In-Depth Understanding of Construction Robot Research a Bibliometric Analysis

Labor shortage and low labor productivity are critical issues in the construction industry. Robots, as powerful technologies to improve the productivity in digitization era, are being used to assist in addressing those challenges. Particularly in recent years, interest in construction robot and related research has risen remarkably. To gain a deeper understanding of this burgeoning research field, the study provides a bibliometric analysis of 473 related papers retrieved from WoS (Web of Science). Performance analysis and science mapping were used to identify the research trend, analyze the relationship among authors, identify the top publication sources, analyze the region activity, as well as knowledge base and dominant research sub-field. The results indicated that the number of papers focusing on construction robot has been continuously growing after 2013. ‘Automation’, ‘system’ and ‘design’ are the most addressed topics in construction robotics. The study therefore would be valuable for providing a better perspective for practitioners and researchers to understand the development of construction robots and facilitating the building of intellectual wealth of robots in the construction industry.