Miscellaneous

Dec. 2 - A team of scientists has demonstrated that a coordinated group of pre-programmed, autonomous robots can do the job of building workers, constructing a six meter high tower without any human intervention. Architects say this new technology paves the way for new methods of engineering buildings of the future. Georgina Cooper reports.

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Flight Assembled Architecture, 2011-2012
FRAC Centre Orléans

Credits:
Gramazio & Kohler and Raffaello D`Andrea in cooperation with ETH Zurich

In cooperation with:
Professorship Raffaello D'Andrea, Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, ETH Zurich

Client:
FRAC Centre (Co-Producer)

Collaborators:
Andrea Kondziela (project lead), Sarah Bridges, Tim Burton, Thomas Cadalbert, Dr. Ralph Bärtschi, Peter Heckeroth, Marion Ott, Tanja Pereira, Dominik Weber, Dr. Jan Willmann

Selected experts:
Wind Tunnel Testing: Chair of Building Physics, Prof. Jan Carmeliet, ETH Zurich and Empa
Structural Engineering: Dr. Lüchinger + Meyer Bauingenieure AG
Façade Engineering: Dr. Lüchinger + Meyer Bauingenieure AG
Energy Consulting: Amstein + Walthert AG

Sponsors:
Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, Centre Culturel Suisse Paris, Platform, Regroupement des Fonds régionaux d'art contemporain, Vicon Motion Systems, ERCO Leuchten GmbH, JET Schaumstoff - Formteile GmbH

dfab.arch.ethz.ch/web/e/forschung/209.html

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SINGAPORE: In a blogpost today (May 20), National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan highlighted the use of robots as an example for potential productivity gains and labour cost savings in the construction industry.

"Robotics is not new, but we hardly see them in our construction sites. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will be happy to provide some funding support to help change the status quo," Mr Khaw wrote.

The tiling robot the minister was referring to was the robotic tiling prototype for automated floor tiling developed by researchers at the Singapore-ETH Centre Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) and ROB Technologies. He said the technology - still at a research stage and not commercially available - could reduce the use of manual labour by as much as 75 per cent and lead to "a four-fold jump in productivity".

The BCA said it plans to provide builders funding support once the tiling robots are ready for use.

"One of the most labour-intensive processes in construction is tiling. Each year, over 40 million tiles are laid in new construction projects here. There is therefore great potential to automate the tiling process and make it more labour-efficient," he wrote.

"If the robot becomes commercially available, the estimate is that the robotic tiling machine can lay tiles two to three times faster than the human tiler. An added advantage is that robots can deliver high precision and consistent quality.

"Such a robot will be able to work alongside workers at a construction site and do the menial tasks of laying floor tiles while workers focus on higher-value added work such as refilling and grouting the tiles, and cutting odd-size tiles to fit the corners.

"The arithmetics are impressive. While it takes two tilers two working days to complete a 3-room HDB flat, the same two tilers in two working days can do four such flats, if they have the help of four robots."

The technology may have benefits beyond productivity gains, Mr Khaw wrote, citing the possibility of reducing the risk of worksite accidents.

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We start the future of construction.
Project: MOCAPE Museum of Contemporary Art & Planning Exhibition, Shenzhen.

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Overview of the Amorphous Construction project, showing the final autonomous robot design that senses the environment and uses foam to construct ramps over rough terrain, as well as simulations that demonstrate the theory behind amorphous construction. See papers by Nils Napp for more details.

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CU-Brick, designed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

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Engineering firm Arup and architecture studio CLS Architetti have used a portable robot to 3D print a concrete house, which is on show for Milan design week.

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We have been working hard. Soon Apis Cor will present new solution that can change the construction industry.

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Built is taking the concepts and technology that others are using to build self-driving cars and adapting them for a whole different vertical: construction.

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There's a lot of buzz around self-driving cars, but autonomous-driving technology could revolutionize a different industry first — construction. That industry hasn’t changed much over the last several decades, according to some experts, making it an ideal candidate for automation.

“The way we build today is largely unchanged from the way we used to build 50 years ago,” said Gaurav Kikani, vice president of Built Robotics. “Within two years, I think we’re really going to turn the corner, and you’re going to see an explosion of robotics being used on construction sites.”

The industry is also faced with a labor shortage that the Covid-19 pandemic has further complicated.

“Covid is making people step back and say, ‘hey, the way we’ve been doing things for a long time is just not sustainable,’” said Kevin Albert, founder and CEO of Canvas. “It is just a wake-up call for the industry.”

Canvas is one of several companies working on autonomous construction technology. Big players like Caterpillar and Komatsu, and start-ups like SafeAI and Built Robotics, see value in using autonomous machines to accelerate construction projects.

The mining industry was one of the first to employ the use of self-driving tech. Caterpillar began its first autonomy program more than 30 years ago. The company now has the largest fleet of autonomous haul trucks. Caterpillar says it’s hauled 2 billion metric tons in just over six years.

Built Robotics is a San Francisco-based start-up founded by an ex-Google engineer that already has machinery out in the field. It’s automated several pieces of equipment, such as bulldozers and excavators.

“You can now collapse your construction timeline so you can knock out work overnight so that it’s ready for your human workers in the morning to speed them along,” Kikani said.

SafeAI is another Silicon Valley start-up. It recently teamed up with Obayashi for a pilot program. It’s been retrofitting equipment like dump trucks, bulldozers and loaders.

Robots are also helping inside. San Francisco-based Canvas created an autonomous machine for finishing drywall and has worked on projects like the San Francisco International Airport and Chase Arena. Humans work alongside its robotic system.

“Drywall is very hard work on the body,” Albert said. “And we’ve seen that 1 out of every 4 workers has to end their career early because of injuries. This will create longer careers for people and also enable people to join the trades that haven’t had access before.”

The construction industry is one of the largest sectors in the global economy, with about $10 trillion spent each year. That spending accounts for 13% of the world’s GDP, even though the sector’s annual productivity growth has only increased 1% over the past 20 years. According to McKinsey & Co., $1.6 trillion of additional value could be created through higher productivity, and autonomy would help the industry achieve that.

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Researchers from Baidu Research Robotics and Auto-Driving Lab (RAL) and the University of Maryland, College Park, have introduced an autonomous excavator system (AES) that can perform material loading tasks for a long duration without any human intervention while offering performance closely equivalent to that of an experienced human operator.

AES is among the world's first uncrewed excavation systems to have been deployed in real-world scenarios and continuously operating for over 24 hours, bringing about industry-leading benefits in terms of enhanced safety and productivity.

The researchers described their methodology in a research paper published on June 30, 2021, in Science Robotics.

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Honda and Black & Veatch have successfully tested the prototype Honda Autonomous Work Vehicle (AWV) at a construction site in New Mexico. During the month-long field test, the second-generation, fully-electric Honda AWV performed a range of functions at a large-scale solar energy construction project, including towing activities and transporting construction materials, water, and other supplies to pre-set destinations within the work site.

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As workers retire, the construction industry faces increasing difficulty finding operators for heavy machinery. Considering this looming shortage, SRI has developed a robotic solution that automates repetitive actions such as digging and enables intuitive remote operation for more complex actions. This progressive autonomy approach will increase the productivity of remaining workers, create new opportunities for remote workers, and encourage new workers to join the industry by making equipment operation safer and more comfortable.

Special thanks to:

Reuben Brewer, Surjit Chhokar, Cregg Cowan, Brian Foster, Martin Gaudreault, Yonael Gorfu, James Herson, Tom Low, John Marlow, Riley Shear, David Smith, Csaba Szabo, Aravind Sundaresan, Zak Weiler, and Jen Wu.

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