With a population of over 40 million people, Canada is facing a rising housing shortage as demand outstrips supply and pushes up prices. According to the Royal Bank of Canada, around 500,000 extra workers will be needed to build the 4.8 million affordable new homes needed by 2035[1] to satisfy demand. With several years often required to train builders to a professional standard, alternatives need to be found to help speed up housing construction.
With a history of innovation dating back to the 1950s, Horizon Legacy is a Canadian-based real estate developer, who has delivered over 7 million sq. ft. of commercial and residential projects across North America. Today Horizon Legacy is reimagining the construction industry by automating traditionally labour-intensive tasks. Working together with ABB Robotics, it has developed ‘VAL 2.0’, a modified ABB Robotics six axis robot equipped for 3D concrete printing, which has successfully enabled the completion of Canada’s first mass housing project to be built by robots working entirely on-site.
Turning vision into reality
To transform its vision into reality, Horizon Legacy combined the VAL 2.0 robot with ABB Robotics’ RobotStudio® programming and simulation software. With RobotStudio® allowing their team to make real-time changes during the build and experiment with new techniques. The solution provided the performance and flexibility to maximize sustainability and brought highly complex designs to life.
As an all-electric low-waste form of construction, the onsite robotics strategy was key in reducing the environmental footprint of the 26 townhouse units built for the Gananoque housing project. By applying the precise amount of material needed to build a structure, 3D printing generates substantially less waste compared to traditional building techniques.
The more efficient use of materials, combined with reduced onsite labour requirements, also helped to lower project costs, enabling the homes to be delivered at cost parity with traditional construction. A further benefit of using onsite robotics was the ability to create complex structures on-site that were previously impractical or impossible to build manually.
“Projects like this show the real impact robotic construction can have on Canada’s housing supply,” says Nguyen. “We’re now turning that vision into reality, scaling robotic systems for commercial deployment across housing developments.”
A strong partnership
ABB Robotics’s team was on hand throughout the development stages to help Horizon Legacy with the challenges of deploying a first-of-its-kind solution.
ABB Robotics engineers helped limit the vibration at the tool centre point and find the perfect calibration. The highly creative nature of the project also required the robot to adopt many different positions, so ABB Robotics helped ensure the robotic controller could handle the resulting complexity without causing an overload. The ABB Robotics team also stepped in to provide extra resources and even sourced critical hardware when supply chain hold-ups threatened to delay delivery.
“What we’ve achieved throughout the project would not have been possible without ABB Robotics’s technology and support,” emphasizes Nguyen. From the early stages of problem-solving through to field implementation, ABB Robotics was more than just a provider. They were key enablers of a transformative shift in how we build. “Their support helped us de-risk one of the most uncertain parts of our project, and we look forward to building an even more automated future together.”
Nicolas Durand, former General Manager of ABB Robotics Canada, confirms the importance of technology partnerships and collaboration:
“The benefits of using ABB Robotics robots to automate repetitive, dangerous, and physically demanding tasks have been demonstrated in manufacturing applications worldwide across a wide variety of sectors. Working with Horizon Legacy has allowed us to push the boundaries of what's possible in construction automation. Our expertise, tailored applications, and on-the-ground service have been key in overcoming challenges and driving innovation.”
The system proved to be more than a match for on-site construction conditions, with VAL 2.0 working reliably outdoors and in a dusty environment. This enabled the project to proceed with minimal delays. Crucially, it made the developer confident that using robots and non-standard construction techniques is a viable solution for major housing projects in the future.
Looking forward
The project in Gananoque was a proof of concept, and Horizon Legacy is actively identifying additional areas of the construction process that could benefit from automation. “Having validated the technology, Horizon Legacy is now entering the next phase - commercial rollout and mass deployment of robotic construction solutions to accelerate housing delivery.”, says Nguyen.
References:
[1] Source: Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CHMC).
