Advanced Construction Robotics launches rebar installing robot

Advanced Construction Robotics (ACR) launched a robot that can lift, carry and place rebar called IronBOT.

The robot, which is ACR’s second product offering, can lift up to 5,000-lb bundles of rebar in a transverse or longitudinal orientation without needing any heavy lifting from crew members. 

IronBOT can work alongside ACR’s first robot, TyBOT, which can self-tie horizontal rebar intersections. TyBOT has an active tie rate of over 1,100 ties and hour. 

IronBOT completed its inaugural project alongside TyBOT in February on the Port St. Lucie West Boulevard Bridge in Port St. Lucie, FL. The robots completed the project alongside Shelby Erectors, a construction company that specializes in building bridges. 

The team originally estimated that rebar installation would take 14 days, but when augmenting Shelby’s crew with the BOT bundle the same amount of work took only seven days. During the pilot project, IronBOT places 147,032 lb of rebar, and TyBOT completed 58,068 ties over 6.5 production shifts. 

“We were excited to be able to have IronBOT and TyBOT work together alongside our crews on this project. We were impressed that we could slash our rebar installation schedule in half. We are actively looking for new projects to incorporate the BOT Bundle in our operations,” Jack Nix, COO of Shelby Erectors, Inc, said.