TechRadar Pro sat down with OpenSpace CEO Jeevan Kalanithi to explore why construction robotics is finally gaining real momentum. In a detailed Q&A, Kalanithi pushes back on the idea that construction is slow to adopt technology, arguing instead that builders have always adopted tools that genuinely make their jobs easier and were simply waiting for technology capable of understanding how they actually work. With OpenSpace customers having captured imagery across more than 70 billion square feet of construction globally, the platform is positioned at the center of this shift.
The conversation covers ground that matters to anyone investing in construction technology. Kalanithi’s framing of visual intelligence as the missing layer is central to how OpenSpace thinks about its platform. Collecting site data is only the first step. The harder problem is interpreting that data at scale: comparing what has been built against what was planned, measuring progress over time, identifying issues early and surfacing insights that help project teams make better decisions. OpenSpace’s AI does this across imagery gathered from phones, 360° cameras, drones, laser scanners and third party robotics platforms, integrating it all into a single view of the jobsite. For customers managing large, complex projects where schedule pressure is unrelenting, that unified picture is not a nice to have. It is the foundation for every coordination decision made across a project.
Kalanithi’s point about labor shortages resonates beyond data centers. Construction is consistently failing to attract enough skilled workers to meet demand, and the backlog is only growing as investment in data centers, manufacturing facilities and infrastructure accelerates. Robotics and AI tools that handle routine documentation, progress capture and inspections free experienced people to spend their time on the decisions that actually move projects forward. This is how OpenSpace approaches automation: not as a replacement for skilled labor but as a way to amplify it. As the industry moves beyond pilots toward broader adoption, the signal to watch is not the number of robots on a site but whether project teams keep using the technology after the trial ends. Explore how OpenSpace helps construction teams capture, understand and act on site conditions at openspace.ai.
AUTHOR: Désirée Athow, with contributions from Craig Hale
