Application of Robot in construction

Mallikarjuna 1ms11mcm09

Overview

Building and construction is one of the major industries around the world. Construction industry is labor-intensive and is conducted in dangerous situations; therefore the importance of construction robotics has grown rapidly. Applications and activitie of robotics and automation in this industry started in the early 90s aiming to optimize equipment operations, improve safety, enhance perception of workspace and furthermore, ensure quality environment for building occupants

Future of building industry

Changes in building production are essential and necessary because the next few decades will see an enormous migration to cities. Forecasts indicate that in 2015, 55% of the world's population will live in the urban areas (see Table). Artificial intelligence (AI) provides a new tool for addressing large-scale and complicated field problems. Table1 Ratio of urban population 1995 2015 Global and total 45 50 Developing countries 39 55 Industrial countries 75 80(in percent) urbanization

Types of construction
Residential: Single family homes, apartments Commercial: Office &retail space, warehouses Industrial: Factories, Power plants Civil: Bridges, highways, tunnels, dams

Automation in construction
Success means bringing each of the project performance indicators (PPI)- such as cost, schedule, quality, safety, labor productivity, materials consumption or waste, etc. to an optimum value.
Robotics and automation systems in construction industry can achieve the following advantages - Higher safety for both workers and the public through developing and deploying machines for dangerous jobs. - Uniform quality with higher accuracy than that provided by skilled worker. - Eliminating complains about noise and dust concerning works such as removal, cleaning or preparation of surfaces. - Increasing productivity and work efficiency with reduced costs.

Challenges facing automation and robotics in construction

Technical and commercial barriers Sociological and industrial barriers Difficult climatic conditions Exposure to dust Adjustment to changing surface conditions The possible reason for worker resistance is potential job losses Real-time Sense-and-Act operation for mobile construction robots to perform accurate and/or delicate tasks Identification of various types of objects in natural environment conditions Interactivity between sensors and end-tools

Applications
From a purely physical-world & practical pint of view, construction may be viewed has been comprised a finite number of elementary processes: Most of these process grouped into 3 categories
1. 2.

3.

Material handling Material shaping(cutting , joning, compacting) Structural joining

digging spreading finishing inspecting jointing measuring placing sparying

Attaching Building Coating Concreting Connecting Covering Cutting

Figure 1. Attaching the ceramic tile with hybrid construction robot system

Figure 2. Concrete Horizontal Distributor

Case study
Concrete Floor Finishing Robot

Construction industry s skilled labor shortage & aging workforce have been serious concern . To address this growing problem Concrete Floor Finishing robots are being developed to supplement skilled labor. Concrete floor finishing robot is one of the most physically demanding job in construction. While bending over, finishers trowel heavy concrete continuously, often working long hours to keep up with curing.

Concrete Floor Finishing Robot

Fig3:Concrete Floor Finishing Robot

Concrete floor finishing robot

Developments goals were: Maintain the quality of workmanship To reduce the manpower To relieve worker from hard work

Challenges of robot include

Operate on soft concrete Sense the obstacles such as columns, walls etc. remote operation via wire/ wireless communication user specified toweling pattern tracking automatic toweling pattern generation with collision avoidance advanced man-machine interface with

Specification on the unmanned toweling robot by electric actuation

manufacturer product engine Allen engineering corp., USA Razorback Rider PRO900 Honda GX620 - 650cc, 13.6KW trowel 4 blades, 2 rotors

Attached Components
DC motors power[W] gear ratio torque[Nm] generator battery steering 100 100:1 0.265 75A, 12V 40AH pitch 60 50:1 0.157 accelerator 10 33.2:1 0.029

Job Planner
Manual : An operate outside working area ha ndles the toweling robot by the twin joystick and the other buttons in the remote controller in similar way that a riding operator does. Auto-A/B : The size of rectangular area to be trowelled enters with width/height button while the mode selector in the remote controller is set to size mode Draft : The blueprint of working floor is entered as CAD data format. An operator runs the job planner programmed at notebook computer.

Evaluation

Quality of finish Is better than the skilled labor. Robot were found 3 to 8 times faster than the skilled labor. Example labor can finish work 100120 msquare per hour , while a robot finishes 300800 msqu per hour. Further more skilled labor is required to judge the condition of concrete & to finishes areas inaccessible by robot, hence overall man power reduction is not so apparent. Robot eliminated the strenuous part of finishing work & reduced the late night hours required. Reduce the lobor requirment.

Application

ROBOT FOR CONCRTE FINISHING ARE BEST SUITED FOR BUILDINGS WITH LARGE FLOOR AREAS (500-800PER OPERATION) BUILDINGS MEETING THESE CRITERIA MAY BE OFFICES, FACTORIES, WAREHOUSES,OR SHOPPING CENTERS.

References

http://books.google.co.in/books?id http://www.iaarc.org/publications/fulltext/Devel opment_of_an_unmanned_autonomous_concr ete_floor_robotic_troweling_system.PDF