University of Stuttgart secured €4 million for two robotic construction projects. SCALAR will use autonomous machines to assemble prefabricated timber modules. COBRAS will deploy swarms of small robots to build reusable lightweight structures. Both projects start in November 2026 and run for three years. SCALAR divides tasks between cranes and mobile robots for precision assembly. COBRAS relies on swarm intelligence for decentralized coordination among identical robots. The systems aim to reduce waste and improve sustainability in construction. Partners include EPFL, Université Libre de Bruxelles and crane makers Liebherr and Jekko.
What changed
Construction relied on manual assembly of timber modules and space-frame structures.
What it unlocks
Autonomous assembly of modular timber buildings and reusable lightweight structures by robot swarms.
- €4 million per project
- 3-year program
- November 2026 start
What you need to act on it
- research phase only
- funding secured
Sources