LAS VEGAS — Among the world’s top construction tech innovators gathered at the 2024 Trimble Dimensions Conference, Civ Robotics stood out with a groundbreaking approach to site layout and surveying. Founded by civil engineer Tom Yeshurun, the company is blazing a new path for the construction industry by automating a vital but often painstaking process: marking precise points on large-scale project sites. Yeshurun’s journey, from his own frustrations on construction sites to creating a fleet of autonomous robots, highlights a unique story of problem-solving and engineering vision.
The concept for Civ Robotics was born when Yeshurun, then a civil engineer on a multimillion-dollar road construction project, became frustrated with the cost and complexity of surveying. “I was building a road and spent about $5 million on surveying work. And they made mistakes. We all do; we’re human after all,” he recalled. He found himself wishing for a tool that could take the human element out of layout work, ensuring speed and accuracy without the constant back-and-forth with survey crews. “I used drones at some points to do photogrammetry, and that was great,” Yeshurun said. “But I thought, what if I had a robot to just do the layout for me?” This inspiration laid the foundation for what would become Civ Robotics.