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.

Robotics Reading

The additional article I read was:

“Team Robot: Researchers Demonstrate Autonomous Vehicles With Advanced Collaborative Exploration and Mapping Capabilities”

The assigned robotics reading provides a lot of general information about the field of robotics, but it does not go into detail about the applications. It discusses how robots function through movement, controls, sensors, and intelligent systems. It is useful for general knowledge on the topic, not the use of robotics for intelligent buildings.

The above article discusses robots that function autonomously and collaboratively to simultaneously explore and map a structure. The project is being developed by a team from the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania and the California Institute of Technology/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The designed application is for first responders such as firefighters or soldiers entering a potentially dangerous building.  The robots communicate with each other and send a map back to the people outside without relying on GPS, but GPS can be used to also relay the robot’s current position.  The robots use video and laser sensors to detect the structure and radar and infrared sensors are in development.

This technology can be used in disaster and military scenarios to provide a quick map of an unknown structure and even danger areas and locations of people. It will lower the risk for people entering dangerous situations and increase the efficiency of their mission.  The article only briefly mentioned future development and did not discuss other applications of this technology.  This technology can be applied to robots that roll on the ground or fly and carry many different sensors.  I also see this technology being used for applications such as inspecting buildings under construction or in danger of collapse and evaluating the performance of building systems.  It relates to the idea of swarm robots, many small robots working together to accomplish a task.  These mapping robots could work with construction robots to inspect the progress of building construction and provide the plans for remaining work.

Readings on Robotics

The two articles I chose are as follows: http://www.automatedbuildings.com/news/feb09/articles/mobile/090125024654mobile.htm

http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20070919/shape-shifters

The first article goes into detail about the usefulness of robots in buildings. One of the main uses for these robots is the development of BIM for existing buildings. The process is typically an expensive and time consuming process, which can be avoided by the use of robots. These robots are also programmed to navigate the buildings in which they are located. This allows for the robot to accomplish various other tasks such as gathering data or moving supplies around. For more information about these robots, please read the complete article.

On another note, the second article explains how buildings are now being designed to interact with the environment they enclose. Mainly, the article references the University of Virginia’s radical new program that allows architectural students to collaborate with students from other professions. The result of this collaboration is a building design that changes with the help of robotics when certain events occur within the building. For example, a concert hall’s ceiling will expand or contract in response to the circulation of people within. This change optimizes the hall’s acoustics during events. As one might imagine, this technology can be adapted to suit a different need. The ultimate goal of this article is to familiarize people with the new idea of changing buildings.

The assigned article gave me all the basic information about robotics. Mainly, the article discussed how robots work and the operating systems behind them. Both these articles related to the main article, but in different ways. The first article explains how robots can be used to gather information from a building or to complete tasks. By reading the main article, one might be able to visualize how these robots are able to complete the tasks asked of them. The second article shows the usefulness of robots in a buildings architecture. The systems receive information from the environment and then react. Overall, the articles stress the fact that robots are available and can be used in building management and design.

Week 2 - Robotics Readings

The first article I read outside of Access Science during my search on robotics was title “European Research Team Develops Intelligent Robot Swarm”. This article focused on the designs of a research team commissioned by NASA to develop robots for the construction of a base on the Moon. This robots would work in a swarm consisting of 50+ robots, each with varying capabilities and body types. The swarm would work like a hive mind with all the individual robots communicating and working with one another to perform all tasks necessary for construction. The swarm can provide itself with site information using aerial photographs from flying robots. The swarm would also contain bots capable of transporting less mobile bots over tough terrain. The diverse groups of robots would allow the swarm to accomplish many different construction tasks and their programming and communication abilities allows them to work together to solve issues.

The second article, titled “Robot Collective Construction by Blind Bulldozing”, was very related to the first. This too discussed construction performed by a group robots, but focused more on the interactions the bots would have. The research team that wrote this paper studied the behaviors of insects during construction, such as ant building a nest. They then mimic this behavior through robots and programming to determine how successful this approach would be. They found that they could give the robots the same instincts the ants had which is to perform work based on the state of the construction zone.