Startup for digital construction Dusty Robotics recently closed a Series B round of investment, raising $45 million to speed up production and development of the FieldPrinter robot.
The machine prints scaled plans directly onto the floor of construction sites, with a precision of 1 millimeter, making it impossible to draw hand-drawn chalk lines, which have been a problem for builders since the time of Egypt according to the company. The “IKEA instructions” help eliminate errors, layout delays and rework. This helps keep projects in line with budget and time According to Dusty.
“Most projects have adopted Building Information Modeling (BIM) to design buildings in full 3D, yet layout crews still use paper plans, measuring tape, and string to transfer those designs to the site for construction,” Dusty CEO and founder Tessa Lau said. “We are creating a future where robots are standard tools used to construct every building, turning BIM into reality, and eliminating the errors that create waste.”
The FieldPrinter can print on any flat, broom-swept surface such as plywood, concrete forms, wood, and asphalt. It is suitable to hang drywall, for coordination of mechanical, electrical as well as plumbing (MEP) work, as well as general contracting, while creating diagrams for all trades in the interior once the construction slab of a building is in place.
The robot is housed in a sturdy case that is designed to meet the requirements of a construction site. The remainder of the system includes a rugged tablet, a tripod, and a surveyor’s station to establish the control point, from which the printer is able to orient itself to complete the task.
The FieldPrinter 1.0 version is now available for general use and comes with a number of enhancements, Dusty said. They include obstacle detection and avoidance that allows the robot to function at construction sites with a lot of activity and also QR-code printing, single-pass printing at intersection points, and real-time monitoring of progress.
FieldPrinter FieldPrinter can be leased on the basis of a long-term contract or on the basis of a job-by-job basis.
The robots have been employed by contractors from a variety of companies to build a variety of kinds, such as parking garages as well as apartments, data centers, and even hospitals. For the quarter that began in January of 2018, FieldPrinters created over 25 million square feet of a floor plan, the company claimed.
According to gadcapital.com, the latest round of funding increases the company’s valuation up to $250 million. The round was directed by Scale Venture Partners and included existing investors Baseline Ventures, Canaan Partners, Root Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, and Cantos Ventures. The company was founded in June of 2021. Dusty has completed its series one round of capital raising with $16.5 million. Overall Dusty has raised Mountain View, a California-based company has been able to raise $68.67 million since it was founded at the end of 2018.
“Dusty is one of a handful of robotics startups to have identified an acute pain point in a traditional industry and brought a product to market in a remarkably short timeframe,” Scale Venture Partner Alex Niehenke said. “We are excited about the potential to transform the construction industry, and we believe they are the best team to accomplish it. We are confident about Dusty’s bright future and are thrilled to have contributed to the growth of their business.”
