About us
Engineers, operators and builders on a mission to modernise UK housing.
A seven-strong team working full-time on the ABLR — combining decades of mechatronics, manufacturing and construction expertise into one robotic platform.
Meet the directors
David Longbottom
Co-Founder & Director
David built his career in food manufacturing, rising from Trainee Manager to Factory Manager responsible for 2,500 staff. He went on to found Pro-Pak Foods, growing it to £30m turnover and 300 employees before selling to Danish group Tican Foods in 2005. In 2012 he established property developer DPKL, which has funded Construction Automation to date — combining operational scale-up know-how with deep capital backing for the ABLR programme.
Stuart Parkes
Co-Founder & Director
Stuart's background is in offshore oil & gas and nuclear decommissioning, where he developed deep project management expertise and technical mastery of mechatronic systems. In 2013 he founded Hydrorobotics, focused on hi-tech equipment for hostile environments — designing, building and operating a remote-controlled lead-brick handling arm for a nuclear facility. That same engineering DNA underpins the ABLR today.
Roadmap
Two decades of robotics. One mission.
- ●
1999
First bespoke bricklaying robot
Stuart develops a bespoke lead-brick laying robot for a Sellafield nuclear project.
- ●
2016
Construction Automation formed
The company is founded and the first dual robot arm is developed.
- ●
2017
Single-arm robot & mortar pump
Single-arm robot, dedicated mortar pump and Mark 1 track engineered. First-generation software lessons learned.
- ●
2018
Dynamic control & IP
Dynamic Control System and Mark 2 track. Certified bogie and Lawsons lifting system. Patents filed across EU, US, Australasia and Canada. ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 achieved.
- ●
2019
Laser measurement & gravity feed
Laser measuring technology, gravity-fed brick storage and engineered rack-and-pinion track.
- ●
2020
ABLR's first house
The Automated Bricklaying Robot lays its first full house. US patent granted. Design and mechanical upgrades.
- ●
2021
Next-generation platform
New aluminium track, brick storage and cassette system, larger mortar hopper, new drive system, tablet control. BIM4 talks with the University of East London.