Dispatches

Steel collars

Field notes from construction robotics. The machines tying rebar, printing the model on the slab, and walking unfinished decks - and the argument about who actually shows up for the shift.

Recent

Ten latest notes, each from a different company.

FieldAI · 2 Oct 2026

FieldAI term sheet: $700 million at a $10 billion mark

Business Insider, 2 October 2026. A person familiar with the deal said the Irvine company has signed a term sheet. The round has not closed, and FieldAI did not comment.

Read

Bedrock · 22 Sep 2026

Bedrock’s excavators dig with the cab empty

Construction Dive, 22 September 2026. The Operator retrofit is on live infrastructure work for Sundt and Zachry.

Read

Gravis · 22 Sep 2026

SoftBank puts $200 million into Gravis

Construction Dive, 22 September 2026. Series A for the ETH Zurich spin-out that bolts autonomy onto heavy equipment.

Read

Square Robot · 16 Sep 2026

SR-3 wins NIOSH Prevention through Design

World Oil, 16 September 2026: submersible tank inspection without confined-space entry. Side Launcher through the shell manway.

Read

FieldAI · 2 Sep 2026

Caterpillar partners with FieldAI on jobsite autonomy

A commercial agreement announced 2 September 2026. Early work: autonomous inspections, digital twins, and situational awareness on Cat jobsites.

Read

FieldAI · 6 Jul 2026

McLaren deploys Spot with FieldAI on UK sites

FieldAI’s UK debut. First trial: the Passivhaus refurbishment of LSE’s 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. 360 photos, point clouds, safety patrols, and model-to-site checks.

Read

August Robotics · 21 May 2026

August Robotics raises $30 million Series B

Company news, 21 May 2026: Big Pi leads. Downward-drilling fleets with DEWALT for hyperscale data centers; Lionel already marked 300M+ sqft.

Read

Emesent · 28 Apr 2026

Emesent Hovermap certified on Teledyne FLIR platforms

Emesent, 28 April 2026: Hovermap LiDAR payload certified for FLIR UAS/UGV - GPS-denied 3D maps in tunnels and structures.

Read

Maximo · 25 Mar 2026

Maximo installs 100 MW of robotic solar at Bellefield

PR Newswire, 25 March 2026: AES-incubated Maximo scaled to a four-robot fleet. Over one module per minute; up to 24 modules per shift-hour per person.

Read

Brokk · 19 Jan 2026

Brokk 130+ packs more breaker force in the same footprint

Brokk, 19 Jan 2026: SmartPower+, new BHB 175 breaker - ~20% more hitting force, ~40% higher frequency.

Read

The journal

Layout · 4 Sep 2026

The end of the chalk line

Dusty, HP, Civ, and Rugged print the coordinated model onto the floor. Layout is a machine job now.

Read

Civil · 28 Aug 2026

Who ties the deck at 2 a.m.?

TyBot ties about 1,200 intersections an hour. IronBOT places the bundles. Toggle builds the cage in the shop.

Read

Dispatch · 12 Aug 2026

Steel Collars on the Jobsite

Layout printers, rebar tyers, finishers, inspectors, and masons that already work on live jobs. A field guide to the machines, and who sells them.

Read