Efficiency improved

The terminal under construction covers nearly 1.5 million square meters, with a total floor area of about 1.96 million sq m, according to Zhang Yi, deputy director of the terminal engineering department of Shanghai Airport (Group)'s construction division.

"One of its most distinctive architectural features is the international terminal's bird-shaped roof. Together with 17 gigantic bird-shaped columns, it creates the impression of a bird soaring through the sky," Zhang said.

"The project is expected to be ready … in 2028, further supporting Shanghai's development into an international aviation hub," added Zhang.

Qin Yi, deputy general manager of Shanghai Construction Group's general contracting department, said the number of robots and the scale of their application in the project are unparalleled.

Qin, who is also the executive deputy head of the Shanghai Pudong International Airport's Terminal 3 project, said the robots would reduce construction time by 20 percent, and trim the on-site workforce by about 35 percent.

For instance, a crew of three robots is doing the concrete flooring works continuously and efficiently in carrying out tasks of leveling, surface finishing and polishing. The crew is expected to complete about 700,000 sq m of structural and architectural flooring work for the project.

The team consists of a four-wheel laser leveling robot, a crawler smoothing robot and a floor polishing robot, Qin said. The crew can process more than 1,000 sq m of flooring per day, and keep deviations in flatness to within a millimeter.

The use of robots has not only saved construction time but also significantly reduced reliance on specialized labor, further ensuring the stability and quality of the construction process. "The introduction of robots for the project has made the construction process more advanced and intelligent, therefore improving the overall project's quality and standard," Qin said.

When comparing manpower and robot performance, for example, robots can significantly improve first-pass welding qualification rates and overall welding quality, he said. The rework rate in traditional manual welding is typically close to 10 percent, but welding robots have virtually eliminated reworking.