Coping with the increasing shortage of skilled labour, the demands for higher productivity and quality and the inroads of external competition provides a sufficient argument for an increased level of automation in the civil and construction industry. Elsewhere in manufacturing, automation has been brought about by the adoption of more general purpose machines and robots to replace dedicated, and less flexible, items of equipment. By linking such items together through the use of local area networks and factory wide systems the control of product flow and the rescheduling of work to meet demand has been significantly enhanced. Also a mechatronic approach to the design of integrated systems (combining electronic and mechanical engineering and computer technology) provides a further influence upon the design and adoption of automated systems. While the environment of a civil engineering site is a far more unstructured environment than that of a factory, requiring greater flexibility and adaptability from the equipment deployed, the range of opportunities for the deployment of automated systems is nevertheless significant. Therefore this paper considers the requirements for introducing robotic systems within the civil and construction industries and examines the possibility of introducing a particular item of automated plant, namely a robotic excavator. Site requirements are also considered in relation to the introduction of a range of automation and robotic technologies.