José Pedro Sousa

The SPIDERobot: A Cable-Robot System for On-site Construction in Architecture

The use of robots in architectural construction has been a research field since the 1980s. Driven by both productive and creative concerns, different systems have been devised based on large-scale robotic structures, mobile robotic units or flying robotic vehicles. By analyzing these approaches and discussing their advantages and limitations, this paper presents an alternative strategy to automate the building construction processes in on-site scenarios. The SPIDERobot is a cable-robot system developed to perform assembly operations, which is driven by a specific Feedback Dynamic Control System (FDCS) based on a vision system. By describing and illustrating this research work, the authors argue about the advantages of this cable robot system to deal with the complexity and the scale of building construction in architecture.

Cable robot for non-standard architecture and construction: A dynamic positioning system

In the past few years, cable-driven robots have received some attention by the scientific community and the industry. They have special characteristics that made them very reliable to operate with the level of safeness that is required by different environments, such as, handling of hazardous materials in construction sites. This paper presents a cable-driven robot called SPIDERobot, that was developed for automated construction of architectural projects. This robot has a rotating claw and it is controlled by a set of 4 cables that allow 4 degrees of freedom. In addition to the robot, this paper introduces a Dynamic Control System (DCS) that controls the positioning of the robot and assures that the length of cables is always within a safe value. Results show that traditional force-feasible approaches are more influenced by the pulling forces or the geometric arrangement of all cables and their positioning is significantly less accurate than the DCS. Therefore, the architecture of the SPIDERobot is designed to enable an easily scaling up of the solution to higher dimensions for operating in realistic environments.

A cable-driven robot for architectural constructions: a visual-guided approach for motion control and path-planning

Cable-driven robots have received some attention by the scientific community and, recently, by the industry because they can transport hazardous materials with a high level of safeness which is often required by construction sites. In this context, this research presents an extension of a cable-driven robot called SPIDERobot, that was developed for automated construction of architectural projects. The proposed robot is formed by a rotating claw and a set of four cables, enabling four degrees of freedom. In addition, this paper proposes a new Vision-Guided Path-Planning System (V-GPP) that provides a visual interpretation of the scene: the position of the robot, the target and obstacles location; and optimizes the trajectory of the robot. Moreover, it determines a collision-free trajectory in 3D that takes into account the obstacles and the interaction of the cables with the scene. A set of experiments make possible to validate the contribution of V-GPP to the SPIDERobot while operating in realistic working conditions, as well as, to evaluate the interaction between the V-GPP and the motion controlling system. The results demonstrated that the proposed robot is able to construct architectural structures and to avoid collisions with obstacles in their working environment. The V-GPP system localizes the robot with a precision of 0.006 m, detects the targets and successfully generates a path that takes into account the displacement of cables. Therefore, the results demonstrate that the SPIDERobot can be scaled up to real working conditions.

The Tectonics of Digitally Fabricated Concrete. A Case for Robotic Hot Wire Cutting

In the last decades, digital fabrication technologies have stimulated the materialization of complex and customized solutions in several materials. Recently, the integration of these technologies with such a variable and rich material as concrete has prompted an explosion of possible processes and outcomes for digitally fabricated concrete structures. In this context, this paper examines current digital fabrication strategies for concrete, focusing on their applications and in identifying critical issues for their adoption. From this point, through the presentation of two case studies, we propose and discuss Robotic Hot Wire Cutting as a technically and tectonically relevant digital fabrication technology for customized concrete architecture.

Didactic Experiences on Digital Modeling. Anamorphosis

This paper presents the didactic experiences on digital modeling developed in the last three years on Geometry and Architecture course of the 1st year of the Master in Architecture program of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Porto. For several years, this Geometry and Architecture course, was entirely concerned with projective geometry, and its most common representational systems used in architecture. However, since 2015, we decided to update its syllabus with the introduction of 3D modeling within the use of Rhinoceros software. The approach to the topic of three-dimensional modeling was made through the accomplishment of a teamwork in which the students explore Computer Assisted Design (CAD) processes in the study and resolution of geometry themes with impact on architectural design. With that goal, a three-year plan was defined and structured in the exploration of three topics: Anamorphosis, Tessellations and Surfaces. To demonstrate this didactic strategy and methodology, it is described in greater detail the experience dedicated to the Anamorphosis theme. As conclusion, the full paper acknowledges the success of these didactic experiences on the students engagement with the challenges, the potential of digital tools to support design development and the opportunity opened by the digital modeling on geometry teaching.