RADIANCE, RoboCons and ShieldBot answer this question. These three Horizon Europe projects are working towards a safer, smarter and more sustainable construction industry supported by advanced robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation solutions.
RADIANCE: Robotic, Automated and Digital Solutions for Building Renovation
Building renovation is becoming increasingly important as Europe seeks to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The Horizon Europe project RADIANCE addresses this challenge by proposing an integrated suite of robotic, digital and AI-based technologies that support the entire renovation lifecycle.
From building inspection and diagnosis to repair operations, safety monitoring, planning and sustainability assessment, RADIANCE brings together multiple technologies into a single ecosystem. Through three real-life demonstration scenarios across Europe, the project is validating solutions designed to accelerate renovation workflows, assist construction professionals with advanced digital tools, improve worker safety and reduce the environmental footprint of renovation activities.
RADIANCE brings together 12 leading organisations from seven European countries, combining expertise in robotics, automation, AI, construction, digitalisation, and sustainability, coordinated by Universidade de Vigo (Spain).
RoboCons: Advancing Cooperative Robotics for Sustainable Construction
RoboCons shares the vision of a more automated construction industry emphasising cooperation between humans and machines.
The project is developing innovative human-centred robotic and AI solutions that enable seamless collaboration between construction workers and robotic systems. Coordinated by CONSTRUCCIONES ACR (Spain) and bringing together 14 partners from across Europe, RoboCons is creating a Robot-Human Adaptive Construction Ecosystem alongside a Digital Construction Platform.
These technologies will improve productivity, reduce material waste, enhance worker safety and support the construction sector’s digital transformation. By ensuring that robots adapt to human operators, RoboCons promotes safe, efficient and practical deployment of collaborative robotics on construction sites.
ShieldBot: Advanced Robotics for Optimal Building Efficiency
As the demand for energy-efficient buildings grows, traditional construction methods fall short in meeting modern sustainability standards. ShieldBot intends to address this gap through the deployment of three specialised robotic solutions that enhance the energy efficiency of buildings while reducing environmental impact:
- InnerShieldBot is designed for internal construction works, applying similar thermal shielding to walls and ceilings to enhance comfort and efficiency.
- InspectionShieldBot utilises advanced sensors to assess building exteriors, identifying areas needing repair or insulation, ensuring maintenance and sustainability.
- FaçadeShieldBot focuses on installing thermal shielding on building façades, improving insulation and reducing energy consumption.
These robotic systems are supported by DigiShield, a digital twin platform that aggregates and analyses data from on-site operations, enabling real-time decision-making and precise project planning, and EcoShield, innovative, eco-friendly materials for insulation solutions to further minimise the carbon footprint of construction activities.
ShieldBot emphasises the integration of human-robot collaboration to ensure that robotic solutions support rather than replace human workers, enhancing safety and efficiency on-site. The consortium if formed by 11 research and industrial partners from six European countries (including Ukraine and United Kingdom), coordinated by IDEKO, bringing together a balanced mix of expertise in research, technology development, industry, and dissemination.
RADIANCE, RoboCons and ShieldBot at the Innovation Industry Construction Congress 2026
Ibai Inziarte, Innovation Director at Aldakin and Dissemination and Communication Lead for RoboCons, explained these solutions in the presentation “Industrialisation of Construction through Collaborative Robotics and Intelligent Automation: ShieldBot, RADIANCE, RoboCons”, during the Innovation Industry Construction Congress (IC2) 2026, held in Santander, Spain, on 1-5 June 2026.
Access the full presentation on Zenodo.