RIC Robotics shows off giant construction robot coming to job sites in 2026

RIC Robotics just teased a 20-foot tall, AI-driven construction robot it calls, “the world’s first Giantroid.” There’s a few dudes in Japan who may dispute that claim, but there’s no question that this all-terrain robot has the potential to revolutionize the way big jobs get done!

While most famous for “3D printing” a 5,000 sq-ft. Walmart expansion construction job in under seven days, RIC Robotics are industrial automation experts who (they claim) are perfectly positioned to bring cognitive AI onto the world’s construction sites. And their latest concept, the Zyrex Giantroid, promises to be the machine to do it.

Unlike humanoid robots designed that are designed to replace humans in a 1:1 swap, the Zyrex is purpose-built for construction, and capable of performing both heavy-duty tasks, like heavy material handling and demolition, as well as delicate trades like welding, assembling, trimming, carpentry, and more.

“We’re not just building another robot ,” explains Ziyou Xu, founder of RIC Robotics, in an apparent dig at the more humanoid Tesla Optimus. “We’re engineering the future of construction with Zyrex … we’re addressing the industry’s labor shortages with powerful robotics capable of performing skilled work at scale.”

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The company claims the Giantroid will be ready for production early next year, be powered by a “self-charging” li-ion battery pack (translation: it plugs itself in), and make its way around human-centric job sites using a combination of AI, LiDAR, and optical cameras.

RIC Robotics estimates its Zyrex construction robot will be priced at “under $1 million,” and be made available with monthly leasing options starting below $20,000. More detailed specs aren’t available yet, so be sure to watch this space.

Electrek’s Take

Even as wages seem to climb and the need for more housing and construction climbing along with them, the global shortage of construction workers and equipment operators continues apace. That’s why more autonomous and remote-operation solutions are needed, and why RIC Robotics is, I think, on the right path here.

As for the need for a Giantoid instead of humanoid, I’ll leave that to Xu. “If Tesla’s Optimus is the Ironman of the Avengers,” he says, “then Zyrex is the Hulk.”

SOURCES | IMAGES: RIC Robotics; via Equipment World, Robotics and Automation.

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