project team envisions that human workers will use technology to teach co-robots to perform construction work tasks remotely, resulting in symbiotic human-robot teams that can be widely deployed in the construction industry. This approach parallels the classical Master-Apprentice vocational model prevalent in today's construction industry.

The overarching goal of this research planning grant is to explore the feasibility and potential of a human-robot team through engagement with a range of stakeholders. The proposed activities for this planning project include: 1) Fact-finding surveys distributed to representatives of construction firms, current construction workers, and potential future construction workers (high school students); 2) Technology pilot presentation and feedback from representatives of construction firms and workers; and 3) A comprehensive research program development workshop with expert stakeholder participants from academia and industry. These activities will allow the research team to set the foundation for developing a convergent research agenda that reshapes the future of construction work into a human-robot partnership that supports a self-sustaining cycle of lifelong learning, knowledge-transfer, and effective teamwork. Ultimately, the results of this project will inform the opportunities and challenges of incorporating co-robots on construction sites without replacing the current workforce or adversely impacting the construction work process. The success of this planning grant will pave the way for a significant research effort that takes a human-centered approach toward the future of construction work and ensures that it improves accessibility, quality of life, productivity, and job satisfaction. The PIs will recruit a diverse group of students and partners from industry and academia and pursue broad dissemination of the research findings in academic and industry venues. This project has been funded by the Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier cross-directorate program to advance design of intelligent work technologies that operate in harmony with human workers.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.