Souravik Dutta | NTU Singapore | Intelligent Robotics

Journal Article

Misha Afaq, Souravik Dutta, Arash Hosseini Gourabpasi, Farzad Jalaei, Rafiq Ahmad
Automation in Construction, vol. 190, 2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2026.107107

Cite

APA Click to copy
Afaq, M., Dutta, S., Gourabpasi, A. H., Jalaei, F., & Ahmad, R. (2026). Robotics and AI for Prefabrication of Steel Building Components: Systematic Review and Future Roadmap. Automation in Construction, 190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2026.107107

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Afaq, Misha, Souravik Dutta, Arash Hosseini Gourabpasi, Farzad Jalaei, and Rafiq Ahmad. “Robotics and AI for Prefabrication of Steel Building Components: Systematic Review and Future Roadmap.” Automation in Construction 190 (2026).

MLA Click to copy
Afaq, Misha, et al. “Robotics and AI for Prefabrication of Steel Building Components: Systematic Review and Future Roadmap.” Automation in Construction, vol. 190, 2026, doi:10.1016/j.autcon.2026.107107.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{misha2026a,
  title = {Robotics and AI for Prefabrication of Steel Building Components: Systematic Review and Future Roadmap},
  year = {2026},
  journal = {Automation in Construction},
  volume = {190},
  doi = {10.1016/j.autcon.2026.107107},
  author = {Afaq, Misha and Dutta, Souravik and Gourabpasi, Arash Hosseini and Jalaei, Farzad and Ahmad, Rafiq}
}

Abstract

The increasing demand for precision, productivity, and safety in construction has accelerated adoption of robotics and AI in steel building components prefabrication. This systematic review synthesizes 134 peer-reviewed studies to evaluate the state of robotics, AI, and digital technologies, specifically BIM, DfMA, and digital twins, across design, manufacturing, and assembly workflows for steel prefabrication. Using a five-dimensional Scope-Mode-Advantage-Restriction-Transition (SMART) analytical framework, the review characterizes major research themes, technological distribution, and associated performance outcomes. It highlights domination of robotic welding, additive manufacturing, and vision-guided inspection, but limited multi-robot deployment and integration with digital technologies. The review identifies critical methodological and operational limitations in the state-of-the-art and formulates a comprehensive roadmap for advancing steel prefabrication through five sequential research thrusts. Future opportunities include unified BIM-to-fabrication data pipelines, generalizable AI models for adaptive process control, scalable multi-robot platforms, and integrated real-time digital twin workflows to enable an intelligent robotic steel prefabrication ecosystem.

Keywords

Robotics
AI
Steel
Prefabrication
Off-site construction
Systematic review