A brief survey of robot technologies in construction, the technology drivers and current applications.

1. Robotics in Construction
By Saul Lustgarten
saull@mit.edu

2. Industry drivers
• Tasks that can be most automated are
cheap for human labor to perform
• This makes robot economics challenging
(might as well use humans instead of
machines)
• Therefore, rather than labor replacement,
robot adoption seems to be driven by:
• Workers safety (i.e. remote demolitions,
remote inspections)
• Efficiency (i.e. real time surveying,
continuous paving, etc)
• Pushing the boundaries (i.e. mass tiling,
contour crafting, etc)
Source:
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/four_fundamentals_of_workplace_automation
https://public.tableau.com/profile/mckinsey.analytics#!/vizhome/AutomationandUSjobs/Technicalpotentialforautomation

3. Applications

4. Demolition
Remote controlled demolition
robots.
• Concrete Sawing
• Demolition
• Water based concrete
demolition and recycling

5. Surveying
Drones for aerial mapping and
surveying construction sites.
Allow for real-time surveying,
improve logistics and collaboration
across construction teams.

6. Paving
Robots pave roads with bricks or
concrete.
Relieve workers from physically
straining work, improve efficiency.

7. Concrete finishing
Automatic concrete trowelling and
paving.
Automates task that is repetitive
and hard for humans to do well.

8. Welding
Welding of 3d structures, steel
beam assembly and steel cutting.

9. Bricklaying
Works in tandem with
construction workers, but lays
down 3x as many bricks as human.
Can lay bricks in unconventional
patterns to achieve novel
structures.

10. Drilling
The robot provides accurate,
efficient drilling in concrete
ceilings and promises far less
strain on workers.

11. Mass Tiling
Robotic production of tiling work.
Allows for the existence of tiles
with unprecedented detail.
Otherwise these tiles would be
economically unfeasible.

12. Inspection
Non-destructive technical
diagnostics of bridges, tunnels and
other structures.

13. Exosuits
Exosuits and exoskeletons help
construction workers handle
heavier loads without hurting their
bodies.

14. Prefabricated
Robots manufacture prefab parts
of buildings. In this case, the
panels are designed within spatial
constraints of the robot.

15. Recycling
Robots help sort construction
materials and waste for easier
recycling.

16. Autonomous trucks
Autonomous trucks are being
developed to increase safety in
construction areas.

17. Other applications
• Concrete transportation/distribution
• Positioning of steel
• Fire resisting
• Painting
• Excavation/Earthmoving
• Tunneling

18. Emerging Technology I
Contour Crafting
“Contour Crafting (CC) is a layered fabrication
technology developed by Dr. Behrokh
Khoshnevis of the University of Southern
California. Contour Crafting technology has
great potential for automating the
construction of whole structures as well as
sub-components. Using this process, a single
house or a colony of houses, each with
possibly a different design, may be
automatically constructed in a single run,
embedded in each house all the conduits for
electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning”
Source: http://www.contourcrafting.org/

19. Emerging Technology II
D-SHAPE
” D-Shape is a new robotic building system
using new materials to create superior stone-
like structures.
This new machinery enables full-size sandstone
buildings to be made without human
intervention, using a stereolithography 3-D
printing process that requires only sand and
our special inorganic binder to operate. D-
Shape is a new building technology which will
revolutionize the way architectural design is
planned, and building constructions are
executed.”
Source: http://www.d-shape.com/cose.htm

20. Companies URLs• https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/programs/infrastructure/structures/ltbp/ltbpresearch/rabit/index.cfm
• http://www.intron-plus.com/en/equipment/
• http://shb.skku.edu/irms/research/previous/cable.jsp
• http://www.concreteconstruction.net/jobsite-equipment/mobile-drilling-robot-from-nlink_t.aspx
• http://www.concreteconstruction.net/jobsite-equipment/mobile-drilling-robot-from-nlink_t.aspx
• http://www.technologyreview.com/news/540916/robots-lay-three-times-as-many-bricks-as-construction-workers/
• http://www.kranendonk.com/
• http://kiberys.com/
• http://www.rollit.se/english/rollit-robot/
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239410052_Automated_construction_in_Japan
• http://www.newportpartnersllc.com/technologies/miscellaneous/construction_robotics.html
• http://wonderfulengineering.com/tiger-stone-paving-machine-makes-brick-roads-like-laying-carpet/
• http://tiger-stone.nl/projecten/
• https://www.sensefly.com/applications/surveying.html
• https://www.skycatch.com/case-studies/constructionet/
• http://www.husqvarna.com/us/construction/products/demolition-robots-product-range/dxr-310/
• http://www.brokk.com/us/800P/
• http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/article/powering_up_construction_workers_with_exosuits/
• http://www.jnouki.kubota.co.jp/product/kanren/arm-1/
• http://amprobotics.com/
• http://zenrobotics.com/
• http://www.royaltruckandequipment.com/atma