The Master Programme in Robotics and Advanced Construction is an innovative educational format that offers interdisciplinary skills and understanding through a series of class seminars that are put into practice through hands-on workshops. IAAC gives students the opportunity to create individual studio agendas and develop Pilot Thesis Projects based on the knowledge acquired during the seminars and workshops split into 3 Modules. In this way, IAAC puts together an experimental learning environment for the training of professionals with both theoretical and practical responses to the increasing complexity of the construction sector.

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An Analysis of The Triple Bottom Line in Advanced Manufacturing of Non-standardized Materials

Process Defined “Advanced Manufacturing for Non-Standardized Materials” refers to the use of innovative manufacturing techniques to work with materials that do not conform to conventional standards or specifications.” Advanced Manufacturing: This encompasses cutting-edge technologies and methods, such as automation, robotics, 3D printing, and computer-aided design (CAD), which enhance efficiency, precision, and flexibility in the manufacturing … Read more

Robotic Craft Interaction

An Intersectional Investigation Robotics is the field of study focused on the research and application of robotic systems. This definition, however, doesn’t provide much insight. So, what is a robot? Robots are machines that can operate autonomously or through programmed input to perform specific tasks, often replacing human effort. These tasks are typically complex and … Read more

ROBOT-ASSISTED WEAVING + RAW MATERIALS / MRAC Workshop 1.2

Team member(s): Govind Chithrath, Santosh Shenbagamoorthy, Krystyn Kontos  , Aleksandra Kraeva and Lauren DemingModified by Lauren Deming on November 24, 2024 Ultimately, the goal is to develop more efficient means for harvesting and utilizing low-carbon footprint alternatives for construction. Course Objective Project Abstract Autonomous Weaving with Raw Materials explores the intersection between weaving automation and the use of raw materials. After analyzing … Read more

Weaving Natural Materials – Breathing Curtain Wall

Introduction As part of the workshop led by Javier Fuentes and Moritz Dörstelmann the Chair of Digital Design and Fabrication (DDF) at the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), our team explored the potential of willow as an innovative material in architecture. This project merges sustainability, advanced design, and robotic technology to develop breathable and adaptive … Read more

Paint Bubble End Effector

The Hardware-I seminar explores different hardware tools for the purpose of making a custom end effector to be mounted on the robot flange. The objective of this end effector is to spill paint on a canvas. In our project, we aimed to control and precisely calibrate the smallest splash of paint possible by exploring one … Read more

FLOWPRESS – Creating Patterns with Parameters

Introduction This seminar invites students to explore making custom made spillers controlled by Arduino and a 6-axes robotic arm in order to paint spills on canvas with black acrylic paint. Context   Recently we have clearly observed immense changes in production, prototyping, and innovation that has been influenced by open source software, firmware and hardware. Human … Read more

BIO-ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING / MRAC Workshop 1.1

Cork-based 3d printing – Topological Optimisation Design Introduction    The seminar invites students to explore new materials, additive processes and new fields of applications through robotic 3d printing taking advantage of the potential of the 6-axes of the robotic arm. Context   Recently we have clearly observed immense changes in architectural design development. Architecture has been influenced … Read more

Robotic Strategies in Construction

Computational Design for Digital and Robotic Fabrication Introduction The Software I module served as our introduction to understanding how designs produced on the computer translate into fabrication strategies that can be used by a robotic arms in various ways. The seminar was broken up into four exercises, each exercise involved a specific robotic operation and … Read more

Computational Design Strategies for Robotic Fabrication

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The Software-I seminar introduces computational design strategies for robotic fabrication, focusing on the software aspects of these processes. The following exercises cover different manufacturing strategies that translate digital models into buildable forms through precise toolpath development and simulation. These include an end-to-end process from conceptual design to the generation of fabrication files for robotic systems, … Read more

Timber Narratives

Building on the principles of disassembly explored last semester, this phase of the Timber Narratives project delves deeper into advanced data-driven design strategies. We now capture and utilize timber colour values through enhanced scanning technologies, integrating this data into our designs. Additionally, we’ve implemented machine learning with logistic regression for precise categorization of timber for … Read more

ReWeave_3.0

Abstract: The ReWeave project develops a robotic system to repurpose construction and demolition (C&D) waste into functional, attractive walls, enhancing human-robot collaboration. We created a database by scanning broken tiles to extract shape, size, and color information, then developed custom nesting algorithms to optimize tile arrangement. The workflow includes scanning tiles, exporting outlines via ROS, … Read more

RELIVING

State of the Art and Minimum Value Proposition There is an overstocking of small to medium trees over Europe due to poor firing and soil cultivation conditions, most of this trees have the diameter of 10-25 cm and depending on the species and cultivation conditions some of then are crooked and can’t be used by … Read more

Agent-based Manufacturing System

Industry Setup Relevance:  ABMS could be a twist on traditional manufacturing by using software agents to control different parts of the process. Imagine a factory where machines, workstations, and even software programs aren’t just following instructions but can somewhat act and decide independently. This helps in faster problem-solving mechanisms and could help reduce human intervention … Read more

Wired Warriors

Aim “Create a range of robotic mini-games showcasing dexterity and quick reflexes, ideal for casual enjoyment.“ For this one week workshop, we drew inspiration from various games such as infinite passes, penalty shootouts, and boxing, aiming to adapt them for robotic play. Initially leaning towards infinite passes (football), we ultimately found boxing more compatible with … Read more

Kino

At the workshop led by Madeline Gannon, we had the chance to delve into robotic movement, prioritizing creative freedom over conventional targets like accuracy and repeatability. The workshop was designed as a breeding ground for creativity, facilitated by software components that allowed exploration without the constraints of a kinematic solver. Given the project’s one-week duration … Read more

Timber Narratives

Leveraging Computer Vision for Sustainable Design with dimensional waste timber Building upon the established design principles of disassembly explored in the prior semester, Timber Narratives this semester investigated the potential of computer vision and image analytics to further optimize material conditioning and manufacturing processes for dimensional waste timber. This iterative approach aimed to integrate data-driven … Read more

ReWeave 2.0

The Context Aim State Of The Art The Workflow System Architecture Robotic Cell Scanning – Robotic cell Scanning Nesting – Initial Experiments Nesting Custom logic Iteration A Nesting Custom logic Iteration B Binder – Geopolymer with alkaline activators –  Sodium silicate Binder – Geopolymer with alkaline activators –  Sodium silicate and Sodium hydroxide Binder – … Read more

Reliving

State of the Art Raw Timber and AEC Industry Wood waste is often disregarded in the wood industry and the construction industry. Majority of wood used in construction is sawn and processed wood that not only generates waste on its production but it is also associated with high CO2 emissions, because of the embodied energy … Read more

Robotic Manifesto: Embracing Advanced manufacturing in complex architectural geometries

Introduction: In the realm of architecture, we stand at a pivotal moment where traditional construction methods struggle to meet the demands for intricate architectural forms while sustainability concerns continue to mount. As students of the Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction program, guided by the expertise of Mariana Popescu, we advocate for a paradigm shift … Read more

Follow Me

Aim To explore innovative parametric tiling designs through the utilization of robotic tiling setups. The project aim is to utilize the functions of  COMPAS framework and its extensions for robotic planning. Also, to incorporate computer vision and scanning information into the tiling process to enhance precision and efficiency. Design Logic Inspired by the idea of … Read more

Robotic Gaudi

AIM DESIGN The three distinct design methodologies we explored employed grayscale image mapping, where the gray areas functioned as attractors and filters for colored circles. Our second experiment focused on employing curves as generators for the spatial arrangement and packing of a variety of larger circles. The third methodology extended our exploration to the incorporation … Read more

Kangaroo follows the COMPAS

This project documents a 1-week workshop that introduced students to the COMPAS framework. Our goal was to design a tile mosaic that would be part of a collaborative pick-and-place workflow with the UR5, incorporating COMPAS Fab, Kangaroo (Grasshopper), and ROS. What is COMPAS? Utilizing the COMPAS framework developed by Gramazio Kohler Research and the larger … Read more

I-P_Mapper

Context I-P_Maper(Intersection Point Mapper) is a project based on ROS and scanning. It mainly focuses on controlling the robot tool path to scan and get the data we want. Given the time constraints, we maximized our efforts and performed a series of tests in order to develop a program that could accurately identify up to … Read more