Collaborations with HP and Exyn harness AI, 3D mapping, printing and optical technologies to conduct site surveys and layout.
This week, industrial tech company Trimble announced two collaborations to bring autonomy to construction sites. Partnering with Exyn Technologies, a robotics company, and hardware provider HP, Trimble aims to improve productivity, safety and the quality of work on construction sites.

With Exyn, Trimble will explore the use of autonomous construction surveying technology. The system centers on Boston Dynamics’ Spot. The robotic dog will be equipped with a portable real-time 3D mapping solution called ExynPak that can deliver survey-grade accuracy powered by ExynAI. Exyn’s software framework for fully autonomous robots can sense and avoid obstacles in chaotic environments. Powered by Trimble’s X7 total station, the system will provide fully autonomous surveying missions in complex, multifaceted construction environments. The goal is to consistently and precisely capture construction sites to enable quality production and control workflows without requiring humans to enter potentially dangerous environments.
“The integration of autonomous surveying technology into a construction workflow has groundbreaking potential,” said Aviad Almagor, vice president of Technology Innovation, Trimble, in a press release. “It can improve operational efficiency and transparency throughout the build lifecycle while also transforming worker safety for potentially hazardous data collection.”
Exyn’s systems allow Spot to achieve Level 4 autonomy and go on exploratory missions without having to learn about the environment beforehand, according to Trimble. Instead, the surveyor defines a 3D volume for a mission and the robotic solution handles the complexities of self-navigation without needing a map, GPS or wireless infrastructure. At the same time, Trimble’s X7 provides 3D laser scanning to capture the state of the environment with speed and accuracy.
Environmental data can be uploaded to Trimble Connect, a collaborative platform where project information can be shared with stakeholders for analysis, building information modeling (BIM) comparisons, and to monitor quality and processes, according to Trimble. Beyond surveying construction sites, Trimble hopes that similar autonomous systems can advance human-robot collaboration in work environments and make jobs safer for people.

With HP, Trimble is seeking to improve the layout process for indoor construction projects. The Trimble Ri total station will integrate with the new HP SitePrint robotic layout solution to address challenges the industry is facing with skilled worker shortages. According to the companies, the solution provides an autonomous layout workflow that has greater efficiency and speed than standard layout methods.
“The integration of Trimble Ri and HP SitePrint can transform the layout process on complex construction sites with pinpoint accuracy, and in a fraction of the time,” said Aviad Almagor, vice president of Technology Innovation, Trimble, in a press release. “This is an opportunity for layout contractors to improve accuracy and productivity and handle more projects with the same size of team.”
SitePrint can avoid obstacles and print lines and complex objects with accuracy and consistency, according to HP. Additionally, the solution’s text printing capabilities provide data from the digital model to the construction site to prevent errors. Meanwhile, the Trimble Ri total station uses optical technology to drive the precise positioning and navigation of the HP SitePrint robot. It’s equipped with automatic level detection, self-calibration and Trimble VISION technology for advanced tracking. Together, Trimble Ri enables the HP SitePrint robot to provide autonomous, high-accuracy indoor layout services.
“Technology adoption and increased digitization can help construction firms bridge this productivity gap,” said Daniel Martínez, vice president and general manager, HP Large Format Printing, in the release. “With the integration between HP SitePrint and Trimble Ri, we can make it easier than ever for layout professionals to bring an idea to life on site, while also enabling increased digitization of the construction industry as a whole.”