SINGAPORE, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's national development minister on Tuesday highlighted the use of robots as an example to raise productivity and cut labor cost in the construction industry amid the city state's drive to upgrade its economy.
"Robotics is not new, but we hardly see them in our construction sites. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will be happy to provide some funding support to help change the status quo," Khaw Boon Wan wrote in a blog post.
The minister was referring to tiling robot, a prototype for automated floor tiling, though the technology is still at a research stage and not commercially available.
Singapore has been tightening its foreign labor policies in recent years in a bid to reduce reliance on cheap foreign labor and raise productivity so as to upgrade its economy.
Some of the restaurants in Singapore have been using iPads to let the customers select from the menu or even buying robots that can make traditional Chinese noodles at an even faster speed.
Khaw said that tiling is one of the most labor-intensive processes in construction.
"Each year, over 40 million tiles are laid in new construction projects here. There is therefore great potential to automate the tiling process and make it more labor-efficient," he wrote.
The Building and Construction Authority said it plans to provide builders funding support once the tiling robots are ready for use.
"If the robot becomes commercially available, the estimate is that the robotic tiling machine can lay tiles two to three times faster than the human tiler.
An added advantage is that robots can deliver high precision and consistent quality," Khaw said.
The technology may have benefits beyond productivity gains, Khaw said, citing possible reduced worksite accident risks.
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