Derrick Morse didn’t plan to become an entrepreneur. But when he returned to the construction industry after stints at business school and overseas at Samsung HQ, he saw an unmet need and a huge opportunity. No one had solved the problem of layout, a pain-point he had experienced first hand while installing sprinkler systems earlier in his career. As he walked sites, Derrick still saw messy chalk-lines, spray-painted notes, and vague sharpie marks – with countless errors, clashes, and rework. The models were better, the design information was there, but no one was using it. No one was accurately carrying that coordinated design into the field. He had an idea – the “layout Roomba.”
The result of that idea was Rugged Robotics, a company whose automated platform, the Rugged Mark1, translates digital CAD designs into the life size blueprints, ensuring all trades install their systems and equipment exactly where it was designed to go.
In a recent spotlight by Suffolk Technologies — the venture capital and technology accelerator associated with Suffolk Construction — Derrick explains how Rugged developed its platform working alongside crews on real-world pilots as part of the Suffolk Boost program. Their collaboration extends to this day, and Rugged is deeply engaged with the Suffolk Construction team, often on the most complex (and confidential) projects across the country.
