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.
The industry of construction creates most of the waste in the world. By 2025 we expect to reach 2.2 billion tons globally. As a solution of this problem, industry 4.0 proposed the Additive manufacturing process, which is looking for the optimization of fabrication and construction adding layer by layer different materials; this process started being … Read more
The reference marking system for Additive Manufacturing Context Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have established and grown significantly over the past few decades, solidifying themselves as a mature and competitive alternative across various sectors of fabrication and construction. This development has been observed across multiple levels and applications of production, primarily due to its remarkable properties … Read more
Preliminary steps towards a hybrid workflow for smooth 3D printed surfaces. Aim To develop a hybrid workflow to obtain smooth surfaces on 3D printed clay for improved alignment and surface finish. State of the Art Additive manufacturing enables the precise and cost-effective creation of complex designs while minimizing waste. One of the shortcomings common to … Read more
The construction industry has shown an increasing interest in adapting to more environmentally friendly materials, with wood gaining popularity as a natural and sustainable option for buildings. However, the wood industry contributes a significant percentage of energy consumption during the entire wood lifecycle, encompassing tree cutting, transportation to sawmills, and delivery to construction sites. Additionally, … Read more
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing multiagent systems that combine the strengths of human, robotic, and virtual agents to perform complex tasks. In this project we theorize on how such a system could be implemented in bricklaying at a construction site, which traditionally relies heavily on human labor. With the … Read more
Autonomous emergency response and safety evaluation system In a catastrophic event geographical region, robots are deployed to collect and process data, allowing the rescue team to analyze the situation from a safe distance and provide an effective rescue operation. Dangerous zones can be accessed by robots without any harm and no human life needs to … Read more
Sorting for Salvageable Materials This course was mainly to understand automated collaborative multiagent systems in different environments. Term’s 3 topic (Human-Machine-Collaboration) is recognized through this course by exploring the possibilities of the processes and us being capable of mapping in different diagrams how we imagine a scenario with an automated procedure. For this task, we … Read more
Optimizing 3D Printing with AI prediction Introduction In this seminar we applied the concepts of machine learning to estimate the deformation during drying of simplified 3D printed clay objects. To do this, we trained an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the movement of discrete points within the printed object. This project is very relevant … Read more
This research study delves into the realm of advanced robotics and semi-automated manufacturing processes that take into account the material properties of cork. Specifically, it explores the design and fabrication of a surface system that is optimized for both aesthetic appeal and functional performance. Building on the knowledge gained in a previous term on robotic … Read more
The construction industry creates a waste that is expected to reach 2.2 billion tons globally by 2025 (Transparency market research). Because of this the market started trying different new techniques to construct with less waste, that is how with the 4.0 industrial revolution came the Additive manufacturing process, that fabricates physical 3D objects layer by … Read more
This project is looking to be a tool that allow the monitoring, messure and documentation of the AM process at the moment of the printing with the help of conventional cameras, analog sensors, robot Data and open source technology Limitless project use different technology process to adquire information and process it. After the creation of … Read more
In this course we learned about the Robotic Operating System (ROS) and the MoveIt motion planning using Python for controlling robots. We also utilized development tools such as Git and Docker for managing the data. We learned about different types of sensors which helped for the robot’s motion visualization and scanning for the purpose of … Read more
The efficient utilization of forestry products plays a vital role in sustaining industries such as construction and furniture manufacturing. To meet the demands of mass production, raw materials undergo a process of standardization, enabling streamlined operations and increased output. However, this standardization process results in the generation of valuable by-products such as planar offcuts. These … Read more
Post Tension wood is a project created in different steps. Extracting logs from trees from 12 – 15 diameters, this project scans each piece with the purpose of optimizing the fabrication and reducing the waste. Workflow Set Up & Calibration Production plan
This project focuses on creating a workflow and a tool to automate the design process with irregular wood offcuts.
The state of the art shows our pursue to develop organic geometries using Hyperboloid as design geometry The design takes advantage of the offcuts grain to create a rigid waffle-like structure. Horizontal and vertical members and then connected through notches and screws to stiffen the system. The outer horizontal members of this grid present bark … Read more
How can we improve the additive manufacturing process? According to a panel of experts, this process is not perfect. There are several issues on it, like the time that they normally spend prototyping to have “the perfect piece”. This involves different parameters like speed, pressure, Material Consistency, the calibration of the robot, etc. In most … Read more
Aim Develop prefabricated and post-processed 3D printed clay modules for self-supporting surfaces Context What could we learn from a study of Gaudi’s ceiling in Casa Batllo? This was the jumping off point of this studio. Responding to a requirement to choose an element of an Art Nouveau/Modernisme building – an opening, arch, or surface – … Read more
The objective of this studio was to implement an automated robotic process for the efficient fabrication of modular cork blocks, essential components of a doubly curved acoustic surface. The key objectives encompassed the following: By addressing these objectives, the studio aimed to advance the field of robotic fabrication while emphasizing the acoustic potential of cork … Read more
Ruled surfaces are a way to address both simplicity in terms of design rules and at the same time complexity in terms of the outcome. In this workshop we aimed at defining design rules which are performance driven, to obtain modular geometries. Through parametrization and manipulation of computational workflows we generated paths and mapped them … Read more
The annual construction waste is expected to reach 2.2 billion tons gobally by 2025, to try to solve this kind of problems in this sector we can use the Additive Manufacturing fot the optimization of Fabrication and construction. Key advantages of AM By 2020, the AM sector will grow up to a €13.4 billion industry … Read more
This research thesis seeks for an opportunity to introduce specific human actions in the additive manufacturing robotic process to generate custom and adaptive fabrication flows based on local needs and conditions and set in a cyber-physical working environment that will scan and verify the results before and after every intervention. 1. Framework According to UN, … Read more
The goal of this project is to present a Case Study about an adaptive additive manufacturing toolpath with a robotic arm. The process of printing sometimes brings variations or corrections on its way. The experiment seeks to 3d print a cylinder in clay where in the middle of the process, two pieces of PVC pipe … Read more
