The Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction (MRAC) seeks to train a new generation of interdisciplinary professionals who are capable of facing our growing need for a more sustainable and optimised construction ecosystem. The Master is focused on the emerging design and market opportunities arising from novel robotic and advanced manufacturing systems.
Through a mixture of seminars, workshops, and studio projects, the master programme challenges the traditional processes in the Construction Sector. It investigates how advances in robotics and digital fabrication tools change the way we build and develop processes and design tools for such new production methods.
Crafting performative structures through robotic earth injection in dynamic fiber scaffolds Terraweave is an architectural research project that explores how robotic additive manufacturing can enhance the performance of natural building materials. Conducted as part of the Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction at IAAC, the project investigates the integration of willow scaffolds and earth injection … Read more
ABSTRACT Autonomous parametric furniture assembly using modular blocks and ROS-driven industrial robots promises to revolutionize on-demand manufacturing. In this work, we introduce DRDA (Dynamic Robotic Design Activities), a unified framework that seamlessly links customer-driven design to autonomous multi-robot execution. A user-defined geometry and style, which our custom block-selection and toolpath-generation engine converts into collision-free pick-and-place … Read more
In the pursuit of a sustainable built environment, Timber Syntax demonstrates how reclaimed, non-homogeneous timber can be transformed into high-quality facade systems through a computational and robotic pipeline. Developed at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), this project bridges waste reuse, advanced fabrication, and circular design to propose a new paradigm for timber … Read more
Why – Problem context In the current forestry industry, only 40% of each harvested tree is actually used for construction or valuable products. The remaining 60% often ends up as waste — discarded, chipped, or burned as firewood. This imbalance sparked a fundamental question:Can we change this ratio? Driven by that inquiry, we began exploring … Read more
“Spatial Cognition in Robotics: Optimizing Construction Workflow with AI”Shu Xiao – MRAC02 Thesis, IAAC 2024–2025 Despite advances in manufacturing automation, the construction industry continues to rely heavily on manual labor due to its unpredictable environment, safety concerns, and fragmented workflows. This project explores how vision-guided robotics and real-time AI agents can close that gap by … Read more
“Precision becomes poetry through reflection and sound.” Reflection is an immersive installation that explores the potential of precision and reflection between two robotic arms through synchronized movements. Equipped with mirrors, the robots become both instruments and performers. Concept: The law of reflection The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to … Read more
INTRODUCTION In today’s construction industry, a large portion of timber is discarded due to its non-standard shape, curvature, or internal defects. Un_Log Factory challenges this paradigm by proposing a digitally augmented fabrication system that embraces the natural irregularity of timber. Instead of seeing bent or cracked logs as waste, our process redefines them as raw … Read more
Rethinking Towe Typology with AI: This project explores the redesign of contemporary tower structures using machine learning (ML), challenging the repetitive, profit-driven design seen in cities like Hong Kong. The goal is to discover new typologies through AI and stacking rules, and tren translate them to a robotic fabrication system (pick and place). AI-generated towers … Read more
| INTRODUCTION | Learning Structures: From Parametric Rules to Machine-Made Forms. In this project, we explored the interplay between parametric design, machine learning, and robotic fabrication. Starting from Kapla block assemblies controlled by simple deformation rules, we trained a GAN to reinterpret and generate new structural variations. The process concluded with robotic pick-and-place construction, closing … Read more
Github : https://github.com/Clarrainl/UN_LOG-Factory | INTRODUCTION | Detecting wood defects in 3D-scanned logs using Machine Learning In the timber industry, a significant portion of wood gets discarded due to irregularities or defects that make it unusable under standard practices. However, many of these logs can still be used creatively or structurally if properly understood and classified. This project … Read more
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
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
नमस्ते – مرحبًا – OLÁ – HOLÁ AIM Our aim is to make Human Robot Collaboration accessible to a variety of users via different languages by developing a speech to toolpath interface. RELEVANCE METHOD Workflow As the participant enters the room, they are greeted by a robot with a friendly waving motion. The participant can … Read more
This project explores a framework for Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) and behavioural fabrication, focusing on constructing a Jenga-like tower using small timber blocks. Using the Agent-Based Modeling system (ABxM) from the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD), a communication network was established integrating a human participant, a computer vision system, and an interactive audio interface. … Read more
The aim of this Seminar was to imagine a scenario where the Studio Project could be imagined on an industry floor with full automation. In order to understand the workflow and position of each station to fabricate a facade made from raw edge sticks an an agent based system was sketched as diagrams in order … Read more
Working in 3D CAD environments can be restrictive. While most CAD software provides tools for creating shapes and generating ideas, they often rely on a mouse and keyboard, or are very expensive. “Shape it, Feel it” investigates opportunities to generate shapes using a computer’s webcam and hand gestures. We utilize cheap and readily available hardware … Read more
