Human-Robot and Wearable-Robot Teaming in Construction 4.0: A Targeted Systematic Evidence Review of Workforce Transformation and Productivity Outcomes (2025–2026)

Abstract

Construction remains labour-intensive and injury-prone, and persistent productivity and workforce pressures have accelerated interest in Construction 4.0 technologies that augment human work through collaborative robots and wearable robotic systems. This targeted systematic evidence review synthesises recent primary journal evidence indexed in Scopus for 2025–2026 on wearable exoskeleton/exosuit use and mobile or task-level human-robot collaboration (HRC) in construction. The underlying Scopus retrieval produced 711 records; 709 remained after deduplication, 479 passed broad title/abstract screening, and a targeted journal-only 2025–2026 synthesis set of 46 reports underwent full-text assessment, of which 44 met the stated empirical eligibility criteria. Thirty-one studies examined wearable exoskeletons/exosuits and 13 examined mobile or task-level HRC. Instrumented studies consistently showed that exoskeleton effects are task-specific: reductions in muscular demand can coexist with comfort limitations, altered load distribution, cognitive burden, or slower work cycles. HRC studies reported promising safety-monitoring and task-performance results, but much of the technical evidence remains derived from controlled, simulated, virtual-reality, or case-study settings rather than sustained live-site deployment. Trust and directly measured productivity were less consistently evaluated than musculoskeletal or safety outcomes. Because the review used one database, a pragmatic post-screening scope restriction, and no formal risk-of-bias tool, the findings are interpreted as a structured evidence map rather than pooled proof of effectiveness. The synthesis identifies where empirical support is comparatively mature and where field validation, standardised outcome measurement, and longitudinal adoption research remain necessary.