University of Florida opens new robotics lab dedicated to industrialized construction

The University of Florida (UF) has opened a robotics lab dedicated to industrialized construction, funded by a $1 million donation from Autodesk. The lab will aim to address Florida’s housing shortage and an impending surge in retirements among the construction workforce.

The donation follows Autodesk’s $1.5 million investment in 2024, which helped launch UF’s Industrialized Construction Engineering (ICon) degree program, which will welcome its first student cohort this fall. UF offers the nation’s first Bachelor of Science in Industrialized Construction Engineering.

The core focus of the degree is applying advanced manufacturing principles to building construction, shifting from traditional jobsite methods to precision, technology-driven, and sustainable processes.

A new degree program opens this fall

The new degree program combines a cross-discipline education track to educate students with the skills and knowledge to design and build the next generation of buildings, including automated construction methods.

Key features of the program include:

• Use of digital workflows and systems including BIM, digital twins, AI, prefabrication, and real-time monitoring.

• Partnership with Autodesk to integrate cutting-edge computational tools.

• Provides hands-on experience with a COBOD BOD3 large-scale 3D concrete printer and a dedicated 3D-printed Demonstration Building for experiential research and learning.

The donation from Autodesk will fund equipment purchases, renovations, and technical support for the campus to equip the new Autodesk Design and Make Laboratory with cutting-edge tools and robotics.

The need is real

Florida is short more than 121,000 homes and rental units, according to UF’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies. Industrialized construction, which moves homebuilding into factory settings using robotics, digital twins, and modular assembly, is one of the few approaches that can add capacity faster than the labor pool is shrinking.

The University of Florida has launched a specialized laboratory dedicated to advancing industrialized construction, targeting two of the building industry’s most persistent challenges: worker safety and operational efficiency.

UF’s facility focuses specifically on deployment-ready human-robot systems. Under the approach, collaborative robots execute high-injury-risk tasks like wall-framing and panel assembly, while skilled human labor oversees quality assurance and complex technical execution.

Built upon six years of research by Dr. Alwisy, the initiative integrates multi-functional robotics, digital twins, and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to establish a safer, technology-driven future for modular and off-site manufacturing.  Dr Alwisy manages the Smart IDC Lab at UF.

Graduate researcher Frank Xie is one of several students bringing this vision to life. Xie is building a computer vision system using digital twins modeled in Autodesk Fusion that allows robots to “see” a construction design and translate it into real-world assembly. It’s early-stage work that offers a glimpse into what the new lab is designed to accelerate as more students gain hands-on access to the space.

Chimay Anumba, Dean of the College of Design, Construction and Planning, stated that,  “The College of Design, Construction and Planning is most grateful for Autodesk’s tremendous support for the Industrialized Construction program and the naming of the Autodesk Design and Make Laboratory. This is a unique partnership that will leverage advanced technologies to transform the construction industry and enhance its productivity, safety, quality, and sustainability. The work done in the Autodesk Lab will develop new research outputs for the industry and enable our students to be better prepared for the future.”