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.
INTRO As part of the “Anatomy of a Machine – Shape” course, we engaged in an exercise that explores the possibilities of robotic material manipulation through various tools and techniques. Our objective was to research and experiment with sustainable, accessible, and locally available materials, applying scientific and creative principles to produce unique prototypes. This process … Read more
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
1 | INTRODUCTION What is willow weaving and why do it with a robot? Willow weaving as a robotic operation needs to be understood in context. Our archaeological records date bake basket weaving back over 14000 years, older than pottery. An ancient craft that is practiced today in virtually the same way that it has … Read more
Team member(s)：zeyu chao, Elizabeth.frias.martinez，Chi.Lee 3Dprint pavilion Introduction This project explores the large-scale robotic clay printing of a pavilion, with the geometry divided into four equal segments. The chosen geometry, Segment 1, was further developed into modular units to optimize the construction process. The modular approach allows for efficient fabrication and assembly, enhancing the structural and … Read more
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
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR BESPOKE ACOUSTIC DIFFUSER DESIGN A considerable amount of construction and wood waste is generated each year, mostly landfilled or burned for energy, contributing to severe environmental effects. The management of this waste is a significant challenge as it is often not suitable for secondary use. In this context, the circular economy concept … 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
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
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
The project’s objective was to create a machine-learning model capable of classifying repurposed timber components within an assembly process as either structural or non-structural, using factors such as defect quantity, age, and exposure to weather conditions as input. Dataset Generation and Analysis The dataset was produced using Roboflow by utilizing scans of the timber elements … Read more
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
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
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
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
Aim To develop a modular system for seamless automated assembly and disassembly, specifically tailored for the reclamation and repurposing of planar, semi-standardized waste materials ,and also to foster circularity by maximizing resource efficiency and ensuring a sustainable end-of-life use for products within the system. Context State of the art Methodology Assembly and disassembly process by … Read more
