Originally, Ina, Varsha, and I were going to write a paper on the evolution of construction technology. We would’ve researched historic methods, current methods, and made predictions of future methods. However, we soon realized this would be way too much information to squeeze into a paper. So, we narrowed our focus considerably. Now, our topic is simply robotics in construction. This topic interests everyone in our group for different reasons. I am a BS/MS student in structures. I am interested in how robots can be used to construct buildings. Would robots allow us to construct new connection types? Or would they reduce labor costs so significantly that most buildings become sustainable? It would be interesting to see if robots that built a building could also help monitor the building afterwards, since they’d be more familiar so to speak.
Buildings that are built without 100% human labor are bound to fall into the category of an intelligent building. Thus, robots in construction directly relates to BIM and intelligent buildings.
One challenge will be making an educated guess as to the role robots in construction will play in the future. The trend indicates that robots will become increasingly popular, but trends aren’t always reliable.
Another angle to investigate would be the costs associated with using robotics in the construction industry. Are the costs associated with robotics too high to offset the costs of human labor?Logistically, getting a robot to a site might be tricky. This could increase the costs. What kind of upkeep and maintenance would the robots require? Do they have a long enough life that investment in them is worth it?
Hopefully over the course of writing this paper, we will gain a better understanding on the pros and cons of robotics, as well as learn more about the currently level of usage in the industry.
I think your research is very relevant to the issues engineers face when designing buildings. The way buildings are built and designed currently just isn't sustainable. Hopefully by researching and discovering uncommon ways to design sustainable buildings, new buildings will be less detrimental to the environment.
Cory,
Modular construction seems like a very cost and time effective method of construction. It will be interesting to see what the downsides are, and if they are significant. I am curious if modular construction will become more or less popular over time. I suspect it will depend on how much human labor will be needed for the project.
It will be interesting to see how the increased usage of Smart Home technology will impact system design. Right now, they're an afterthought by homeowners who desire them. Maybe in the near future, homes will be designed with the usage of Smart Home technology in mind.
2 comments:
Abigail, Ina, and Varsha,
One thing to keep in mind with your project is the capacity of a robot's ability to think for itself (although with AI progressing like it has, this may no longer be an issue). A robot is capable of performing very complex tasks with the proper programming, but if the user tells the robot to do something incorrectly, the robot will perform those incorrect directions to the best of its ability. Technology in our industry is only as good as the training the end-users have received to capitalize on it.
Abigail,
Robots in the construction industry in the capacity you have described is something I have never thought of before. Having actual robots construct actual buildings seems tricky. Like Spencer said above, the code must be flawless, or else something could go very wrong. I think that there would still really need to be a certain level of human interaction with the robot builders since as of right now, humans with proper experience and training are the only ones that would know if something is being done incorrectly, even though blueprints or plans may say otherwise. However, I guess with technological advances and AI, robots are learning, not just being told what to do.
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