en.Wedoany.com Reported - Built Robotics, a physical AI company in the construction sector, and the xLAB (Safe Autonomous Systems Lab) at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science have announced a research collaboration to advance physical AI models for the construction industry, with safety as the central focus of this partnership.
xLAB, led by Rahul Mangharam, Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering and Principal Investigator at Penn Engineering, has years of experience in developing high-performance, safety-critical autonomous systems. Built Robotics, meanwhile, possesses edge AI models dedicated to personnel detection and human safety. Mangharam stated that xLAB is committed to building safety-critical autonomous systems for real-world deployment, and construction represents one of the most challenging frontiers in this field; the fundamental challenge lies in bridging the gap between validation in controlled environments and robust performance under operational conditions, and the collaboration with Built will enable access to active construction sites with high-fidelity map data and real operational parameters, thereby building practical autonomous systems that address real-world needs.
Noah Ready-Campbell, CEO of Built Robotics, noted that xLAB's achievements in safety architecture provide precisely the rigorous foundation that physical AI requires; Built's proprietary edge AI models for personnel detection have been optimized in the industry's most demanding operational environments—active construction sites with hundreds of employees spanning thousands of acres. Liam Osler, Director of AI Engineering at Built Robotics, commented that both parties share the same core belief: physical AI must first and foremost be safe, and it holds the promise of setting new standards for construction safety.
The initial phase of the research trials will focus on deploying Built Robotics' edge AI models on a fleet of construction survey robots, which are responsible for collecting high-fidelity sensor data in active solar projects. This data will be used to improve Built's own AI models and extend them to other vehicle platforms and construction activities.
Ready-Campbell pointed out that Penn Engineering is home to one of the world's most respected robotics programs and is also his alma mater, making it a natural starting point for this collaboration. Dean Vijay Kumar's pioneering work on quadrotors and multi-robot coordination at the GRASP Lab had a profound impact on him when he founded Built. As Built's robot fleet continues to expand in the field, the alignment with xLAB's mission has become clear. He looks forward to collaborating with Professor Mangharam to set a new benchmark for physical AI in design, validation, and field deployment.
Built Robotics is a leader in physical AI for construction, backed by investors such as Founders Fund, NEA, and Tiger Global, with a proven track record in the $300 billion utility-scale solar industry. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in San Francisco. xLAB, led by Rahul Mangharam, focuses on the intersection of formal methods, machine learning, and embedded systems, specializing in developing provably safe, highly resilient software architectures for autonomous vehicles, medical devices, and cyber-physical infrastructure.
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