Painters, Construction and Maintenance

Right now, most painting jobs are still done by people. Routine tasks like removing switch covers, scraping old paint, and estimating materials are done manually – for example, painters must “remove outlet and switch covers” and “calculate the size of the area to be painted” themselves ^[1]. Experts note that finishing trades like painting have not seen much automation yet ^[2].

There are a few high-tech examples: for instance, ST Engineering built a semi-autonomous robot (i-Paint X) that can coat tall walls (up to 4 m high), improving safety and consistency ^[3]. That robot was tested in an industrial hall (painting 500 m²) and gave high-quality, fatigue-free results ^[3]. However, these systems are new pilots, and tasks requiring creativity or judgment (like special textured finishes) still rely on human skill.

In practice, painters may use digital tools to help – e.g. software to estimate paint needed – but a person still checks measurements and makes color decisions. In short, there are some smart machines and apps emerging, but the core work of painting homes and buildings remains largely human.

Whether AI catches on fast in painting will depend on costs, benefits, and attitudes. On the plus side, contractors want to boost efficiency and stay competitive ^[4]; using robots for heavy or dangerous paint jobs (like walls at height with no scaffolding) can improve safety and speed ^[3]. Also, many builders struggle to find enough painters (one report found ~90% of German painters saw a labor shortage ^[3]), so machines are attractive if they fill gaps.

On the other hand, painting crews often have thin profit margins (around 19%, unlike 26% in manufacturing ^[2]), so buying expensive robots is hard. To tackle this, new models let painters rent robots or software by the job (for example, paying per square meter painted ^{[2] [2]}) which lowers risk. Socially, people still trust human creativity for final color choices and finishes.

For now, most companies will use AI or robots for clear efficiency gains (planning or big spray jobs) but leave the fine work to skilled painters. Overall, adoption is likely steady – tools will help painters, but human artistry remains important.