AI-powered robotic arms operate inside Promise Robotics' 60,000-square-foot warehouse in Calgary. The image, provided by the Canadian artificial intelligence company, showcases the advanced automation used in their facility. (Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Promise Robotics)
In Gananoque, Ontario, a construction site is witnessing a new kind of worker—one that doesn’t tire, doesn’t take breaks, and can lift over 440 pounds with ease. Her name is Val, and she isn’t human. Val is a robot designed to streamline the home building process, particularly in an industry facing severe labour shortages.
Horizon Legacy, the developer behind this innovative project, introduced Val to handle the demanding task of laying concrete for a 26-unit stacked town house development. While traditional crews would require about 20 workers for the same job, Val gets it done with the support of just a few technicians and programmers. Though not yet perfect, her creators believe that with time, she’ll operate twice as fast and take on additional responsibilities.
“This is something new,” said Horizon Legacy CEO Nhung Nguyen. “We see it as a solution to both the housing crisis and the shortage of skilled workers in Canada.”
Robotics: A Game Changer for Construction
With Canada pushing to build millions of new homes, experts say automation is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. Robotics, like Val, are proving to be a viable solution to keep up with demand while compensating for the lack of skilled labourers.
Nguyen highlighted that without Val, they would need multiple construction crews just to pour the same amount of concrete. “She can be trained to do more tasks later, which could make construction jobs more appealing to younger generations,” she added.
Meanwhile, in Sudbury, Ontario, a research team led by Steven Beites at Laurentian University is developing a home builder robot capable of picking up and positioning wall panels with precision. Using machine vision, the robot identifies the right panel and its placement, ensuring efficiency and accuracy.
The Urgency of Automation
The push for automation comes at a time when Canada is struggling with an aging construction workforce. The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) estimates that 22% of workers in residential construction will retire within the next decade. To meet the demand for housing by 2030, the country will require an additional 500,000 construction workers.
Beites pointed out that Northern Ontario faces an even greater challenge due to seasonal construction limitations, rising labour costs, and a shrinking workforce. “We aren’t attracting young, tech-savvy workers to the field,” he noted.
Unlike the auto industry, which quickly embraced robotics, home construction has been slower to adapt. CHBA CEO Kevin Lee explained that real estate businesses, often made up of smaller companies, are hesitant to invest in robotics due to the industry's unpredictable market cycles.
A Glimpse Into the Future
Some companies, however, aren’t waiting for the industry to catch up. AI firm Promise Robotics recently opened a 60,000-square-foot facility in Calgary dedicated to off-site, AI-powered home construction. Expected to produce up to 1,000,000 square feet of housing annually, the factory aims to make advanced robotics accessible to home builders without requiring them to set up their own production sites.
Promise Robotics co-founder Ramtin Attar emphasized the capabilities of their robots, which can assemble walls, floors, and stairs in a fraction of the time. “Something that normally takes three to four weeks, we complete in two to three days,” he said.
The Future of Home building
Nguyen hopes robots like Val will change the way builders approach home construction. She believes automation will make the industry more appealing to workers, who might otherwise be deterred by the physically demanding nature of the job.
“The construction industry has struggled to attract workers because people don’t want to do tedious, repetitive tasks,” she said. “Robotics is the future, and this could be the turning point.”
