B4 - Project Description

The topic of the paper Ina, Abigail, and I have decided upon is going to be Robots in Construction. To pick this topic we narrowed it down from what was initially a look into the evolution of construction methods and how robotics play a part in it. The reason for narrowing it in this specific direction is because we think this will give us the opportunity to learn more about the specific types of robots used in construction, and how they affect the building process as a whole. Robotics in construction is still a pretty novel concept for an engineering major like myself, but as the technology being used in our fields is rapidly evolving, that means robots on the construction field are not too far out of reach. By researching the different types of robots available, how they contribute to making our tasks more efficient, and analyzing their feasible pros and cons, I am hoping that we can understand their functionality better. Additionally, I think this is a topic worth exploring because through research and understanding the functions of robots in construction, we can be better equipped to form opinions and decisions regarding their usage. Currently, our thesis states that we are in favor of bringing robots into the construction site, and that our report will be supporting our opinion through an analysis of the weighted pros and cons of using robots. As we defined an Intelligent Building in the first two weeks, an IB is a building that is adaptive and is able to collect data from its surroundings to adjust accordingly. Robots in construction operate on a set of similar ideas in that once they have been programmed they can perform tasks based on received data, and can ideally coordinate to work with other robots on the site. We think that, if used effectively, robots can streamline the physical aspect of construction, and clear time for humans to focus on the programming that goes in behind an intelligent building. Some challenges that could be faced in supporting our thesis may be in the costs associated with mainstream inclusion of robots. Other factors could include maintenance time, expertise and fees required, and the training period for staff to learn to use them on the field. Although these factors can be difficult to ignore for small to mid scale companies, we think that in the long run making that initial investment can be really beneficial for a lot of reasons including safety for human labor.

Comments:

Michael's post: (Link to post)

Michael,

Your project sounds very interesting! I think that having a tool that predicts the future energy output of a building given its capabilities and the environment it is in could be useful for a lot of different reasons; especially now that more buildings are looking to get LEED accredited, it would be interesting to see how those buildings would compare in changing climates in the future. Also, aside from your immediate project topic, I think it would be interesting to consider how the possible inclusion of this tool in residential properties will affect the real estate industry.

Jake's post: (Link to post)

Jake,

As my group will be writing a similar paper in support of including robotics in construction I think there will be a lot in common that we'll be learning about, and more for us to learn from each other's papers. Although I grew up in Dubai, I was not aware that they are the current leaders in robotics for the building industry. I think that there is a lot of potential for this topic, and hopefully some ideas that can even translate to the the industry in Philadelphia.

Pritesh's post: (Link to post)

Pritesh,

Your group's project sounds very interesting! I believe that Revit as a virtual building software has a lot of interesting functionalities to make a detailed model and connect it back to your ideas on how to make it intelligent. Being new to Revit, I hope that your group is able to learn a lot from the first hand experience of creating a model from scratch and building its construction documents.