Europe is facing a deepening housing crisis due to high construction costs, tight regulations, and workforce shortages. Various solutions like mass housing and rent controls have been explored but failed to close the gap between supply and demand for affordable homes. The Dutch startup Monumental aims to revolutionize the industry with autonomous electric robots designed to work continuously on construction sites. CEO Salar al Khafaji emphasizes the necessity for automation to address the crippling labour and cost issues in construction, suggesting it's critical for future housing solutions.
"It's obvious that we need some forms of automation and robotics to solve these problems," he tells TNW. "There's almost no other way around it."
"I wanted to solve a serious problem in society," he says. "And I became obsessed with construction and infrastructure."
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