Business South Champions were invited to witness the future of construction first-hand by meeting Douglas, a humanoid robot currently being trialled by Tilbury Douglas on construction sites across the UK.
Representatives from Business South, Hampshire County Council, Southampton City Council, Womble Bond Dickinson, Ridge and Stride Treglown visited Tilbury Douglas’s site at Luminous Oak Academy to tour the development in Boorley Green, near Hedge End, and meet Douglas, who has been undergoing testing and training with the Tilbury Douglas team over the past six months.
The visit offered a fascinating insight into how emerging technologies are beginning to reshape the construction industry. Douglas is part of an ongoing trial exploring how humanoid robotics can support project teams by carrying out routine data collection, progress recording and site monitoring activities.
During Douglas’s visit to Luminous Oak Academy, attendees learned how the robot is being trained to navigate live construction environments autonomously while capturing valuable site data. Future enhancements will include a 360-degree camera mounted on Douglas’s head, alongside cameras on his hands to improve depth perception and data collection capabilities. Combined with laser scanning technology, these features will enable Douglas to capture detailed progress information and site data as he moves around project sites. The team also explained that future developments are expected to include speech capabilities, allowing Douglas to communicate more naturally with colleagues on site.
During the visit, attendees witnessed Douglas navigating the construction site and even showing off a few dance moves, demonstrating both the capabilities and potential of humanoid robotics in a real-world construction setting.
Rather than replacing people, the technology is designed to support construction teams by taking on time-consuming administrative and monitoring tasks. The data collected by Douglas is reviewed by project teams and used to support progress reporting, health and safety monitoring and wider digital construction workflows.
Attendees also learned more about the process of training Douglas for use on construction sites. Operated by the Tilbury Douglas team, the robot is currently learning how to navigate environments, capture relevant data and carry out tasks independently. The team likened the process to raising a child, as Douglas gradually learns about the world around him and develops new capabilities over time. As the trial progresses, the knowledge gained from training Douglas is expected to support the deployment of similar technologies across the business in the future.
Tilbury Douglas estimates that automating these activities could save project teams around 40 hours each month, allowing colleagues to spend more time focusing on technical, operational and decision-making responsibilities.
The event also provided an opportunity for Champions to discuss the wider role that innovation, artificial intelligence and robotics could play in addressing some of the challenges facing the construction sector, including productivity, efficiency and skills shortages.
Tilbury Douglas continues to demonstrate its commitment to innovation and knowledge-sharing across the Central South. While Douglas remains in the trial phase, the visit offered a glimpse of how robotics, artificial intelligence and digital technologies could become an increasingly familiar part of construction sites in the years ahead.
