FEATURE construction workers, and 40 % of the current workforce is expected to retire in the next decade, threatening to widen the gap.
In this environment, 1.25 billion hours are spent annually operating heavy equipment – an area ripe for automation. With a US $ 13 trillion global construction industry and rising labour costs, the opportunity for retrofit-friendly autonomy is enormous.
The Bedrock solution
While many robotics start-ups design bespoke autonomous vehicles or machinery, Bedrock takes a different approach. Instead of replacing existing fleets, it installs reversible, same-day hardware and software upgrades to transform traditional heavy machinery into autonomous workhorses. Its flagship product, the Bedrock Operator, integrates with existing machines – starting with excavators – enabling them to run without human operators but allowing a return to manual mode within hours if needed.
The Bedrock Operator’ s retrofit installation process is quick and flexible. A perception suite of cameras, lidar and radar continuously scans the environment, detecting obstacles, workers, vehicles and site boundaries. An autonomy stack,
trained on thousands of hours of earthmoving data, enables precision digging, grading and material handling, even in unpredictable terrain. A dedicated safety layer employs hazard detection, redundant systems and geofencing to ensure safe operation, with remote override available. Fleet integration tools give managers real-time dashboards for monitoring and task assignment, while continuous learning feeds operational data back into AI models to improve performance.
According to Co-founder and CEO, Boris Sofman, the technology is not about removing people entirely but about extending capability and flexibility:“ The construction industry is facing so much pressure with the soaring demand for new factories and data centres, the housing crisis and the mandate for re-industrialisation in the U. S. The only way to rise to the occasion is by empowering construction teams with advanced automation they can trust. Together with our partners in the industry, we’ re ushering in a new era where autonomy and intelligence supercharge building, which will benefit both contractors and society.”
From roads to construction sites
Bedrock’ s founding team brings a rare pedigree. Sofman is joined by CTO, Nathaniel Fairfield, former Technical Lead for self-driving software
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