Seminar In Person

Rise of the Robots in Construction

by CIOB Reading

Event details

  • Chancellors Building, Reading University, Reading
  • 21 May 2026
  • 06:00 PM - 08:30 PM BST

Event fees

CIOB member

Free

CIOB Non-Member

£25.00

CIOB Assist Optional Donation

£5.00

Summary

Join the Reading Hub on Thursday 21st May at Reading University for this exciting event!

Robotic automation is increasingly recognised to offer significant advantages to productivity, quality, health and safety. The understanding of robotics in the construction sector is a fast evolving and liberating new horizons of application.

Taking the view of robot as a tool in supporting construction professionals to deliver the project outcomes and benefits, our speaker Nicola Musgrave, Business Development Manager at Autodiscovery, will give a presentation, covering the concept of robotic technology, what it can offer from the general to construction specifically. Construction user-cases will be given. She will also bring few Unitree robots to give a live demonstration.

In this interactive event, we are particularly interested in smaller robots which are ready to be deployed on construction on-site environments (instead of large industrial robotic systems which have been introduced into the prefabricated factory environment).

Come and join us to say ‘Hello!’ to the robots, and learn about their contribution to construction as a product and an advancement to on-site quality, and health and safety. Be part of the future.


"The new wave of Reinforcement Learning that accelerated creation of capable dexterous robots" - Aron Kisdi headlines

Further Details


Location: The University of Reading's Whiteknights Campus - Chancellors Building, Room 107 'Resources' 1st Floor, RG6 6EL

Time: Arrival from 18:00

Refreshments: Light bites on arrival. Please specify any dietary requirements when booking.

Parking:

  • There are no parking restrictions after 5.00 pm on the Whiteknights campus.
  • Sat nav postcode. If you are using a sat nav or GPS device to navigate to the University, please use the following postcode: Whiteknights campus main entrance RG6 6UR.

Public transport from Reading train station to UoR Whiteknights campus:

  • Getting to Whiteknights campus from the centre of Reading is easy. The 21 and 21a buses run from Reading train station in the town centre to our Whiteknights campus at regular intervals, 24 hours a day.
  • The number 21 & 21a stops on campus - Whiteknights House and Pepper Lane entrance. Please get off the bus on the ‘Whiteknights House’ bus stop (Building number 27 - C3 zone).
  • A single bus journey will cost you £2.00 (a day ticket is £4.00. You purchase your ticket on the bus and will need either the exact change or a contactless bank card).
  • The taxi rank can be found outside the Reading Train station. A taxi will cost you approximately £8.


Please note: This event is for over 18’s only. This learning activity can contribute to your

annual CPD return and should be logged accordingly.


How can we help you get the most out of this event? We want to ensure accessibility for all of our members. Please contact us in confidence prior to attendance and we will do our best to answer any questions and support any additional needs you may have.

Contact

Natasha Martin

Member Services and Events Coordinator

[email protected]


Agenda

  • Agenda
    18:00
    Refreshments on arrival and an introduction by Dr Shu-Ling Lu and Alan Vowler
    19:00
    Presentation on the latest Robotics from guest speaker Nicola Musgrave
    • Nicola Musgrave
      Nicola Musgrave
    Business Development Manager at Autodiscovery specialising in robotics applications, industrial engagement, and developing innovation clusters. She is an experienced innovation and programme specialist with a strong track record in developing high‑growth technology communities and supporting early‑stage commercialisation of ground-breaking research. As ESA BIC Manager at Harwell, she played a formative role in building the early UK space cluster, delivering incubatee support, ecosystem‑wide events (including designing and delivering the first Space Launchpad competition and support programme), and initiatives that strengthened the emerging space community. She later advanced national innovation activity through senior roles at Anchored In and now as Founder of NetKind Consultants, where she provides strategic funding, commercialisation, and ecosystem‑development support to academia, industry, and government.
    19:30
    Q and A
    20:00
    Practical Demonstration of Robots Inside and Outside