First Monitoring and Analysis of the Manufacturing and Installation Process of Timber Based 2D Modules for Accomplishing a Future Robotic Building Envelope Upgrading

Abstract

-The BERTIM Research Project is funded by the European Commission in order to develop a system for an efficient building envelope upgrading. The main goal of this envelope upgrading consists on adding a new 2D or 3D module onto the building external layer. The modules are made out of timber, thermal insulation and waterproof layers. These modules can also host some functionalities. In a previous phase, a method for implementing an efficient, integrated, modular and customized manufacturing and installation process of the BERTIM modules has been conceived. This method was achieved based on Axiomatic Design. The goal of this method was to generate and to coordinate three main sub-systems: the parametric design and configuration of the 2D and the 3D modules (1), the automated manufacturing process (2) and the rapid robotic installation process (3). The Axiomatic Design was mainly used in order to detect the possible interferences of the disaggregated Functional Requirements regarding the Independence and Information Axiom and the main risks of a Coupled Design. The first demonstration of the manufacturing and installation process has taken part at the KUBIK experimental building. According to the Axiomatic Design Functional Requirements and the main Design Parameters defined in the previous phase, the demonstrator puts in evidence that the solutions taken don't fulfil the Independence and Information Axioms. The current system can be considered as a Coupled Design. In order to uncouple the system, the TRIZ inventive method has been used, focused on improving loss of time in all sub-systems. The solutions defined with TRIZ methods will be implemented in this three case studies carried out by three different industrial partners. The robotic and automated degree of each case will be adapted to the specifications of each demonstrator.

A technology management system for the development of single-task construction robots

“…Option "b" was withdrawn after consulting the stakeholders, because it needed adjustments throughout the value chain that would have been difficult to implement. In BERTIM, ROD was used to determine the necessary accuracy of the robot and the resulting tolerances of the building elements (Iturralde et al, 2017).…”

Grasped Element Position Recognition and Robot Pose Adjustment during Assembly

“…The protocol for the experimentation follows a linear process. This linear process is included in a broader integrated workflow that spans from the data acquisition of the existing building to the assembly process of the prefabricated modules (it must be recalled that the prefabricated modules are conceived for building renovation [3]). The protocol for this experimentation starts by gathering the information that parametric software named Dynamo© [18] generates, which is a list with the coordinates of the location of each of the objects.…”

“…This requires an accurate manufacturing of the modules with very low tolerances of up to 1 mm. In 2D module manufacturing with timber-frames, traditional off-site techniques [3] don't fulfil the demanded accuracy, where tolerances can reach up to 10 mm. In brief, current marketed processes are based on precut studs and beams, which are placed in a carpentry bench according to their position.…”

“…There are several reasons for such inaccuracies that were pointed out in previous phases of the research [3]. As a solution to these inaccuracies, it was proposed that all the objects of the prefabricated modules should be contoured in a CNC machine and then robotically assembled to create a façade module as shown in Figure 1.…”

Robotics in the Construction Industry: State of the Art and Future Opportunities

“…Several solutions have also been developed in order to facilitate inspection of buildings and infrastructures [13,14,15]. Finally, in accordance with the trends that will be introduced in the following sections, more recent contributions tackled novel application contexts like for instance realization of wooden buildings [16], interior and exterior renovation [17,18,19,20], additive manufacturing [21,22] and also decommissioning of nuclear power plants [23,24].…”