An £18m investment in technologies ranging from augmented reality design tools to swarming robots that mimic the collaborative behaviour of termites could help to transform UK construction in future years, says the UK’s main research funding body.

Made through funding body UKRI, and drawn from the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF), the cash is being ploughed into a range of projects aimed at making construction more efficient, sustainable and productive.

The planned investments include a project to be led by Loughborough University, which will explore the development of next generation Hybrid Concrete Printing technology. Alongside a number of related projects, a further £13.3m will be ploughed into 24 separate collaborative initiatives, each to be carried out by Innovative UK. 

Professor Sir Mark Walport, Chief Executive of UKRI, commented: “Through projects such as these, the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund allows us to catalyse innovation across the UK’s vital construction industry improving productivity, sustainability and safety.”