Abstract
The emerging use of robots on construction site offers the means to reduce cost, labour, and increase material efficiency during the construction process. The advantages presented by the use of robots on-site include the accuracy in translating digital designs into built form, the greater ease of integration with the construction management process and manufacture of bespoke building components onsite, and crucially, the means of addressing the global challenge of an aging construction workforce. However, there are challenges to deploying these robots on-site, including the need for an inter-disciplinary approach, and site-based challenges with space and timing constraints. Three detailed case studies are presented, showcasing the use of on-site robots in concrete casting, bricklaying and steel structure assembly. While there are significant advantages to using such robots, these robots will still require human intervention and creativity to allow the technology to respond to the spectrum of site conditions, including dynamic design and material requirements, as well as the interplay of social interactions within a construction site.
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Notes
- 1.
This exemplary project was first published in the paper “Automatic Brick Masonry System and Its Application in On-Site Construction” as part of the 2019 annual conference of Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (Xu et al. 2019).
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Luo, D., Yu, L. (2021). From Factory to Site—Designing for Industrial Robots Used in On-Site Construction. In: Wang, B.T., Wang, C.M. (eds) Automating Cities. Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8670-5_4
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