{"id":14425,"date":"2024-02-15T11:09:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T11:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1403895"},"modified":"2024-02-15T11:09:11","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T11:09:11","slug":"dutch-startup-secures-25m-to-bring-autonomous-bricklaying-robots-to-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=14425","title":{"rendered":"Dutch startup secures $25M to bring autonomous bricklaying robots to Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The construction sector builds the homes we live in, the offices we work in, and the schools our children learn in \u2014 but in Europe, there\u2019s a chronic shortage of people to do this critical work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dutch startup Monumental thinks it has a solution: AI-powered bricklaying robots<\/a> capable of working autonomously alongside humans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fitted with sensors and computer vision, the fully-electric machines use small crane-like arms to place bricks and mortar with human-level precision, the startup<\/a> claims. They are small and nimble enough to go anywhere a person can.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Our agile, <\/span>intelligent, and adaptable robots and software blend human expertise with robotic efficiency in a way that the industry has never seen before,\u201d said the company\u2019s co-founder and CEO, Salar al Khafaji. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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Bricklaying is a tough job. It\u2019s brutal on the back and knees, and doesn\u2019t pay very well. So it\u2019s perhaps no surprise that there\u2019s a scarcity of young workers in Europe lining up to apply.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the UK alone, there\u2019s an estimated <\/span>shortfall of the estimated 75,000<\/span><\/a> workers needed to build 300,000 houses each year by 2025, a target set by the government back in 2019. Monumental believes automation can fill gaps like these \u2014 and has just secured $25mn to bring its idea to fruition.<\/span><\/p>\n

The seed funding round, which was led by founder-led <\/span>deep tech fund Plural<\/span><\/a>, will help Monumental grow its team of engineers and scale the number of robots it can deploy on sites across Europe. The startup also looks to train its robots to take on new, more complex tasks. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMonumental\u2019s approach is the perfect coming together of ambition and expertise, the rising power and impact of AI, and the shrinking cost and size of cutting-edge hardware to address an industry that\u2019s at breaking point,\u201d commented <\/span>Sten Tamkivi<\/span><\/a>, partner at Plural. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSomething significant has to happen if we\u2019re to meet the housing demands of millions and reduce the economic and environmental burden of the built world and Monumental is going to be something significant,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following a handful of pilot projects in the Netherlands, the bricklaying robot completed its first large-scale, 15-metre wall in 2023. Monumental has since deployed its robots on other projects, has inked deals with multiple top 25 general contractors, it said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Monumental was founded in 2021 by Salar al Khafaji and CTO Sebastiaan Visser \u2014  who formerly co-founded data visualisation firm Silk, <\/span>acquired by Palantir<\/span><\/a> in 2016.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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