Design for Robotic Construction (Continued)

Our Motivation:

"In the future, the full benefits of using robots on-site may not be attained without adjusting the facility design and components to the robotic construction method as previously shown in manufacturing industries. 

Our prior work has prototyped a User Interface that can check the feasibility of robotic construction and consider how the robot interacts in 3D with the construction product design. 

To move further, we still need to work on case studies with builders, designers, robotics manufacturers, and construction innovators to understand and improve the generality of the previously developed solution."

Research Contribution

Validate the generality of the UI and the product metrics with case studies from multiple perspectives of technology companies, builders, designers, robot manufacturers, and construction innovators.

Optimize the performance of the UI to generate diverse redesign suggestions with evaluations of the corresponding schedule and cost impacts to make robotic construction feasible. 

Develop the design of the interface between product components optimizing reachability and assembly for automation.

Problem

Practical Problem

Over the last years at CIFE we have studied 20 robots in 8 countries and we have been able to understand the applicability of these robots in terms of their impact on safety, quality, schedule, and cost.

However, In 60% of the cases, we observed misalignment between robot capabilities and design and construction features, and thus the full benefits of using robots on-site may not be attained.

To avoid design misalignments, the AEC industry needs to consider robotic construction during design and early construction planning.

Conceptual Problem

Builders, designers, robot manufacturers, and construction innovators still do not have a tool or approach for DfRC (Design for Robotic Construction) to quickly check the feasibility of robotic construction, visualize redesign suggestions and to understand the impact of the changes.

We have validated the value of the previously developed solution based on literature reviews and two robot examples.

However, to ensure the desired effect, we still need to further determine its generality and improve the accuracy and applicability by involving perspectives from multiple stakeholders.  

Solution

A User Interface for robotic construction that can express robot capabilities in 3D, suggest design decisions at the product level, and evaluate the corresponding cost and schedule impacts. 

Regarding the redesign suggestions, we can consider changes to the physical construction, to the robot product, or even to the target of the task.

Added Value For The Industry

The Design for Robotic Construction (DfRC) User Interface will help builders, designers, robot manufacturers, and construction innovators to determine whether robotic construction is feasible by looking at the product level.

The UI also helps generate diverse redesign suggestions to make robotic construction feasible and provide the corresponding cost and schedule impacts.

Another area of impact on practice is to further develop the design of the interface between product components optimizing reachability and assembly for automation. 

Cooperation Partner

 Timeline

If you want to participate in the project please reach out to Heyaojing Huang.