Bridging the collectives: A review of collective human–robot construction

Advancements in multi-agent, autonomous, and intelligent robotic systems over the past decades point toward new design and fabrication possibilities. Exploring how humans and robots can create and construct collectively is essential in leveraging robotic technology in the building sector. However, only by making existing knowledge from relevant technological disciplines accessible to designers can we fully exploit current construction methods and further develop them to address the challenges in architecture. To do this, we present a review paper that bridges the gap between Collective Robotic Construction (CRC) and Human–Robot Interaction (HRI) and defines a new research domain in Collective Human–Robot Construction (CHRC) in the architectural design and fabrication context.

Application of 6-Dof Robot Motion Planning in Fabrication

In practical robotic construction work, such as laying bricks and painting walls, obstructing objects are encountered and motion planning needs to be done to prevent collisions. This paper first introduces the background and results of existing work on motion planning and describes two of the most mainstream methods, the potential field method, and the sampling-based method. How to use the probabilistic route approach for motion planning on a 6-axis robot is presented. An example of a real bricklaying job is presented to show how to obtain point clouds and increase the speed of computation by customizing collision and ignore calculations. Several methods of smoothing paths are presented and the paths are re-detected to ensure the validity of the paths. Finally, the flow of the whole work is presented and some possible directions for future work are suggested. The significance of this paper is to confirm that a relatively fast motion planning can be achieved by an improved algorithmic process in grasshopper.

Digital Twin in Computational Design and Robotic Construction of Wooden Architecture

This study proposes a cyber-physical interconnection method for computational design and robotic construction in a wooden architectural realm. It aims to provide a highly efficient, flexible, and adaptive design-construction approach by continuously updating digital models and physical operations according to the locally sourced materials. A perception-modeling system to scan the source materials on-site and send their data simultaneously to design software was developed by using physical sensors and computational technologies in an innovative manner. The data was used for architectural programs to generate design outcomes and guide the robotic construction. The novelty of this study is to establish a real-time, bidirectional interaction mechanism between digital design and physical construction. The design outcome is no longer a fixed, predefined geometric model but a dynamic, data-driven model which would be updated by material conditions on-site. The construction robot is able to make synchronous adjustment automatically in coordination with the dynamic design. The success of the iterative perceiving-simulating-updating loop was demonstrated by building two pavilions.

Digital Plan of Brickwork Layout for Robotic Bricklaying Technology

The trend of using modern technologies in the construction industry has been growing stronger recently, particularly in the fields of additive construction or robotic bricklaying. Therefore, specifically for the purpose of robotic bricklaying, we created a digital layout plan for robotic construction works. This article presents a universal methodology for creating a bricklaying plan for various variations of wall building systems. The method is based on the conversion of drawings from the BIM (Building Information Model) environment to the BREP (Boundary Representation) model through use of the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) format, which simultaneously divides object models into layers and connects discontinuous wall axes by means of an orthogonal arrangement and inserting details into critical structural points. Among other aspects, the developed algorithm proposes the optimal placement of the robotic system inside objects under construction, in order to minimize the distance of the robot’s movement and to reduce its electricity consumption. Digital layout plans created in this way are expected to serve as a stepping stone for robotic bricklaying.

Aerial Robotic Technologies for Civil Engineering: Established and Emerging Practice

Aerial robotic technology has potential for use in a wide variety of civil engineering applications. Such technology potentially offers low-cost methods to replace expensive structural health monitoring activities such as visual inspection. Aerial robots also have potential uses in civil construction and for regional surveys. This paper presents the results of a review on the applications of aerial robotic technology in civil engineering. Such civil engineering applications can be classified into three broad areas: (i) monitoring and inspection of civil infrastructure; (ii) site management, robotic construction, and maintenance and (iii) post-disaster response surveys and rapid damage assessments. The motivations for uptake of aerial robotics in the civil engineering industry generally fall into the following categories: (i) cost savings, (ii) improved measurement capability and (iii) safety improvements. The categories of aerial robotic use in civil engineering are then classified as either ‘established’ or ‘emerging’ uses.

Towards “Autonomous”: A review of the “stereotypical” behaviors in Robotic construction

With the development of digitalization in the architecture industry, robotic construction is now attracting attention as a new technology in the architecture industry. As the number of research cases increases, some people question whether robotic construction is really an efficient and autonomous construction process. The purpose of this paper is to point out the “stereotypical” behavior of robots in autonomous construction in the architecture industry and to question the repetition of a single action by robots in terms of architectural theory and its history. It attempts to outline an objective relationship between robotic construction and architecture and to give architects a warning and advice. It is hoped that in the future, architects will be able to realize autonomous from the perspective of architectural theory and history, rather than simply being limited by the technical constraints of computer language translation and programming.