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In construction, you usually first map out what you’re going to do before diving in. After the blueprints are made, it is then the work of a team of surveyors to map out the area, seeing what will go where. This process can take weeks. Teams need to make sure that the layout and dimensions are exact as having to tear down a partial build or start over due to a measuring mistake can be expensive.
That’s where HP’s new SitePrint Robotic Solution comes into play. According to the company, HP SitePrint is “a robotic solution that prints the most complex construction site layouts with pinpoint accuracy in a fraction of the time it takes manually—improving productivity by as much as ten times.” Having linked with Leica Geosystems, it integrates HP SitePrint “with the Leica TS16 and Leica iCON iCR80 Robotic Total Stations to provide high performance and a unique user experience.”
SitePrint is designed to operate on its own with objects avoidance; several inks designed to weather the elements and different surfaces; a light and transportable design; as well as “cloud tools to submit and prepare jobs to be printed, manage the fleet, and track usage.”
My father-in-law is a surveyor, so I wonder…is this going to be a hinderance or help? As detailed in an article from Engadget, “the robot only requires one operator versus the two or three people typically needed for manual layouts. However, the construction industry is grappling with labor shortages. Robots like SitePrint could help builders make the most of limited staff or take on more ambitious tasks without hiring larger crew.”
So, on the surface, this is basically a construction site Roomba—but instead of cleaning up debris, it’s drawing everywhere. Upon with further inspection, a vital question pops up: Is this going to be an issue for surveyors?
Check out our Additive Manufacturing and Home Security Cameras pages to see some of the new areas we’re getting into. Have a thought on what other products and technologies you think we should test or add to our Advisory Services? Just send us an email at sales@keypointintelligence.com!