Robots pull hole information from the building CAD plans and accurately drill within about 1/8 in. (3.1 mm). | Credit: DEWALT

In the world of construction, there are tasks so boring, monotonous, and gigantic in scale that they seem like a curse. One of them is marking and drilling thousands of holes in the concrete floor of the future data center for mounting server racks. This is a job where the human factor is not a bonus, but a source of mistakes, fatigue, and endlessly stretching deadlines. Nine weeks of hellish labor. Exactly until the moment when the drilling robot from DeWalt and August Robotics rolled onto the scene, which compressed these nine weeks into nine days. It's not just automation. This is the industrial surrender of routine to precision and speed.

August Robotics is a leading international mobile robotics company that builds robots to improve lives and boost productivity by automating dirty, dangerous and dull jobs. Founded in 2017, August Robotics has expanded worldwide and partners with market leaders to develop new robotic applications across industries including construction, commercial and industrial fit-outs, and exhibitions.

The Laboratory of Boredom: Why drilling holes is hell

Imagine: a bare concrete box the size of a football field. The task is to drill tens of thousands of holes with an accuracy of ± 3 mm, according to a clear diagram from a CAD file. Any error in the markup accumulates like a snowball. The work is dusty, noisy, and exhausting. The cost of one human-made hole exceeds $60. Teams of workers have been crawling on the floor for weeks with tape measures, markers and punchers. This is the case where the phrase "bored to death" takes on a literal economic meaning: boredom costs money, time, and nerves.

Lionel comes to the rescue: from marking to drilling in one step

The key to the solution was the Lionel robot from August Robotics, created back in 2019 for autonomous floor marking at exhibitions and warehouses. His superpower is incredible indoor positioning accuracy without accumulating errors. The developers looked at this "artist slider" and wondered: what if, instead of a marker, they screwed a powerful drilling rig to it? This is how a hybrid was born: the Lionel mobile platform with intelligent navigation and the DeWalt industrial rotary hammer. It turned out to be a kind of "terminator" for concrete floors.

Breathtaking figures: 99.97% accuracy and cost revolution

The results of the pilot implementation sound like an invention of marketers, but these are documented facts.:

• Speed: 4 robots complete the work in 7-9 days instead of 8-9 weeks.
• Accuracy: 99.97% of the holes are made exactly where needed. The robot does not get tired, does not get distracted, and does not make mistakes in calculations.
• Volume: In the first 6 months, 12 robots drilled 108,000 holes and released 21,000 man-hours as part of the early program.
• Economy: The cost of a single hole has collapsed from $60+ to about $20.

The system works directly with the CAD model of the building, independently plans a route, bypasses obstacles and even tries to approach the target from different angles if access is blocked. "The robot doesn't care if there are other objects on the floor or not," says Alex Schickling, director of robotics at DeWalt, with a smile.

What happens when robots take up screwdrivers?

This is just the first swallow. The partnership between DeWalt and August Robotics is a signal to the entire industry. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are no longer niche solutions and are becoming universal "work platforms". A drill bit is attached to Lionel today, a paint gun tomorrow, and a grinding machine the day after tomorrow.

The next logical step is to coordinate entire swarms of such specialized robots on a single construction site. One marks, the second drills, the third lays fasteners. To manage such a "digital squad", advanced dispatch systems will be required that will distribute tasks, optimize routes, and monitor the condition of "employees." It is precisely such integrated solutions for managing fleets of autonomous vehicles — from construction robots to drones — that are being explored within the framework of concepts such as JOBTOROB.com .

The future of construction does not lie with one giant transformer robot, but with an army of small, intelligent and highly specialized machines that quietly and efficiently do their job while people do what so far only they can do: think, design and make decisions.

As of January 2026, the commercial launch of the system is scheduled for mid-2026.