Construction robots enhance efficiency

For the Trunk Road T2 & Cha Kwo Ling Tunnel project, the Civil Engineering & Development Department has applied innovative technologies including an autonomous air-ground co-operative tunnel inspector and a drilling robot.

Innovative tech: The autonomous air-ground co-operative tunnel inspector is equipped with ultra-high-definition cameras to automatically capture images of the tunnel’s internal structure. Image source: news.gov.hk

Efficiency boost

Giving rein to the synergy of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and total-station positioning techniques, the autonomous air-ground co-operative tunnel inspector can automatically carry out all necessary tunnel inspections, covering tunnel linings and various tunnel internal structures in a safer, more efficient and cost-effective manner.

Consultancy company Senior Resident Engineer Albert Sung explained that the system is equipped with ultra-high-definition cameras to automatically capture images of the tunnel’s internal structures.

“The aerial drone focuses on the upper half of the tunnel, while the unmanned ground vehicle focuses on the lower half, enabling 360-degree full coverage of the tunnel. These images are transmitted in real time to the AI module on the unmanned ground vehicle for defect detection.

“It can instantly and accurately detect millimetre-level defects and generate electronic reports. The entire process is 23 times faster than conventional methods and reduces inspection costs by 50%.”

The system was co-developed by the Civil Engineering & Development Department, a consultancy firm and the Hong Kong Productivity Council and has obtained three patents as well as receiving multiple local and international innovation awards, including 2025 Gold Edison Award.

Optimum efficiency: Consultancy company Senior Resident Engineer Albert Sung says the autonomous air-ground co-operative tunnel inspector can instantly and accurately detect millimetre-level defects and generate electronic reports. Image source: news.gov.hk

Rapid robots

In addition, the tunnel project employs an automatic drilling robot that improves efficiency by reducing time and labour costs.

Civil Engineering & Development Department Engineer Kelvin Ma explained that, in the past, before constructing the corbel for overhead ventilation duct slabs inside a tunnel, workers had to repeatedly carry out tasks such as chiselling the concrete surface, and positioning, drilling and installing anchor bolts, while working on elevated platforms.

“The Trunk Road T2 project has introduced an automatic drilling robot. Using laser scanning technology for precise positioning, the robot performs accurate drilling and anchor bolts installation on tunnel walls and ceilings while simultaneously extracting dust generated during the process.

“Compared to traditional methods, which involve manual lifting and installation, the adoption of the Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical, & Plumbing and drilling robot has reduced onsite labour requirements by 60% and shortened the associated construction time by 40%.”

Tech tests: Development Bureau Chief Assistant Secretary Felix Poon says construction robots are tried out for different tasks in public works projects and based on the outcomes of the trials their application is mandated for suitable projects. Image source: news.gov.hk

Tech application

With the rapid development of robotics technology, the Development Bureau is encouraging the application of construction robots in all public works projects.

Development Bureau Chief Assistant Secretary Felix Poon stressed that the bureau prioritises the promotion of highly-effective construction robots that demonstrate high cost-effectiveness, scalability and necessity for onsite construction.

“We first pilot construction robots for different tasks in some public works projects. Based on the outcomes of the trials, we mandate their application for suitable public works projects.

“In addition, the Government provides subsidies to the private construction sector. This measure gradually establishes a robust ecosystem for the development of construction robots.”

Mr Poon added that the bureau will soon implement a policy requiring suitable construction robots to be adopted in all public works projects, with the aim of enhancing the overall quality, safety and productivity of construction projects.

Widespread use: The Development Bureau will implement a policy requiring the adoption of suitable construction robots in all public works projects, with the aim of enhancing the overall quality, safety and productivity of construction projects. Image source: news.gov.hk

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Robots have long been seen as a bad bet for Silicon Valley investors — too complicated, capital-intensive and “boring, honestly,” says venture capitalist Modar Alaoui.

But the commercial boom in artificial intelligence has lit a spark under long-simmering visions to build humanoid robots that can move their mechanical bodies like humans and do things that people do.

Alaoui, founder of the Humanoids Summit, gathered more than 2,000 people this week, including top robotics engineers from Disney, Google and dozens of startups, to showcase their technology and debate what it will take to accelerate a nascent industry.

Alaoui says many researchers now believe humanoids or some other kind of physical embodiment of AI are “going to become the norm."

“The question is really just how long it will take,” he said.

Disney's contribution to the field, a walking robotic version of “Frozen” character Olaf, will be roaming on its own through Disneyland theme parks in Hong Kong and Paris early next year. Entertaining and highly complex robots that resemble a human — or a snowman — are already here, but the timeline for “general purpose” robots that are a productive member of a workplace or household is farther away.

Even at a conference designed to build enthusiasm for the technology, held at a Computer History Museum that's a temple to Silicon Valley's previous breakthroughs, skepticism remained high that truly humanlike robots will take root anytime soon.

“The humanoid space has a very, very big hill to climb,” said Cosima du Pasquier, founder and CEO of Haptica Robotics, which works to give robots a sense of touch. “There's a lot of research that still needs to be solved.”

The Stanford University postdoctoral researcher came to the conference in Mountain View, California, just a week after incorporating her startup.

“The first customers are really the people here,” she said.

Researchers at the consultancy McKinsey & Company have counted about 50 companies around the world that have raised at least $100 million to develop humanoids, led by about 20 in China and 15 in North America.

China is leading in part due to government incentives for component production and robot adoption and a mandate last year “to have a humanoid ecosystem established by 2025,” said McKinsey partner Ani Kelkar. Displays by Chinese firms dominated the expo section of this week's summit, held Thursday and Friday. The conference's most prevalent humanoids were those made by China's Unitree, in part because researchers in the U.S. buy the relatively cheap model to test their own software.

In the U.S., the advent of generative AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini has jolted the decades-old robotics industry in different ways. Investor excitement has poured money into ambitious startups aiming to build hardware that will bring a physical presence to the latest AI.

But it's not just crossover hype — the same technical advances that made AI chatbots so good at language have played a role in teaching robots how to get better at performing tasks. Paired with computer vision, robots powered by “visual-language” models are trained to learn about their surroundings.

One of the most prominent skeptics is robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks, a co-founder of Roomba vacuum maker iRobot who wrote in September that “today’s humanoid robots will not learn how to be dexterous despite the hundreds of millions, or perhaps many billions of dollars, being donated by VCs and major tech companies to pay for their training.” Brooks didn't attend but his essay was frequently mentioned.

Also missing was anyone speaking for Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s development of a humanoid called Optimus, a project that the billionaire is designing to be “extremely capable” and sold in high volumes. Musk said three years ago that people can probably buy an Optimus “within three to five years.”

The conference's organizer, Alaoui, founder and general partner of ALM Ventures, previously worked on driver attention systems for the automotive industry and sees parallels between humanoids and the early years of self-driving cars.

Near the entrance to the summit venue, just blocks from Google's headquarters, is a museum exhibit showing Google's bubble-shaped 2014 prototype of a self-driving car. Eleven years later, robotaxis operated by Google affiliate Waymo are constantly plying the streets nearby.

Some robots with human elements are already being tested in workplaces. Oregon-based Agility Robotics announced shortly before the conference that it is bringing its tote-carrying warehouse robot Digit to a Texas distribution facility run by Mercado Libre, the Latin American e-commerce giant. Much like the Olaf robot, it has inverted legs that are more birdlike than human.

Industrial robots performing single tasks are already commonplace in car assembly and other manufacturing. They work with a level of speed and precision that’s difficult for today’s humanoids — or humans themselves — to match.

The head of a robotics trade group founded in 1974 is now lobbying the U.S. government to develop a stronger national strategy to advance the development of homegrown robots, be they humanoids or otherwise.

“We have a lot of strong technology, we have the AI expertise here in the U.S.,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, after touring the expo. “So I think it remains to be seen who is the ultimate leader in this. But right now, China has certainly a lot more momentum on humanoids.”

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Associated Press journalist Terry Chea contributed to this report.

Yuka Iwashita, right, interacts with a robotic hand at the Alt-Bionics table during the Humanoids Summit, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

People watch as a robot, made by Weave Robotics, folds clothes during the Humanoids Summit, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Robots, made by Weave Robotics, fold clothes inside the exhibition room at the Humanoids Summit, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Kochi Sato, left, shakes hands with a humanoid robot during the Humanoids Summit, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

A man records a humanoid robot inside the exhibition room at the Humanoids Summit, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)