RIC Robotics is comparing its 20-foot, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered, general-purpose construction robot Zyrex to the Incredible Hulk.
“We’re not just building another robot — we’re engineering the future of construction,” RIC Robotics founder Ziyou Xu said of what the company claims is the world’s first AI-powered giant construction bot.
“With Zyrex, we’re addressing the industry’s labor shortages with powerful robotics capable of performing skilled work at scale. If Tesla’s Optimus is the Iron Man of the Avengers, then Zyrex is the Hulk — only this Hulk is orange and built to construct, not to smash buildings,” said Xu.
The robot, designed to initially be cognitive and ultimately fully autonomous, is able to execute complex and delicate tasks such as welding, assembling, trimming, carpentry and 3-D printing across commercial and industrial job sites, according to the California-based company. A working prototype is expected in early 2026, marking a significant leap forward in the evolution of construction robotics.
Leveraging LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and visual sensors and powered by VLA (Vision-Language-Action) AI models, Zyrex will be deployed in dynamic job site environments with human monitoring, RIC said.
Despite its size and capabilities, Zyrex is relatively inexpensive. Monthly leasing options start at less than $20,000. By comparison, some giant robots cost more than $2 million.
A global shortage of construction labor, coupled with dangers of the profession — it recorded the most fatal injuries among all industry sectors in 2023 with 1,075 fatalities — have put a premium on automated alternatives. This year, the U.S. is short more than 439,000 skilled construction workers to meet industry demand and avoid further escalation in labor costs, says the Associated Builders and Contractors. [In China, the government and private industry are working overtime to ramp up manufacturing automation through AI and robotics amid a major labor shortage.]
Zyrex said it is rolling out its construction bot in two phases: Human-assisted AI model training, followed by full autonomy.
The company’s latest construction robot builds on its current 3-D construction robot, RIC-PRIMUS. The latter model includes a high-speed, automation and battery-powered mobile platform with a large-scale reach of up to 32 feet.
An earlier RIC model, RIC-M1 Pro, successfully 3-D-printed two Walmart Inc. warehouse extensions, one in Alabama and another in Tennessee, with 200 more planned nationally. The warehouse 5,000-square-foot, 16.5-foot-tall warehouse in Alabama was completed in a week, three weeks ahead of schedule, saving 75% in time and 80% in skilled labor, according to RIC Robotics.
