Rob|Arch 2016 Robots in Architecture, Art and Design
Abstract
The adoption of digital fabrication in the creative industries continues to accelerate as the potential for innovation and creative expression using robotics is harnessed. Following the conference theme of “trajectories” the research presented in this book demonstrates the continuing evolution of robotic fabrication and creative robotics in architecture, art, and design—towards the integration of human-robot interactions informed by sensor input and real-time feedback in diverse environmental conditions.
Developed for factory automation, industrial robots offer accuracy, flexibility, and reliability with reduced operational costs. For these reasons, artists and designers seeking to explore and expand the possibilities of computational design, parametric modeling, and real-time sensor feedback have enthusiastically adopted industrial robots. The efforts of early pioneers in the field and the adoption of open standards for programming and connectivity by manufacturers have lowered the barriers to exploring the creative application of industrial robotics, allowing even more creative practitioners to get involved. Digital fabrication combined with open source hardware and software has opened up the development of novel technologies, interfaces and methods to interdisciplinary teams of designers, artists, and engineers.
Creative robotics offers new insights into the potential of robotics as researchers and practitioners explore novel approaches to fabrication and interaction with robotics. The flexible nature of industrial robotics has presented an opportunity to reconsider the entire design-to-production process, while the integration of real-time sensor feedback has created opportunities for working new materials and processes that bring design and production even closer.
Chapters (39)
Cutting stone by hand to the architect’s precise measurements is an ancient craft using one of the oldest materials known to humankind—traditionally it is a highly laborious undertaking. Curiously the efforts taken to continue constructing Gaudí’s magnum opus long after his death in 1926 included the introduction of 2½D robots to the project in 1989, preceding the introduction of computer-aided design a little later. Meeting the challenges of speeding-up the preparation of dressed stone took precedence over modernising to include digitally assisted stereotomy (the geometrical art of efficient stone-cutting) in the design studio. This paper highlights the extraordinary leaps that have been made in the intervening quarter century. From humble but early adoption of relatively primitive equipment this has led to 7-axis robot stone preparation in use now for over a decade at the time of writing. The particulars of this adoption and adaptation emphasise the advantages that designers have when they embrace emerging technology as closely as possible at the first opportunity by setting aside over anxiety about risk.
At the end of the eighteenth century, as the French Revolution challenged Europe’s political order and the Industrial Revolution transformed the world economy, an English merchant and political activist named James Tilly Matthews became convinced that his mind was being controlled by a machine. According to Matthews, a gang of radical French Jacobins had infiltrated England, bringing with them the knowledge and means to construct a mechanism called the Air Loom. By producing invisible gasses and magnetic fields, the machine could manipulate a victim’s mind and body from afar. Matthews described the Air Loom’s effects and inner workings to anyone who would listen, detailing how it could make him speak like a puppet, or force his brain to accept an idea, all with the simple pull of a lever. Psychologists have since reported that schizophrenics and autistic children often employ mechanistic imagery to articulate basic psychic experiences seemingly outside of their control (James Tilly Matthews, The Airloom).
The research presented here investigates techniques and tools for design and fabrication of tensile structures with flying robots. Tensile aggregations are described as a concatenation of nodes and links. Computational tools provide the designer of such a structure with the necessary aid to simulate, sequence and evaluate a design before fabrication. Using a prototypical suspension footbridge as an example, this paper describes the techniques and challenges for implementing the construction method on a full-scale, loadbearing, architectural artefact. Firstly, a series of tensile links is fabricated at defined lengths between two distant support structures to build the primary elements of the bridge. Secondly, cooperating flying robots brace the assembly by braiding the primary elements to one another. And finally, the structure is stabilized through the fabrication of additional connections by robots flying around existing elements within the porous structure.
This paper discusses the problems within autonomous robotic assembly workflows as they encounter a variable property of assembly parts or materials. This is shown through a case study with an industrial robot in an enclosed work cell and a simple assembly task with wooden sticks of variable lengths, designed as an adaptive feedback control system. To perform the study, the development of a virtual model for the persistent storage of material data and computation of next build-actions is required. Different sensing strategies are used to address issues of substantial, and minute, material variabilities of dimensional properties as they deviate from a predictive virtual model. Establishing communication strategies for a live-control pipeline as the infrastructure for this system allows the system to respond to pre-build scans of part dimensions, as well as update the virtual model when post-build scanning detected deviation. In the worst-case scenario—if preconditions were not met—the post-build scan would be unsuccessful and the system would self-terminate. Otherwise, deviations would update and influence future actions. This influence is what leads to the indeterminate nature of the resultant forms.
For structural assemblies that depend upon robotic incremental sheet forming (ISF) the rigidity, connectivity, customization and aesthetics play an important role for an integrated and accurate modeling process. Furthermore, it is critical to consider fabrication and forming parameters jointly with performance implications at material, element and structural scales. This paper briefly presents ISF as a method of fabrication, and introduces the context of structures where the skin plays an integral role. It describes the development of an integrated approach for the modelling and fabrication of Stressed Skins, an incrementally formed sheet metal structure. The paper then focus upon the use of prototypes and empirical testing as means to inform digital models about fabrication and material parameters including: material forming limits and thinning; the parameterisation of macro and meso simulations with calculated and observed micro behaviour; the organisation and extraction of toolpaths; and rig setup logics for fabrication. Finally, the validity of these models is evaluated for structural performance, and for geometric accuracy at multiple scales.
Architect Gottfried Semper built a discourse on architectural aesthetics based on his belief that textiles were the mother of all arts, and the initial motivation for all architectural form. Inherent in this evolutionary premise is the concept that cultural development begins with pliable and easily manipulated materials, and can be extended and transformed through technological advances for crafting more robust and permanent materials. As a contemporary projection of this framework, Robotic Lattice Smock (RLS) presents a method for transposing pliable fabric folding techniques of smocking to an architectural scale through robotic bending and folding of rigid planar sheet metal. Building on the limitations of three-axis CAD/CAM fabrication techniques for unfolding and cutting planar pieces, RLS explores the process of six-axis robotic curved folding and bending to “gather” or “smock” planar developable surfaces to overcome brute force assembly, build volume through more efficient material use of planar sheet material and generate novel material aesthetics through the hard constraint of disciplined material transposition.
This paper discusses a robotic multi-dimensional printing design methodology based on a material’s structural performance. Through research on the process of a spider’s behavior, e.g., spinning and weaving, the designers simulate natural construction principles and apply them to the optimization of traditional 3D printing techniques. A 6-axis robot is programmed to carry a customized printing end effector to create free-standing geometries in space. The structural behavior of the design is optimized through the consistent negotiation between material analysis and structural simulation in both virtual and physical environment, together with the implementation of sensor input and real-time feedback between construction tools and simulation interfaces. The printing tools are designed with additional extruders and nozzles of various dimensions to adapt to different materials and design requirements. In this way, a flexible and adaptive additive manufacturing methodology is established, which integrates the material and structural information with design initiatives. Displaying a high degree of spatial and structural complexity, the alliance between 3D printing and robotic technology opens new possibilities to sophisticated architectural structures.
The novel, robotically-controlled system delineated by this research facilitates a rapid and economical workflow realizing a complex network of parametric geometry. The method of concrete fabrication proposed here removes the traditional limitations of rigid formwork and satisfies the need for variation in the realization of parametric design. Lycra is stretched and positioned by robot arms as a formwork into which concrete is poured. Thus, the flexibility of fabric is translated into flexibility in design permutations. The prototyping considers material constraints, structural weaknesses, and load-path optimization to achieve a digitally informed final geometry.
Traditional artistic stone processing techniques offer vast possibilities for finishing stone products. However, stone processing is physically highly demanding work requiring stamina as well as skill. This makes products expensive to produce and the detailed design only accessible for skilled masons as an efficient communication between designers and masons is difficult. We introduce a robot-based approach to produce “artistic” surfaces for individualized stone products. First, distinctive traditional, manual processing techniques will be introduced and analyzed towards enabling us to specify the necessary requirements of an adaption to an industrial robot. These requirements are then implemented in an automated tool and an automated path planning algorithm. Building upon a visual programming environment we will present an accessible interface that allows the user to apply customizable stone structuring patterns to an individual stone product.
In the context of acoustic performance in architecture, this paper presents research into the computational design and robotic fabrication of surfaces with micro-geometries that can change the acoustic response of space. It explores the design affordances for acoustically efficient patterns for sound scattering - between complex geometries, acoustical effects, and robotic fabrication. Spline curves pose a problem for the translation between geometry and material fabrication, specifically when a series of tests is required with a high degree of detail. Whereas 3D printed samples are impractically small, and CNC fabrication is limited by tool path axis, robotic fabrication enables precision for 1:10 scale model prototypes such as the quick sampling of sound discs that can be used to analyze acoustic scattering. Through a process of reverse engineering from parametric modeling to scale model production to physical simulation, the acoustic reflective properties of surface patterns are investigated for scattering coefficients, in order to derive statistical data on acoustic properties of these surfaces, and to deduce design rules.
This paper presents a novel method for cost-effective, robotic production of double curved formwork in Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) for in situ and prefabricated concrete construction. A rationalization and segmentation procedure is developed, which allows for the transliteration of double curved NURBS surfaces to Euler elastica surface segments, while respecting various constraints of production. An 18 axis, tri-robot system approximates double curved NURBS surfaces by means of an elastically deformed and heated blade, mounted on the flanges of two manipulators. Re-orienting or translating either end of the blade dynamically deforms the blade’s curvature. The blade follows the contours of the rationalized surface by continuous change in position and orientation of the end-effectors. The concept’s potential is studied by a pilot production of a full-scale demonstrator panel assembly.
Integral attachment, the joining of parts through their form rather than additional connectors or adhesives, is a common technique in many industry sectors. Following a renaissance of integral joints for timber frame structures, recent research investigates techniques for the attachment of timber plate structures. This paper introduces double through tenon joints, which allow for the rapid, precise and fully integral assembly of doubly-curved folded surface structures with two interconnected layers of cross-laminated engineered wood panels. The shape of the plates and the assembly sequence allow for an attachment without additional connectors or adhesives. The fabrication and assembly constraint based design is achieved through algorithms, which automatically generate the geometry of the parts and the G-Code for the fabrication. We present the fabrication and assembly of prototypes fabricated with 3D CNC milling and laser cutting systems, comparing and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the individual techniques.
This research reports on the robotic fabrication for the complex architectural geometries of three intersecting domes. The project explores systems for modules through a tessellated skin (a) of hexagonal tile modules that produce a macro geometry for a doubly curved, non-developable surface; and the smooth micro geometry of an interpolating structural rib (b) that requires a customised manufacturing of modules and their integrated joints (c). It outlines the computational workflow between geometrical conditions, structural requirements, toolpath development, and fabrication process. The research concludes with a discussion of a new module and joint hybrid informed by stereotomic and timber joint techniques, which takes advantage of the six axis robotic fabrication for a standardized multiple face joint between modules of varying sizes that enables a form and force fitting connection.
This paper presents a novel method for integrated topology optimization and fabrication of advanced timber space-frame structures. The method, developed in research collaboration between ETH Zürich, Aarhus School of Architecture and Israel Institute of Technology, entails the coupling of truss-based topology optimization with digital procedures for rationalization and robotic assembly of bespoke timber members, through a procedural, cross-application workflow. Through this, a direct chaining of optimization and robotic fabrication is established, in which optimization data is driving subsequent processes solving timber joint intersections, robotically controlling member prefabrication, and spatial robotic assembly of the optimized timber structures. The implication of this concept is studied through pilot fabrication and load-testing of a full scale prototype structure.
This paper describes the implementation of a discrete in situ construction process using a location-aware mobile robot. An undulating dry brick wall is semi-autonomously fabricated in a laboratory environment set up to mimic a construction site. On the basis of this experiment, the following generic functionalities of the mobile robot and its developed software for mobile in situ robotic construction are presented: (1) its localization capabilities using solely on-board sensor equipment and computing, (2) its capability to assemble building components accurately in space, including the ability to align the structure with existing components on site, and (3) the adaptability of computational models to dimensional tolerances as well as to process-related uncertainties during construction. As such, this research advances additive non-standard fabrication technology and fosters new forms of flexible, adaptable and robust building strategies for the final assembly of building components directly on construction sites. While this paper highlights the challenges of the current state of research and experimentation, it also provides an outlook to the implications for future robotic construction and the new possibilities the proposed approaches open up: the high-accuracy fabrication of large-scale building structures outside of structured factory settings, which could radically expand the application space of automated building construction in architecture.
This paper demonstrates the effect of feedback between algorithmic, robotic and material behaviors on the emergent formal character of several recent design projects. These projects demonstrate a progression from single step linear feedback between fabrication and simulation constraints to the attribution of new material agency through real-time and recursive feedback between multi-agent behaviors and physical material. We present a prototype robotic control system and methodology that allows design to take place in and on an object rather than in its anticipation, and we speculate on the implications for generative design and robotic fabrication.
The use of robots in architectural construction has been a research field since the 1980s. Driven by both productive and creative concerns, different systems have been devised based on large-scale robotic structures, mobile robotic units or flying robotic vehicles. By analyzing these approaches and discussing their advantages and limitations, this paper presents an alternative strategy to automate the building construction processes in on-site scenarios. The SPIDERobot is a cable-robot system developed to perform assembly operations, which is driven by a specific Feedback Dynamic Control System (FDCS) based on a vision system. By describing and illustrating this research work, the authors argue about the advantages of this cable robot system to deal with the complexity and the scale of building construction in architecture.
Advances in robotic fabrication and computational geometry have opened up new possibilities for including robotic assembly and material selection into the loop. We introduce a method for computing and constructing architectural geometry through the negotiation between the design intention and the constraints of assembly and materials. A small scale experimental structure has been modeled and partially built from EPS foam sheets, using an industrial robotic arm to pick, cut and subsequently assemble the components of the structure. To reduce waste, a sensing procedure was developed to generate component based on the form of the found material piece and fit it in the existing structure, similarly to how the Caddisfly Larvae builds its cocoon exclusively with found material. We aim to investigate how the sensor enabled waste control can potentially adjust the form of the assembled structure.
The BotBar has been developed to respond to the significant challenge of integrating smart technologies and sensor loops with industrial robot arms. The process has focused on the robot as an open design platform, utilized as a nexus for education and collaboration between the disciplines of Architecture and Interaction Design. This paper discusses the success and challenges that have emerged from this project, while also documenting an interaction design studio that prototyped sensor-based integrations with the BotBar.
While there has been substantial development in the use of industrial robots for the tool pathing and assembly of fabrication components for architecture, there exists a scope for improving a methodology for the mapping of material substrate in architectural construction settings. Construction tolerances posit a problem since they vary widely from rough to finish applications and are often at odds with the demanding precision required in robotic fabrication processes. This paper discusses a series of tests of scanning techniques on three example substrates typical to wood construction, including: lath for plastering and stucco, spaced sheathing for cedar shingles, and traditional stick framing. Scanning substrates accounts for the gaps in tolerance that emerge from rough to finish construction such as variation in as-built dimensions, misalignment of members, and the adaptive behavior of materials as they adjust to new conditions. From a comparison of scanning techniques, a cost benefit matrix is developed to aid in evaluating the appropriate application of scanning techniques for various robotic applications.
Existing methods for the production and installation of free-form ceiling structures were not suitable with respect to construction cost and time period that were assigned to a Shinsa-town project. Hence, we selected the Robotic-based Digital Fabrication Method that was being tested at that time. Considering the construction cost and period, we selected expandable polystyrene (EPS) as the material of the ceiling structure, and we developed and utilized BAT (a Grasshopper plug-in), to process the work as a free-form production method. We also invented a new cutting method to implement the specific types of components that were otherwise unlikely to be implemented due to the limitation of the straight hot-wire. This paper describes a transport system for the components of the framework, and a robotics-based on-site installation method that is required for the utilization of a robot in the fabrication of these structures.
This paper focuses on developing a system for using 6-axis robotic arms to cut interlocking blocks with wire. Tracing the trajectory of stereotomy through millennia of practice, an extrapolation is presented that stereotomy will serve increased formal and structural complexity. The addition of robotic carving to stereotomy also removes the ethical-aesthetic connection between the carver’s effort and the visual attention given to the object. This leads to the design of a wave jointed block capable of an extended structural ability, concealing the majority of the cutting effort inside the joined blocks. The proposed fabrication system uses a wire cutter end effector following a toolpath generated from quad based mesh topologies. This single tool cutting system maximises the efficiency of the cutting process and returns the once technical aspects of robotic construction back to the designer.
This paper reports on the extension of a simple design concept into a technique for the rapid fabrication of customized components of acoustic panels with ruled surfaces. Recent proposals for the robotic fabrication of construction components include examples of techniques for cutting ruled surface geometries through the pairing of an industrial robot arm with a linear blade. While these demonstrate the fabrication of curved and complex geometry, they do not resolve many technical issues around speed, accuracy and material finish, critical to a robust process demanded by the manufacturing industry. To address these, the research presented here pursued a detailed investigation into of the history of bandsaw cutting technology. Key knowledge of material crafts and obsolete applications of ruled geometries both offer significant insights. Using these in an iterative development, a rapidly improved robotic design and fabrication process is demonstrated here.
The submitted paper presents the results of a 3-year research project in the field of adaptive forming technologies for freeform structures made of UHPC (Ultra-High Performance Concrete). The focus of the research is found in the analysis and comparison of the developed robotic-driven formwork. During the research it was observed that the typical concept of process creation of a direct feedforward material formation can be combined or even replaced by feedback-based production processes. The different time points of material analysis not only allow for greater control but also enable completely new production methods.
In a context of free fab printing, this research explores a series of investigations into the potential of 3D printing with clay that address the problems of viscosity, tool paths and setting times. The material of clay is explored here in order to simulate architectural building processes that use both subtractive and additive methods of construction that cannot be performed by a gantry style model of robotics. The use of clay deposition on a robotic tooling path enables a continuous and sustainable adaptation process due to the fact that clay is reusable, can mimic other materials in viscosity and is compatible with a range of sustainable aggregates through to firing stages. This paper describes ongoing research into a two-step robotic fabrication of free form clay printing; namely, as (a) the robotic milling of a sustainable formwork; and (b) as controlled deposition of liquid clay into a form or mold.
The Solar Bytes Pavilion is a temporary structure that highlights a potential for architecture, where buildings are fabricated using new techniques (robot arm, 3D printing), incorporate smart technologies (light sensors) and are powered by renewable energy sources (solar power). Taking advantage of a robot arm’s strength and range of movement, the pavilion was 3D printed with an experimental extruder and the result is a structure comprised of ninety four unique modules that charge during the day and glow at night.
This paper presents and discusses the development of a materially informed Design-to-Robotic-Production (D2RP) process for additive manufacturing aiming to achieve performative porosity in architecture at various scales. An extended series of experiments on materiality employing robotic fabrication techniques were implemented in order to finally produce a prototype on one-to-one scale. In this context, design materiality has been approached from both digital and physical perspectives. At a digital materiality level, a customized computational design framework has been implemented for form finding of compression only structures combined with a material distribution optimization method. Moreover, the chained connection between the parametric design model and the robotic production setup has enabled a systematic study of specific aspects of physicality that cannot be fully simulated in the digital medium. This established a feedback loop not only for understanding material behaviours and properties but also for robotically depositing material in order to create an informed material architecture.
This paper presents a new robotic additive manufacturing (AM) framework for fabricating 2.5D surface designs to add material explicitly along principal stress trajectories. AM technologies, such as fused deposition modelling (FDM), are typically based on processes that lead to anisotropic products with strength behaviour that varies according to filament orientation; this limits their application in both design prototypes and end-use parts and products. Since stress lines are curves that indicate the optimal paths of material continuity for a given design boundary, the proposed stress-line based oriented material deposition opens new possibilities for structurally-performative and geometrically-complex AM, which is supported here by fabrication and structural load testing results. Called stress line additive manufacturing (SLAM), the proposed method achieves an integrated workflow that synthesizes parametric design, structural optimization, robotic computation, and fabrication.
This project-based paper describes the iterative design, structural optimization, and fabrication of the experimental grid shell structure developed for the MASS Lo-Fab pavilion. In this case, formal complexity is resolved through functional complexity that emerges in both elements of the structural system—the node and the strut—that each maintain a level of simplicity appropriate to respective manufacturing processes and material properties. The structure was fabricated using state-of-the art collaborative robotic fabrication techniques and a combination of traditional craftsmanship and computationally driven manufacturing processes. In order to move from the computational design environment to one of material, the team worked in collaboration with AutodeskTM to develop a novel design-to-robotic fabrication workflow using the emerging visual scripting interface Dynamo. A custom robotically assisted welding process was developed to assemble 1880 steel parts making up 376 nodes that saved over 3 weeks of labor when compared to traditional processes.
Through the development of user interfaces that leverage real-time control, the robot emerges as a design platform where programming, simulation and execution collapse into a singular act in time. This reduction of the typical robot workflow allows design processes to continuously engage with adaptive contexts whether they be deformations of material, nuanced data or instantaneous design input. The case studies, presented in this paper, demonstrate design potentials for developing new interfaces, where the digital and physical are mutable, letting designers intuitively engage with matter and representations in flux through robotic interactivity and autonomous agency.
This work presents a novel set of accessible and unified hardware and software solutions that facilitate the implementation of natural human-machine interactions, as required by collaborative robotics in both indoor and outdoor environments. This extensible framework supports vocal control, co-speech gestures, and object recognition with feature tracking and adaptive resolution. The interactions are based on a new network messaging protocol that allows any device using TCP/IP to share variables with the full abstraction of the original machine software platform and can therefore be used synchronously by a vast array of equipment including CNC machines, industrial robots, construction equipment, mobile devices and PLCs. We conclude with the description of a testing scenario to be deployed during the conference workshop.
This paper posits a model of generative fabrication in which agent-based models imbue physical material with digital agency. We demonstrate a process in which real-time feedback is developed between industrial robots and multi-agent algorithms to explore the generative potential of the interaction of computational and material agency. This design research represents an inversion of material agency, from which two key concepts have emerged: parallelism, and stigmergic robotics. Rather than encoding material behavior within digital models, physical material takes on digital behaviors through an inversion of material agency. Parallelism describes a hybrid of digital and material behaviors through the closeness of their interaction. Stigmergic robotics collapses design and fabrication processes into a single operation where the robot operates as an extension of the digital agent generating form through a series of design behaviors operating directly on physical material.
This paper examines the potential for creative practitioners to adopt robotic fabrication processes augmented with the introduction of sensors. Typically, the outcomes of a fabrication process are predetermined, however, with the introduction of sensors, design and fabrication process may be interrupted by real-time feedback. In such a system, design roles and authorship become secondary to the process of manipulating data, such that new rules of design can be introduced and developed in response to materials. Hardware and software such as Arduino, Grasshopper3D, Rhinoceros3D and Processing have opened up new strategies of hacking, coding and robotic manipulation that can be embedded in robotic fabrication processes. The addition of sensors provides feedback about material location and characteristics, work environment and co-workers, so as to support architectural dialogue. This paper proposes a framework for designing new protocols for human interaction and machine response in robotic fabrication systems.
This paper identifies the disciplinary potential latent in the combination of algorithmic design and sensor-enabled robotic fabrication to achieve multiple channels of feedback between design, fabrication and assembly. Three key methodological shifts are identified. The first is a shift to fabrication-aware-form finding. In comparing analogue form finding to digital form finding practices, it is clear that a greater number and diversity of constraints can be negotiated within an information-based digital environment. The second methodological shift is to bi-directional negotiation between design and production limits. Robotic fabrication is highly customizable—initial constraints do not need to be seen as fixed. The final shift is the introduction of sensor feedback and near real-time control. This permits the continual redefinition of parts during fabrication in response to material-, dimensional- and assembly-volatility. Taken together, these shifts challenge the typically linear and compartmentalized nature of the processes linking design with construction and therefore open up new ecologies of design practice and opportunities for innovation.
The industry-crises of the past have made it clear how existentially important it is to have flexible, “living” production facilities. Automation by means of industrial robotics has proven to be a key technology in this regard. However, truly dynamic processes can only be achieved when the robots and the environment to be automated—machines, handling equipment, etc.—are perfectly integrated, both operationally as well as from the operator’s perspective. KUKA’s mxAutomation interface now allows a granular remote operation of the robot in interaction with modern industrial real-time communication—and beyond that also entirely new, flexible workflows from design to production towards fabricating highly customizable products in the creative industry.
Robotic arms are modelled after the human arm and offer speed, accuracy and strength that in its sum by far exceed the capabilities of humans. Conversely, an area where the technology of industrial robots had not caught up yet was the sensitivity to external forces. Today, integrated technologies such as ABB Force Control allow robots to react to the forces that are applied to their end-effectors, while the ABB YuMi represents an entirely new kind of sensitive robot that can assemble small parts and collaborate in a safe way with humans.
Custom-made gripper jaws for particular object geometry involve a complex and expensive tooling process. Employing Rapid Tooling Technology via 3D printing solutions and additive manufacturing can significantly improve the work flow. The design and development process however still leaves room for improvement. By streamlining this process within a browser-based web tool for customized gripping fingers SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG shows an improved (semi-)automatic approach for efficient creation of form fitting grippers in record time.
In collaboration with ETH Zurich and industry partners, Swiss firm ERNE AG Holzbau has developed one of the largest robots for building component manufacturing in Europe. This multifunctional 7-axes machine can manufacture large building components from many different materials on an industrial scale, making it possible to mass produce complex shapes in an economically feasible way. Due to comprehensive planning and production within a digital chain, size restrictions only become an issue when a length of 48 m is reached.
Exciting new applications for robots are being developed each day. Some of these are in the traditional manufacturing environment, with the more innovative opportunities for robots being found in the arts, architecture, multimedia, and digital design industries. As these new opportunities are explored, then so too does the supporting software need to evolve to support what are often ground breaking new applications. PowerMILL Robot, from Delcam, is one such software system that provides an easy to use computer interface allowing the programmer to design, analyze, and simulate in a single virtual environment. The benefit this offers to designers is the ability to overcome traditional manufacturing barriers.
... That is the key feature that makes it suitable for non-expert users and applicable in creative inquiry(García Del Castillo Y López, 2019). With the use of contemporary industrial real-time communication, KUKA's mxAutomation interface now enables fine-grained remote control of the robot and, beyond that, whole new, flexible workflows from design to production that are geared toward creating highly configurable goods for the creative sector (Reinhardt et al., 2016). ...
This thesis represents an exploration of the relationship between architecture and robotics,
tailored to meet the requirements of both architecture students and professionals and any other
creative user. The investigation encompasses three distinct robotic arm applications for
architecture students, introduces and evaluates an innovative 3D printing application with
robotic arms, and presents projects focused on the design of human-robot interaction
techniques and their system development. Furthermore, the thesis showcases the development
of a more intuitive human-robot interaction system and explores various user interaction
methods with robotic arms for rapid prototyping and fabrication. Each experiment describes the
process, level of interaction, and key takeaways. The narrative of the thesis unfolds as a journey
through different applications of robotic fabrication, emphasizing the creative human as the
focal point of these systems. This thesis underscores the significance of user experience research
and anticipates future innovations in the evolving landscape of the creative field. The discoveries
made in this exploration lay a foundation for the study and design of interfaces and interaction
techniques, fostering seamless collaboration between designers and robotic systems.
Keywords: Robotic Fabrication - Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) - Human-Computer
Interaction (HCI) - User Experience Research - Human-Centered Design - Architecture - Art -
Creative Application
This review discusses new technologies in the construction industry, such as digitalization, automation, and robotization, which have an impact on improving sustainable construction in the digital transformation in the era of Industry 4.0. This review focuses specifically on the impact of robotic technology on the triad of sustainable construction: economy, environment, and society. Current trends in the construction industry related to common data environments (CDEs), building information modeling (BIM), construction robots (CRs), and bricklaying robots (BRs) are highlighted. Robotics technology used throughout the construction industry in a sustainable construction context is presented, including bricklaying, plastering, painting, welding, prefabrication, and material handling. New trends in robotics technology with respect to robotic bricklaying are presented, and the first mobile robotic bricklaying system (RBS) in Poland, which was designed, modeled, simulated, and built from scratch, is distinguished. The RBS was tested under laboratory conditions and verified on the construction site. Included are the main factors that make it impossible to spread robotic technology on construction sites, and furthermore, many solutions are proposed to problems associated with the robotic transformation. The discussed robotic technology is not limited only to a purely technical approach but takes into account challenges corresponding to the circular economy.
In Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), variable layer heights enable the non-parallel or non-planar slicing of parts. In researching variable layer heights, this paper documents printing strategies for a reference geometry whose key features are non-orthogonal growth and unsupported overhangs. The complexity of 3D printing with welding requires parameter optimization to control the deposition of molten material. Thus, 3D printing with welding requires the precise deposition of molten material. Currently, there is no standard solution for the customization of process parameters and intelligent collection of data from sensors. To address this gap in technology, this research develops an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled, distributed communication protocol to control process parameters, synchronize commands, and integrate device data. To intelligently collect sensor information, this research creates a query-able database during pre-planning and production. This contributes to fundamental research in WAAM by documenting strategies for printing variable layer heights, the customization of control parameters, and the collection of data through a WAAM Information Model (WIM).
Gripper finger design is a complex process that requires a lot of experience, time, and effort. For this reason, automating this design process is an important area of research that has the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of robotic systems. The current approaches are aimed at the automated design of monolithic gripper fingers, which have to be manufactured additively or by machining. This paper describes a novel approach for the automated design of gripper fingers. The motivation for this work stems from the increasing demand for flexible, adaptable handling systems in various industries in response to the increasing individualization of products as well as the increasing volatility in the markets. Based on the CAD data of the handling objects, the most suitable configuration of gripper fingers can be determined from the existing modules of a construction kit for the respective handling object, which can significantly reduce the provisioning time for new gripper fingers. It can be shown that gripper fingers can be effectively configured for a variety of objects and two different grippers, increasing flexibility in industrial handling processes.
Concrete contributes 8% of all global carbon emissions, making the need to find substitutes critical for environmental sustainability. Research has indicated the potential for recycled plastics to be used as concrete substitutes. This study extends existing research by investigating the use of polycarbonate (PC) in plastic sand bricks as a mechanical equivalent to concrete. PC has high compressive strength, durability, impact strength, thermal resistivity, clarity, fatigue resistance, and UV resistance. This work provides a method and mold to produce a matrix of sand–plastic sample compositions with dimensions adhering to the ASTM D695 standard for compressive properties of rigid plastic. Compositions of 0% (control), 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% sand by weight were tested. Samples were tested for compressive strength until yield and stress–strain behaviors were plotted. The results for 100% PC demonstrated an average and maximum compressive strength of 71 MPa and 72 MPa, respectively. The 50% PC and 50% sand composition yielded an average and maximum compressive strength of 71 MPa and 73 MPa, respectively, with an increase in compressive stiffness and transition to shear failure resembling concrete. With a composite density of 1.86 g/cm3 compared to concrete’s average of 2.4 g/cm3, and a compressive strength exceeding commercial concrete demands of 23.3 MPa to 30.2 MPa, this lightweight alternative meets the strength demands of concrete, reduces the need for new construction materials, and provides an additional recycling opportunity for nonbiodegradable waste plastic.
The building sector has a significant impact on the environment due to its unproductive and technologically outdated practices. Although digital tools have emerged as potential solutions, current building practices often lack automation and efficiency. Throughout history, several self-supporting techniques, i.e., construction methods dedicated to the building of shells that do not need support during the construction works, have been developed. These techniques allow for reducing waste and minimizing construction costs. Combining self-supporting techniques and digital tools could aid the development of contemporary, highly sustainable, and efficient building practices that permit the use of alternative and sustainable materials. Building on this, the research conducted defines an approach for evaluating the balanced state of masonry structures during construction works and built using robotic technologies. The approach considers the factors that govern the stability under construction derived through studying self-supporting building techniques. The proposed approach assesses the structural state under construction, evaluating the need for temporary supports. An example of a masonry arch is provided to emphasize the importance of construction factors in sustainable building practices. Then the method is applied to a real case study. Overall, integrating self-supporting techniques with digital tools has the potential to revolutionize the building sector, and create highly sustainable and efficient practices.
This research hypothesizes that designers can use engineering problem-solving tools such as topology optimization for architectural design explorations beyond optimizing a design domain with predefined boundary conditions. Engineering, in this sense, is not just an after-the-fact consideration or an assessment tool but an integrative part of the design process. We selected the design of architectural precast concrete elements for façades as a case study to demonstrate how defining the design problem leads to different solutions. The discipline of architecture has increased awareness of the environmental impact of material use; thus, it is important to employ design methods that create structural geometries that do more with less. The results of this study demonstrate innovative design approaches for designers.
The increasing application of computer technologies in architecture has facilitated interactive collaboration between form-finding and realization. In contrast to conventional methods, various form-finding processes embedded in digital media have recently been investigated. Robotic technologies have also been utilized to execute hazardous tasks and to perform more challenging and complex fabrication in architecture. In this study, we experiment with form-finding and robotic fabrication to explore innovative design possibilities. After selecting a particular site, we determine a rigorous geometric form for construction. Structural analysis of the design is performed to verify the stress distribution and failure mechanisms. The design employs an industrial robotic arm with a hot-wire end-effector to determine an optimum method for full-scale assembly and on-site installation of the design. Finally, this study accurately verifies the constructability of the designed form and evaluated the challenges and opportunities associated with the process. The findings demonstrate that this approach complements the potential impacts of the design process, practice, and aesthetics.
Robotic arms are increasingly being used as an automation tool in non-standardized fabrication and construction, while the mechanical characteristics can also impact the accomplishment or the accuracy of the components. Timber is regularly used in different scales of a non-standard free-form structure fabricated by the robotic arm. The anisotropic mechanical characteristics of timber constrain the structural morphology. Developing a method of determining the morphology that meets the technical restrictions of the robotic arm and the material properties of timber is the aim of this research. In this paper, taking Centre Pompidou-Metz as a geometric case, glue-laminated timber as the main construction material, LSTM is applied for predicting the shape of the element. The geometric data is transformed into the fabrication data to testify to the kinematic singularities. The limitation of the workspace is derived from the Monte-Carlo method based on the DH model of the robotic arm. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective in predicting the curves that match the characteristics of timber materials and robotic fabrication constraints.
Bioreboot features nineteen projects of R&sie(n) along with essays and an interview, providing the most comprehensive monograph of this elusive, intriguing firm to date. Despite working with oppositional relationships: machinery versus nature, purity versus corruption, paranoia versus rationality—theirs is an architecture whose primary aim is the ecological and social improvement of the place in which it exists. Bioreboot is a thought-provoking leap into the future and a clarion call for the development of a new relationship between contemporary architecture and the world of nature.
(Excerpt with Giovanni Corbellini's texts)
Food History: Critical and Primary Sources is an indispensable four-volume reference collection which focuses on the widest possible span of food in human history, to provide a comprehensive survey of problems and methods in the field of food history. Bringing together over 80 high-quality essays drawn from journal articles, book chapters, excerpts and historical documents and supported by introductory essays and a wealth of contextual material, this important new reference work combines contemporary scholarship with selected primary sources allowing scholars to use this as a starting point for their own historical research.
The volumes are divided chronologically, moving from human evolution and the origins of complex societies to the agrarian and pastoral societies of the classical and post-classical eras, to the age of global contact and early industrialization, to the transition to industrial diets in the contemporary era. Each volume is introduced by an essay from the editor and is divided into broad thematic categories and offers a range of methodological approaches, multidisciplinary appeal and broad geographical coverage, highlighting how the field has developed over time and investigating how and why food is different at different points in world history.
This will be an essential addition to libraries and a major scholarly resource for researchers involved in the study of food in world history.