RIC Robotics is developing a 20 ft tall autonomous construction robot called Zyrex, writes Nick Flaherty.

The ‘giantroid’ is designed to be cognitive and, ultimately, fully autonomous, capable of executing complex and delicate tasks across commercial and industrial job sites. A working prototype is expected in early 2026.

Zyrex is purpose-built for heavy-duty tasks such as material handling, but also delicate trades that include welding, assembly, trimming, carpentry, 3D printing and exterior finishing to reduce deaths and injuries in the construction industry.

The design has 26 degrees of freedom, an interchangeable tool module, and it can change its own batteries to keep operating. Lidar laser sensors and cameras feed Vision–Language–Action (VLA) AI models for the control system.

“We’re not just building another robot, we’re addressing the industry’s labour shortages with robotics capable of performing skilled work at scale,” said Ziyou Xu, founder of RIC Robotics.

The first phase is human-assisted operation AI model training. Operators will use VR and physical simulators to control Zyrex, while the robot gathers live job site data using the Lidar and visual sensors, which it compares with a building information model to ensure build accuracy and quality. Real-world data and synthetic data generated by simulation will train the VLA AI models to enhance safety and task efficiency.

These VLA models will then be used to execute skilled tasks independently.