Extending the Construction Robots Database
Research Team


Our Motivation:
"The Construction Automation and Robotics field has developed significantly in the last decade thanks to advances on IoT, artificial intelligence, sensors, and Building Information Models (BIM). These advances materialize in new construction robots being developed and tested on construction sites. Given this new practice, researchers and innovators in Civil Engineering must consider how to connect real-world applications with research and teaching. Our research proposes to extend a database of promising construction robots being tested and deployed on sites."

Research Contribution
A Civil Engineering project-based course focused on the consistent analysis of construction robots compared to traditional construction methods.
The course involves the collaboration of General Contractors, robot manufacturers or start-ups, and students to document the potential Safety, Quality, Schedule, and Cost impacts of promising construction robots.

Problem
Practical Problem
As robots mature and become suitable construction methods, innovation managers must consistently evaluate the Safety, Quality, Schedule, and Cost impacts of deploying robots compared to traditional construction methods.
However, there is no comprehensive database of the potential benefits of existing robots for different types of projects.
Moreover, as existing robots develop, key features improve that could impact the decision to deploy robots on site.

Solution
The course presents an objective and repeatable research method to approach robot evaluations.
Graduate students conduct detailed case studies considering robot opportunities and adoption challenges.

Added Value For The Industry
Foster a community of robotic leaders that occasionally meet to share insights.
Evolve the construction understanding of the value proposition of available robots in the market.

Cooperation Partner

Timeline
Date | Activity | Outcome |
Fall 2022 | Contact industry partners that expressed interest |
|
Winter 2023 | Confirm participating companies | 12 participants confirmed for the class case studies |
| Set guest speakers and site visits | 18 industry leaders guest speakers 3 interactive robot opportunities |
| Confirm participating students | Limit 30 students |
Spring 2023 | Instruction begins | Kickoff event attended by all participating companies and students |
| Case Studies are assigned | 8 case studies in total |
| Project Presentations and networking | 6/1 and 6/6 were held in person (CIFE) and online |
Summer 2023 | Document class results | Class results were included in the digital Robotics Evaluation Framework |
| Facilitate construction robotics research among interested students and industry | Actively working on research papers from class case studies |

Project Summary
(Provides you with a brief and clear summary of the insights and outcomes at the end of the funded year.)
The course developed a user interface to document robot impacts to traditional construction methods using a repeatable and consistent research method.
Graduate students evaluated eight construction robots during the course of ten weeks and found that 100% of the robots were better than manual construction under the case study assumptions. Out of these projects, six demonstrated cost savings ranging from 6.7% to 60%, while five showcased significant reductions ranging from 10.8% to 59.2%
Finally, the course introduced networking opportunities among industry leaders in the construction and robotic fields.