DEWALT and August Robotics' drilling robot DALE makes TIME's Best Inventions of 2026
DALE, an autonomous downward drilling robot built by DEWALT with August Robotics, has been named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2026 in the Robotics category. According to DEWALT, the robot drills up to 10 times faster than conventional methods on live data center jobsites.
- DALE, an autonomous downward drilling robot from DEWALT and August Robotics, is on TIME's Best Inventions of 2026 list in Robotics.
- TIME's list covers 300 innovations chosen on originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.
- According to DEWALT, DALE drills up to 10 times faster than conventional methods on live data center jobsites.
- DEWALT reports over 99% accuracy across more than 385,000 holes and timeline cuts of more than 300 weeks across 44 construction phases.
What TIME recognized
DEWALT, a Stanley Black & Decker brand, announced on Oct. 16, 2026 that DALE made the annual list. TIME editors and correspondents around the world nominated and evaluated the entries, and the 300 winning innovations were chosen on originality, efficacy, ambition and impact.
DEWALT describes DALE as the world's first fleet-capable downward drilling robot. It was developed in collaboration with August Robotics, which the release describes as a global mobile robotics company. The robot is designed to change how concrete drilling is done, with a focus on data center construction at a time when, in the company's words, demand for new computing capacity continues to accelerate.
The performance figures
The numbers come from DEWALT and relate to live data center jobsites. According to the company, DALE has achieved:
- drilling speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional methods;
- project timeline reductions of more than 300 weeks across 44 phases of data center construction;
- over 99% accuracy across more than 385,000 holes.
These results are the company's own claims, and the release does not include independent verification or details on how the figures were measured.
Company comment and market position
Bill Beck, President, Tools & Outdoor, Stanley Black & Decker, said: "We are honored that TIME has recognized DALE as one of the Best Inventions of 2026." He added that the robot reflects DEWALT's drive to deliver "hyper-focused innovation" to end users, and that the aim is "bringing new capability to the jobsite and helping customers meet rising demands with greater productivity and improved safety."
The release says DALE earned strong industry attention earlier this year and entered the market as a solution optimized for data center construction. DEWALT says the TIME recognition further validates the role robotics can play in helping customers increase output, simplify workflows, boost safety and support the pace of modern building.
What it means for construction
The announcement points to automation moving into a specific, repetitive jobsite task: drilling holes in concrete. For contractors working on large infrastructure projects, the company's pitch is faster execution and improved safety. The figures reported so far come from data center work, which is the setting DALE is optimized for.
August Robotics, founded in 2017, says it builds robots to automate dirty, dangerous and dull jobs, and that it partners with market leaders across construction, commercial and industrial fit-outs, and exhibitions. DEWALT, which the release says celebrates 100 years in business, positions the robot as part of its push toward the jobsite of the future.
The full list of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026 is available at ti.me/best-inventions.
