Robitics and Construction

The assigned Robotics article discusses Robotics as a general field, and also delves into all specific areas of robotics. It goes into detail on mechanisms and geometries of robotic parts, as well as how the data is retrieved and processed. I found it very interesting that when it comes to design, it seems that the wrist is the trickiest joint in which to imitate robotically because of its degree of motion and feasibility of motor installation. I also find it interesting that we have developed robots in some sense to keep us out of danger, rather than to be more efficient.. Robots are basically broken up into control systems and sensory systems. The control system absorbs data and tells the robot how to move, while the sensory system collects that data based on surroundings. If these sensors are programmed to pick up data linked to temperature, energy use, and other building information, they can be used in a BIM-like design instead of a moving robot. BIM requires systems to be “Intelligent”, or to be able to change their operation based on incoming data analysis. I think that a great new field in robotics is prosthetics because of their remarkable ability to act as real human body parts. This field is only going to become more advanced with time. The most expensive part of robotics is the programming of these structures, which is not surprising to me. This article does a great job of giving a technical background of robotics so that the reader can understand how robotics works. It then hints at applications of robotics, but the main thread of the article is specifically how the machines operate and how they’re put together.

            The additional article I found is called “Is A Robot In Your Future?” By Ivan Jivkov. This article references steel construction procedures and software applications, and explains how robotics can be used in steel construction to provide more efficient, fast construction techniques. The problem that arises in this article is that the current software data exchange systems used in most steel construction would not be able to process the 3D images associated with robotic software. Robotics would involve building 3D models to show where parts do not fit together to prevent assembly errors before they happen (Jivkov, 2011). The author then argues that replacing welders with robots would increase efficiency by up to ten times, and would be done in a quicker fashion. Another problem faced is that almost all structures are very different, so robotic programming would have to be changed from project to project, requiring man hours of programming rather than manual labor. (Jivkov, 2011). He describes the ideal possibility being that a design model can be directly sent to a robot and the robot will be able to process the model and weld the actual structure accordingly. This would be a huge step in construction based intelligent systems, and new software systems would need to be put in place in order to get to this level.

            While the first article gives you an introduction into all the aspects of robotics, it is essentially a starting point for articles taking that information and showing how it’s being used today or how it could be used in the future. The second article describes one area of construction that could use robotics to become more efficient. Having read the assigned article, I developed a technical understanding of robotics that I was able to use to understand some of the applications of robotics talked about in the second article. Other students seemed to have the same reaction to the first article as I did. It was informative because we don’t have much experience in robotics as a group. It was also nice to read other students’ articles concerning construction and how robotics can be used in this field.

In keeping with the theme of the assigned reading for this week, I found two further online resources relating to robotics. The first item we discussed was the robotic construction of the architectural tower.  This video, while interesting in showing the technological capabilities of robotics on construction, does not take many factors in account that are unique to the AEC field. The first of these is that our structures are being created outdoors not in a factory controlled environment where there is no wind or rain. The aircraft manufacturing field or high end vehicle factories do not have to contend with these factors. The second issue unique to the AEC field is that nearly all of our structures are one off creations.  This means that the robots must be reprogrammed for each unique structure.  That being said as robotics hardware and software increases in capabilities and decreases in cost it will be increasingly used in our field.

The reading from access science was excellent in describing and defining robots and some current applications that this technology has. The different components and design considerations necessary for an AEC robot would be very different from those present in the factory based manufacturing robots.  I watched a youtube video of Precise Path RG3 Robotic Greens Mower found here http://youtu.be/5CwFwUBhwOw . This relates more to the operations and maintenance of a constructed building.  The Consumer Electronic Show presents with both new and more affordable technologies such as the additional article I found from the LA Times found here http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/ces-2012-ava-robot.html . This robot combines a robot with the sensors from an xbox Kinect and Apple IPad to make a robot that can follow a specific user through a crowd. The key innovation here is the ability to do this with relatively cheap commercially available existing technologies. As these technologies progress I believe more and more of a robotic presence will be felt in the AEC field.

In addition to the Access Science Required Reading, I watched a YouTube video called "Robotics: the Future of Building." In the required reading, the author details and defines the basics of robotics, and then continues to discuss where robotics can/have be/been applied, mainly citing applications such as automated manufacturing, prosthetic devices, and micromachines. In any of these applications, the robots main usefulness comes in the fact that they are able to carry out repetitive tasks with great efficiency and reliability. While this seems to be the current state of robotics, the video that I watched argued that the nature of robotics is becoming more than just a machine that is able to efficiently carry out monotonous tasks with high efficiency. The narrator discusses how robots are becoming more dynamic and intelligent which are capable of adapting and making decisions as situations arise.

In order for robotics to become an essential part of construction, robots need to be intelligent, and capable of making decisions that formerly only a human could make. In the video that we watched in class, the robot was able to navigate and determine its position, however only with the help of an extensive array of sensors positioned throughout the room. This is a limitation that will need to be overcome before widespread adoption of robotic technology can be applied in construction. Additionally, robots will need to be able to work in any conditions, not just a predictable warehouse environment.

In the second article that I read, the author presents his case to construction lawyers about why the wide-scale adoption of BIM is likely to reduce the amount of construction claims to due errors by the architects, engineers, and construction managers. While BIM is certainly not at the point where it is driving robotics to build buildings, one could extrapolate this article to tell the story of a time when robots dominate construction. Because robotics has the potential to carry out tasks with increased, if not perfect, accuracy, the amount of errors, injuries, and cost overruns that currently happen in construction could dramatically decline. This may not please the attorneys; however it will certainly be beneficial to the design team and owner of the building.

Robotics in Construction      

      The use of robotics or automated equipment in the construction industry is an inevitability. In the near future, the use of these new technologies will create a more productive and safe environment that will reduce overall construction costs. Areas that will benefit greatly from the use of intelligent technologies are the excavation and earth moving phases of the construction process. On any large scale construction process, tons of soil are excavated, with the majority of the process requiring similar tasks performed multiple times. This repetitive nature of excavations screams for efficiency and intelligent equipment is the key. However, the construction site is a dynamic place with obstacles that are difficult for humans to maneuver around, let alone for robotic equpiment to do so.

      Current technologies for automation of excavation equipment lack practical navigation systems. In the first article I read, ( http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926580511001105 ), the author suggests two navigation strategies for maneuvering on the construction site: global and local navigation strategies. These navigation strategies use point systems that represent equipment and stationary objects. Then, a work zone and a safety buffer zone are applied to the data to ensure the shape of the object is represented accurately. The global strategy is critical for large scale operations that require large distances and numerous obstacles to avoid. The local strategy works for the actual excavation of areas, which are ideal for optimizing equipment cycles (i.e. dig, rotate, empty bucket, repeat). The main obstacle for the automation of excavation is remote sensing.

      Currently, sensors are struggling to keep real-time, geographical data about the constantly changing construction site. However, new digital correlation technologies are emerging that allow for greater accuracy of the geographical information, as well as faster data processing, which enables realtime analyses. The second article ( http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926580511001129 ) discusses the role of image based surveying systems for use in the verification of as-built construction documents. The author tested the accuracy of image-based surveying by comparing it to an existing BIM of the building and to a manual survey of the interior and exterior dimensions. They found that image-based surveys had an error that did not exceed 5%, which would be perfect for excavation work. The author also suggested that modern image correlation technology is rapidly evolving and the error percentage will decrease with further research and development.

      Once an accurate site model is represented, engineers will be able to apply typical work flow algorithms that enable automation of excavation equipment. These algorithms will enable optimization of excavation paths which will save time and money for the contractor. The use of robotics in earthmoving processes also allows for remote operations, and therefore allows earthwork to be performed in radioactive environments and, someday, in extraterrestrial mining.

R2 - Robotics

The assigned article was quite interesting, and outlined the various types and functions of robotics. I'm somewhat of a novice when it comes to computer programming, and the applications of these technologies interest me more than the technologies themselves. Though this article does not cover it in any detail, I am most interested in the human-robotic interfaces, and "intelligent" robots that can learn from repetitive experiences with people. Most of the applications outlined in this article are simply reactionary systems or robots that are programmed and perform a certain task repetitively. The intelligent systems that can predict situations, and proactively control them are the most impressive to me. That is bordering on the line of creating an artificial persona, changing the robotics community from computers to human-like machines.

In addition to the assigned reading, I read was Architectural Robotics, Inevitability by Mark Gross and Keith Green. (http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/2070000/2065335/p28-gross.pdf?ip=144.118.54.23&acc=ACTIVE%20SERVICE&CFID=78557115&CFTOKEN=29230484&__acm__=1326824831_eb9730bc9f7ddca80e29cb7f77cc4abc_ These professors at CMU and Clemson, respectively, are focusing on the applications of robotics in the field of architecture and building design. They proposed new cutting edge ideas and identified problems with current and emerging technologies that need to be addressed in order to create a "perfect" built environment. Gross has a mock up prototype of an electronic staircase in his lab. As the staircase senses movement at the foot/ankle level, it produces stairs to accommodate the movement. As the person moves on and leaves the step, it retracts back into a wall until someone else comes along. This has the potential to save lots of space by eliminating the need for permanent staircases. In addition to new cutting edge technologies, they identify currently available technologies that need to be better controlled, such as automatic day lighting shades in office spaces that react to the sunlight and inhabitants in the room. They identify problems with the current sensors and configuration methods. As a cloud passes overhead, the shades may go up, and then immediately go down again when the sun resurfaces. Simple annoyances like this are actually quite complex to adjust on the coding level. Again, the thing that interests me most about this article is the mention of human-robotic interactions. The people who are currently working on these technologies are much more inclined to manually override and adjust settings in order to help the technology learn and adapt. However, if these ideas make it to the mainstream computer market, the average person is not going to want to interact with the system on a constant basis. That is why it is important that, not only should the system perform well and "learn" to accommodate the building occupants, but it must do this with minimal interaction. This presents a problem, and moves into a rather ambiguous field of sensing human emotions. It is no longer just a "Is it hot?" "Yes" "Turn on the AC" system anymore, but turns into a proactive system that must read people when we cannot fully do that ourselves. The article is somewhat limited on how this will happen, perhaps because there aren't really answers at this point yet, but I'm quite interested to see what technology is developed to help incorporate these human-robotic interactions into future building design and operation.

1.       Architects Using Robots to Build Beautiful Structures [http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/industrial-robots/robots-in-architecture]

2.       Teaching Robots to Think like People

http://www.gizmag.com/robots-machine-learning-cornell/19832/

The article on robotics from access science was a general overview of different types of robots and how they work. Before reading the article I had a general understanding of the types of robots and their thinking process but after reading the access science article I learned more in depth about robotics. This was a good article to read before looking for additional articles on robotics.

The first additional article I looked at was very similar to the video we saw in class. The robots in the article construct different shaped structures based off of computer input. One issue with these robots is that the size of the structure built is limited. The architects that designed these robots are starting research on a robot that can construct a high-rise building. This would mean mobilizing the robots. Some ways to mobilize them would be to put them on tracks or some sort of elevation lift. Some of the robots seen in the article cut the material being used precisely and then can construct temporary spaces using the cut material. The accuracy in which the machines cut the material is far better than that of human labor. The use of robots in construct is becoming a reality and this research is very import to develop the best robot for construction.

There are always issues that arise when a building is under construction. A human knows how to problem solve to fix the issues that come up but the robots in the previous article and the ones we saw in class are programmed to complete a task and not solve a problem if something were to go wrong. Researchers at Cornell are developing a robot that can think on its own in case there are any issues in construction. For example, stacking plates in a dishwasher is an easy task if the plates are the same size but a little more difficult when different. Their robot managed to get 95% of these sorts of tasks correct when dealing with new objects in new environments.This is a step forward to robots thinking somewhat on their own. There would still need to be people on the construction site to oversee the robots.

Both these articles discuss developments in intelligent building construction by using robots. The first article shows that it is possible for a robot to construct a building. Not only can the robot place the bricks or wood planks but it can also cut the material to the correct size. It also addresses some issues that arise when a robot constructs a building. One of these issues is that a robot is computer programmed to complete specific tasks. It cannot problem solve if something were to go wrong. The second article discusses this issue and what researchers are doing to start to solve this problem.

Robotics Reading

In addition to the assigned reading 'Robotics' from AccessScience, I also read an article 'Robots Designed to Save Lives of Construction Workers'.  The article discusses the winning robots that were designed by a Virginia Tech robotics team for the 2008 International Capstone Design Fair.  The robots were designed to be able to climb structures like bridge piers, building columns, and scaffolding to reach areas that are not easily accessible for people.  The robots are about 3' long and cylindrical in shape.  The Virginia Tech team created three prototypes that used two different types of mechanics for movement and are called HyDRAS-Ascent (Hyper-redundant Discrete Robotic Articulated Serpentine for climbing), the HyDRAS-Ascent II, and CIRCA (Climbing Inspection Robot with Compressed Air).  The robots are rapped around the structure they are going to climb in a helical shape and twist their bodies to climb or decent in a twisting motion.  The HyDRAS robots use electric motors and the CIRCA robot uses a compressed air muscle. These robots can be equipped with cameras and sensors that can be used in inspection of high rise or even underwater structures to minimize the risk of injury or death of workers. 

In the assigned article reading it discusses the mobility of robots and it seem that most robots are built using the human body as a template.  The robots in the assigned article tend to be articulated like human limbs and are mobile on legs like a human or an insect on multiple legs.  The robots in the additional article move more like a snake in a rolling motion due to its cylindrical shape.  These robots are more restricted in their mobility because they can only climb a structure that is small enough for them to wrap around and grip to.  Although the article does not discuss the details of the design, the robots are most likely equipped with sensors discussed in the assigned article to be able to work.  These prototype robots are also still attached to a computer with a number of wires so they are limited by the distance they can travel. I would like to see if these robots can be improved and altered enough that they may be able to be used in the field.