This document discusses automation in the construction industry. It begins by defining automation and describing some automated systems used. It then discusses the history and objectives of automation in construction, including the use of building information modeling (BIM) to plan robotic motions at construction sites. Various types of construction robots are also described, such as teleoperated, programmed, and cognitive robots. Examples are provided of specific robots used for tasks like spraying, welding, and grinding. The document concludes that integrating automation and robotics can improve productivity, quality, and safety in construction.

1. Automation in Construction
BY
Anand Khare 142110001
Under the guidance of
Prof. A. S. Rao
CADCAM and Automation
Mechanical Engineering Department
VEERMATA JIJABAI TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
MUMBAI-400019

2. Contents
 Introduction to Automation.
 Adaption of automation in building construction.
 Use of Building information technology.
 Robotics in construction.
 Programmable construction machines.
 Integrated construction automation system.
 Application.
 Conclusion.
 References.

3. What is Automation
 “Automation is a technology concerned with the application of
mechanical, electronic and computer-based systems to operate and control
production”.
 Development of new terms like, robotics, CAD/CAM, FMS, Machine
vision were unknown.
 Automation is a dynamic technology that represents a continuous
evolutionary process that began many decades ago.
 Automation is a process of technological development that will proceed
into a foreseeable future.

4. Automated System
This technology includes:
 Automated machine tools
 Transfer lines
 Automated assembly systems
 Industrial robots
 Automated material handling and storage systems
 Automatic inspection systems for quality control

6. Automation in Construction
 Construction automation describes the field of research and development focused
on automating construction processes.
 In short, construction automation deals with applying the principles of industrial
automation to the construction sector, whether in building construction, civil
engineering (roadways, dams, bridges, etc.), or in prefabrication of construction
components.
 The use of robots is but one aspect of that field.
 This can be viewed as an extension to research in field service robots generally
designed to replace or assist humans in a specific construction-related task or
function.

7. History of Automation in Construction
 Research in construction robotics and automation started in the 1980s with the
introduction of single-purpose robots (principally remotely controlled, or
teleoperated, machines).
 Example applications include robots developed for rapid runway repair and
unexploded ordinance removal.
 In the EU, research was focused on the development of large-size masonry (brick
laying, assembly) robots for residential and industrial building construction.
 During the next decade Japanese construction firms introduced on-site factories
for high-rise construction.
 These construction systems included just in- time delivery of components,
automated part tracking and material handling, robotic connection and assembly,
and centralized control in an enclosed or semi-enclosed environment.

8. Objectives of Automation in Construction
 Automated personnel and equipment tracking.
 Automated materials handling—trucks, loaders, conveyors, sizers.
 Smart drills—automated drilling of holes and recognition of material
characteristics.
 Accurate and automated movement and positioning of all construction equipment.
 Automated mechanical construction systems.
 Remote supervision from distant locations.
 Intelligent and integrated control over all construction processes to optimize
resource value.

9. Building Information Modelling
 BIM a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility,
covers e.g. geometry, spatial relationships, light analysis, geographic information,
quantities and properties of building components, for example manufacturers' details.
 BIM is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations
of physical and functional characteristics of places.
 BIM involves representing a design as combinations of "objects" – vague and
undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented (like the
shape of a room), that carry their geometry, relations and attributes.
 BIM can be utilized as a data and knowledge repository throughout the entire building
life cycle, including the processes of construction and facility operation and finally the
demolition.
 As BIM is physical representation of construction site, it helps in developing programs
for robotic motions at a construction site.

10. Construction life cycle analysis by BIM includes
 Requirements identification,
 Project planning,
 Design and engineering,
 Building construction,
 Operations and maintenance,
 Decommissioning.

11. BIM Softwares
 Autodesk Revit Architecture
 Graphisoft ArchiCAD
 Nemetschek Allplan Architecture
 Gehry Technologies - Digital Project Designer
 Nemetschek Vectorworks Architect
 Bentley Architecture
 4MSA IDEAArchitectural Design (IntelliCAD)
 CADSoft Envisioneer
 Softtech Spirit
 RhinoBIM (BETA)

13. Robotics in Construction
 Robotics: Machines with high-level capabilities to sense and reason
about their environment. Such machines are required for successful
automation of tasks in high variable and unpredictable mining
environments.
 Intelligent: Machines with the ability to learn, understand, and deal
with new situations
 Mechanized: Operations performed by machines
 Automatic: Does not make decisions but completes task by
following well-defined rules
 Semiautomatic: Partly automatic and partly manually controlled

14. Objectives of Robotic study in Construction
 To identify possible applications of robotics to the various building
construction tasks.
 To specify robot requirements necessary for performance of these
tasks,
 To examine the general feasibility of robotic application at the
present and future state of building and robotic technology,
 To outline a procedure for detailed planning and evaluation of
robotic application to performance of the desired activities.

15. Types of Robots used in Construction Automation
 Teleoperated Robots-
• In established engineering terminology, the term teleoperation refers to the remote
control of machines and systems.
• In telerobotics, the machine does not operate autonomously but is under the
control of a human.
• Data sensing and interpretation and cognitive activities such as task planning are
done by the operator.
• Ex. Kajima’s interior wall assembly robot, John Deere Excavator, Model 690C,
Micro-Tunneling Machine, American Augers, Wooster, Ohio, Ohbayashi-Gumi
Concrete Placer.

16. Kajima’s interior wall assembly robot

18.  Programmed Robots
• A software-programmable construction machine is what most people would consider to be a robot.
• The operator of this type of machine is able to vary the task to be accomplished within certain
constraints either by choosing from a preprogrammed menu of functions or by teaching the machine a
new function.
• Ex.- Takenaka’s concrete compactor robot, Kajima´s concrete finishing robot, Shimizu Insulation Spray
Robot.
Takenaka’s concrete compactor robot

19.  Cognitive Robots
• Cognitive robots sense, model, plan, and act to achieve working goals.
• Cognitive robots servo themselves to real-time goals and conditions in the manner of
teleoperators but without human controllers.
• They are their own supervisors.
• Ex.- WR mobile robot for column welding, Terregator, a six-wheeled autonomous land
vehicle designed for outdoor navigation experiments.
WR mobile robot for column welding

20. Construction Robots - some typical examples
 SSR – 3

21.  The SSR-3 robot is designed to spray fireproofing material onto structural steel
frames.
 This is the third model in its series, preceded by the SSR-1 and SSR-2.
 The SSR-1 was the first robot to successfully demonstrate the feasibility of using
robots on a construction site.
 The SSR-2 successfully demonstrated the use of a position sensor to detect the
distance from the robot arm to the steel beam during fireproof spraying.
 The SSR-3 is a numerical control robot which can be operated remotely.
 The SSR-3 can adjust the height of the manipulator arm manually using the screw
jack.
 The SSR-3 was manufactured in cooperation with Kobe Steel, Ltd.

22.  The OSR·l

23.  The ORS-l (Ohi Saikaihatsu Robot) was designed for condominium outer
balustrade wall finishing work.
 It moves through the condominium's corridor or balcony with its arm positioned
outside the balustrade.
 The spray gun is attached to the arm for automatic spraying.
 In conventional construction, finishing work is generally carried out by skilled
workers operating from scaffolding. The introduction of this robot makes
scaffolding unnecessary and decreases the exposure of workers to dangerous
conditions.
 The work efficiency of this robot is 80𝑚2 /day by three workers. That of the
conventional manual method is 80𝑚2/day by four workers.
 Thus, labor savings, improvement of safety and elimination of scaffolding are the
advantages of this robot.

24.  The MTV·l

25.  The MTV-l (Multi-purpose Travelling Vehic1e-1) can execute finishing work,
such as grinding and cleaning on a concrete surface automatically, addressing the
need to automate not only dangerous work, but monotonous work as well.
 There are two main characteristics of the MTV-1. One is that the work module
and the vehicle are separated, so that modules for particular tasks are
interchangeable. The other is that the MTV-1 can travel and avoid obstacles such
as columns and walls automatically, without the use of cables.
 Robot movement is controlled by data from the sensors. Travelling distance is
measured by the rotary encoder connected to the measuring wheel. Direction of
the robot is measured by the gyro-sensor. Ultrasonic sensors are mounted around
the robot to avoid collisions.
 The MTV-1 was applied to several construction sites. The work efficiency of
cleaning is about 8𝑚2
/min, and that of grinding is about 2𝑚2
/min.

26.  The Mighty Jack

27.  Steel beam erection work is one of the most dangerous tasks on the construction
site to be robotized.
 The Mighty Jack manipulator lifts two or three steel beams and sets them in the
correct position by teleoperation.
 Although the Mighty Jack might not be called a robot, this kind of manual
manipulator is also useful to advance site automation.

29. Inferences from above video
 Conventional method of wall plastering requires minimum 4 workers.
 One for transferring raw material like sand, cement, etc., one for making mixture,
one for making plaster on the wall and last one for helping him.
 But in case of machine or automated plastering only two workers are required.
 Also uniformity of layer of plaster is more in case of automated plastering of wall.
 Hence with automated construction equipment less number of workers are
required and quality of work obtained is higher as compared to conventional
method.

30. Challenges and goals in Construction Robotics.
 Perform goal driven tasks whose contingencies defy preplanning.
 Strategic, tactical, and reflexive paradigms for generic work tasks.
 Complex, perceptive sensing in random and dynamic environments.
 Domain-specific tooling and operating procedures.
 Extremes of ruggedness, reliability, and intrinsic capability.
 Larger working forces and softer base compliance than typical factory operations.
 Navigation and mobility around the work site.
 Protocols for communication among humans, data servers, hosts. and robot peers.

31. Applications for building construction
automation
 Prefabrication
• Prefabricated components for modular housing
• Automation and robotics in masonry prefabrication
 Civil engineering
• Earthmoving works
• Piling
 Foundation construction
 Indoor works
• Concrete floor finishing
• Robotized spray painting
• Fire retardant spray coating
 Mining

32. Prefabricated concrete products

33. Robotized Floor making

34. Slab installation machines (Courtesy by Hannu Koski).

35. Integrated Automated System

36. Conclusions
 A construction site is a complex system involving many disciplines operating
simultaneously; thus automating construction processes and integrating them into the
overall process will require identification and decomposition of system and subsystem
tasks using a hierarchical control strategy implemented through a local area network at the
site.
 This type of control strategy will allow real time modification of processes and their
completion sequence; thus making the system adaptive to the often varying construction
environment.
 The Integrated Construction Automation Methodology (ICAM) will help automate the
construction process by integrating building, machine (robot), and process design on a
systems level.
 The application of robotics to construction has yet to catch up with other industries such as
automobile manufacturing.
 The use of automation and robotics is one answer to the construction companies who are
on the lookout for ways to improve productivity, quality, and safety.

37. References
 Pentti Vähä, Tapio Heikkilä, Pekka Kilpeläinen, Markku Järviluoma, Ernesto Gambao,
“Extending automation of building construction — Survey on potential sensor technologies
and robotic applications”, Automation in Construction 36 (2013) 168–178.
 Warszawski, A “Robotics in Building Construction”, Technical Report R-84-147
Department of Civil Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 1984.
 W. L. Whittaker, “Construction Robotics: A Perspective”, CAD and Robotics in
Architecture and Construction, Proceedings of the Joint International Conference at
Marseilles, 25-27 June 1986, Pg. 105-112.
 T. Ueno, J. Maeda, T. Yoshida, S. Suzuki, “Construction Robots for Site Automation”,
CAD and Robotics in Architecture and Construction, Proceedings of the Joint International
Conference at Marseilles, 25-27 June 1986, Pg. 259-269.
 Kamel S. Saidi, Jonathan B. O’Brien, Alan M. Lytle, “ Robotics in Construction”, Pg.
1080-1096.
 www.iaarc.org