Episode 320 | America Can’t Build Without Autonomous Construction Equipment

Kevin Peterson, Co-Founder & CTO, Bedrock Robotics joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss the growing labor shortage in the construction industry and how Bedrock is developing autonomous construction equipment to help builders keep building.America’s construction industry is facing a crisis with a shortage of 500,000 workers delaying projects by an average of two months and costing $2.7 billion annually. Bedrock is looking to solve that problem as they are building autonomous construction equipment using machine learning techniques such as imitation learning and reinforcement learning to teach machines how to dig, move, and adapt in real-world job sites.Throughout the conversation, Grayson and Kevin explore the economic, technical, and operational challenges facing the construction sector, from power constraints slowing down data center builds to safety risks on chaotic job sites and how autonomy can solve these growing issues. Episode Chapters0:00 From Cars and Trucks to Construction 3:16 Automating Construction Equipment 9:51 OEM Partnerships 10:49 Construction Partners 12:55 Data16:56 Deploying Autonomous Construction Equipment 24:00 Challenges 26:15 Job Creation 28:09 Human to Machine Ratio30:28 Bedrock OS33:40 Maps34:29 Construction TAMRecorded on Thursday, July 24, 2025--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy provides market intelligence and strategic advisory services to institutional investors and companies, delivering insights needed to stay ahead of emerging trends in the autonomy economy™. To learn more, say hello (at) roadtoautonomy.com.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletter: https://www.roadtoautonomy.com/ae/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.