40 The Masterbu||der - March 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.

|n
Automation and Robotics
o paramount |mportance ande|c|ency
|n the same |ays the oundat|on or a
ru|tu| and qua||ty pro|ect. lt |s when the
construct|on managers worst n|ghtmares
are about to come true, that the
automat|on and robot|cs techno|ogy
synchron|zes w|th an eng|neers and a
managers needs and comes to the|r
rescue!
ecent advancements |n the
construct|on |ndustry have he|ped
Pus ana|yze the |mportance o
t|me boundprogress, product|v|ty, saety,
qua||ty and sk|||ed |abor ava||ab|||ty or
pro|tab|e and successu| construct|on.
Among the var|ous phases o structure
ormat|on rom s|te survey to |ts
comp|et|on, the construct|on phase |s
Theadvent o computer sc|enceand
evo|ut|on o e|ectron|cs and robot|cs
proved to be a m||estone |n the h|story
o mank|nd. Computer techno|ogy
app||cat|ons |n construct|on changed
thevery aceo the|ndustry. Thee|ght|es
w|tnessed |ntroduct|on o robot|cs and
automat|on |n construct|on or the
preabr|cat|on o components and
Chaitanya GoyaI
Automat|on and
8obot|cs |n 0onstruct|on:
App||cat|ons, Advancamants and 0ha||angas
41 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - March 2012
Automation and Robotics
houses, w|th the wor|ds |rst robot
deve|oped |n Japan or the purpose o
spray|ng |reproo|ng mater|a| on stee|.
The n|net|es saw r|se o on-s|te mob||e
robots |n rout|ne construct|on, wh|ch
are now cons|dered as the most
convent|ona| and cr|t|ca| robots or any
construct|on act|v|ty. Today, art||c|a|
|nte|||gence (Al) prov|des new too|s or
requ|res deve|op|ng o automated and
robot|zed construct|on system today.
Th|s |nc|udes |ndustr|a||zed process
or|entat|on |n m|n|ng, construct|on
mater|a| product|on, preabr|cat|on o
construct|on components, on s|te
construct|on, ac|||ty management,
rehab|||tat|on and recyc||ng. The
prob|ems ac|ng todays construct|on
pro|ects can be approached by |ex|b|e
automat|on, us|ng robots based on
computer ass|stedp|ann|ng, eng|neer|ng
and construct|onmanagement.
nfluencing construction through a
widespectrumof applications
The pro|ect success romthe pro|ect
managements v|ewpo|nt |s ach|eved
when the pro|ect |s comp|eted, br|ng|ng
each o the pro|ect perormance |nd|-
cators (PPl)- such as cost, schedu|e,
qua||ty, saety, |abor product|v|ty,
mater|a|s consumpt|on or waste, etc. to
an opt|mum va|ue. App|y|ng automa-
t|on and robot|cs |n construct|on |s
addressed rom the perspect|ve o
ra|s|ng bu||d|ng pro|ects perormance
to serve the c||ent and the env|ronment.
Today, there are severa| examp|es o
robot|cs systems |n|uenc|ng the c|v||
|nrastructure enormous|y, |ead|ng to
astound|ng perormance overa||.
ConcreteWorks
App||cat|ons or automat|on |n
address|ng |arge-sca|e and comp||cated
|e|d prob|ems and humano|d robot|c
techno|ogy |s be|ng deve|oped or
construct|on s|te and bu||d|ng serv|ce
app||cat|on.
Analyzing the need of automation and
robotics inconstructionindustry
The need or such techno|ogy |n the
|ndustry canbe rea||zed |nthe de|n|t|on
o an automated construct|on robot
|tse|. Ever s|nce mach|nes came
under computer contro| we have had
automat|on. Though robot|cs prov|des
a|together new d|mens|ons to the
techno|ogy, automated mach|nes are,
|n act, robots. They not on|y carry out a
comp|ex sequence o operat|ons, but
can a|so contro| the|r perormance.
They may vary rom a s|mp|e too| to u||y
automated dev|ce, rom a mater|a|
hand||ng robot that mere|y he|ps a
worker |nsta|| dry wa|| by ba|anc|ng the
we|ght o the pane| to a t||e |nspect|on
robot that, once started, nav|gates |tse|
upa wa||, tak|ngsounddata andgraph|-
ca||y d|sp|ay|ng resu|ts |nrea| t|me.
Construct|on work |s |abor |ntens|ve
and |s conducted |n dangerous
s|tuat|ons, a|so the work content and
mater|a|s change requent|y. Pobots
are thus used w|de|y to he|p human
workers |n construct|on s|tes. A
compet|t|ve, market or|ented and
rat|ona||zed construct|on tomorrow
P
|
c
t
u
r
e

S
o
u
r
c
e
:

H
u
s
q
v
a
r
n
a

S
o
c
|
a
|

M
e
d
|
a

N
e
w
s

P
o
o
m
Te|eoperated Concrete D|str|but|on
42 The Masterbu||der - March 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
concrete works cover mater|a| product|on,
concrete m|x|ng, |ay|ng, post-|ay|ng
|eve||ng, remova| o surace water, and
|na| |oor |n|sh|ng. Contro| systems or
ready m|x, precast, pre-stressed and
b|ock p|ants as we|| as d|spatch
systems or ready m|x are now
common at a construct|on s|te. M|xer
mo|sture contro|, co|or batch|ng sotware
or so||d or ||qu|d d|spensers, etc. are
some examp|es o the same.
Catch|ngthetrend, somecontractors
have started to use robots |n concrete
|oor |n|sh|ng. Work|ng w|th sot concrete
can be both phys|ca||y demand|ng and
rustrat|ng. An |nte|||gent hor|zonta|
d|str|butor robot has been deve|oped
to pour concrete wh||e |t moves and
|eve|s the sot concrete. The robot can
move |n any d|rect|on and a|so avo|ds
obstac|es |n the work zone, such as
po|es. Peduc|ng the d||cu|ty o concrete
|oor |n|sh|ng by us|ng robots ||ke th|s
to automate the work prov|des concrete
contractors w|th a much more e|c|ent
process, a||ow|ng more t|me or more
pro|ects, thus generat|ngmore revenue.
Pemote contro||ed demo||t|on robots
have a|so been des|gned or d|smant||ng
concrete s|abs, wa||s and other |nter|or
structures.
ln add|t|on, eorts are underway to
des|gn a robot or concrete surace
process|ngwh|ch rece|ves the |oor p|an
as an |nput, and ater some ca|cu|a-
t|ons o |ts movement, presents |t to the
operator or |mprovement beore act|ng.
Such app||cat|ons, when |mp|emented
on common sca|e, around the g|obe,
w||| probab|y change the overa|| system
or concrete work.
Constructionof Roads
Poad construct|on pro|ects are very
expens|ve and h|gh|y |n|uenced by
unpred|ctab|e actors ||ke weather, type
o so||, env|ronmenta| |ssues, etc. Th|s
has |ed to d||cu|t|es |n deve|op|ng
accurate construct|on p|ans and
mode||ng the construct|on operat|on
us|ng a trad|t|ona| s|mu|at|on system.
The process o automated road
construct|on starts w|th |nput data
measurements carr|ed out on the s|te.
ln road pro|ects, the key |nput data
|nc|udes var|at|ons |n terra|n, e|evat|on
and so|| eatures. Over the past ew
years, |aser scann|ng rom an a|rcrat,
he||copter or on the ground has
deve|oped great|y and become |ncrea-
s|ng|y popu|ar. A |aser-scanned c|oud
o 3-D po|nts ad|usted to the re|evant
coord|nate system can be |mported
Automation and Robotics
Concrete F|oor |n|sh|ng Pobot Modu|ar mob||e ||ght we|ght concrete |n|sh|ng robot
Sensor Based Compactor
Larsen & Toubro Ltd
|nto a sem|-automat|c ana|ys|s app||ca-
t|on that can be used to mode| not on|y
thecontourso theterra|nbut a|sothetree
stands, road a||gnments and bu||d|ngs.
The pro|ects executed |n the |ast
ew decades were ma|n|y ocused on
the deve|opment o new generat|on o
sem|-autonomous road pavers and
aspha|t compactors. Poad pav|ng
robots show h|gh |eve| o automat|on
through automated recept|on o aspha|t,
automat|ccontro| o aspha|t conveyance,
aspha|t spread|ng, steer|ng contro| w|th
mechan|ca| sensor, pav|ng speed and
automat|ca||y contro||ed start/stop o
a|| pav|ng unct|ons.
product|on and custom|zat|on that are
the norm |n manuactur|ng, app|y to |t. lt
|s thus easy to adapt to automat|on,
|ntegrat|on and opt|m|zat|on. ln th|s
scenar|o, newer mater|a|s can be
app||ed, t|ght to|erances ach|eved,
wh||e the bu||t products are not aected
by outs|de c||mat|c cond|t|ons, as |s the
case or s|te bu||t hous|ng.
The automat|on perta|n|ng to the
preab construct|on sector, typ|ca||y
a||s|ntooneo threecategor|es:1) preab
components mak|ng process, (parts,
pane|s, precast, ormwork, etc.) wh|ch
dea| pr|mar||y w|th the construct|on o
the bu||d|ng b|ocks, 2) assemb|y
44 The Masterbu||der - March 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n
The use o d|erent 3-D methods |n
measur|ng, des|gn, mach|ne contro|
and as-bu||t measur|ng has |ncreased
a |ot. For examp|e, |aser scann|ng,3-D
ground penetrat|ng radar, 3-Dmode||ng
and des|gn sotwares, 3-D mach|ne
contro| systems, the deve|opment o
an |ntegrated tota| process mode| or
comprehens|ve automat|on, etc. have
w|tnessed a cons|derab|e r|se |n the|r
app||cat|on.
Prefabricationandmodular construction
The sector that represents actory
bu||t hous|ng |nc|udes products bu||t |n
actor|es. Thus the pr|nc|p|es o mass
Automation and Robotics
3-D contro| (Tr|mb|e, two GPS antennas) or grader A 3-D mach|ne contro| mode| or excavator
br|ck assemb|y robot Attach|ng the ceram|c t||e w|th hybr|d construct|on robot system
process |n wh|ch the construct|on
components are |nsta||ed to create
bu||d|ngs, houses, etc. by an array o
subcontractors, somet|mes hav|ng
con||ct|ng work|ows, 3) construct|on
bus|ness processes that represent
both the bus|ness and support
processes ||ke pro|ect management,
supp|y cha|n management, document
management, work|ow management,
change management, p|ann|ng &
schedu||ng, etc.
ln preabr|cated masonry, stat|onary
br|ckwork mach|nes drast|ca||y ra|se
product|on capac|t|es. Moreover, they
|ead to cons|derab|e re||e |n |abor and
manpower sav|ngs. A new deve|op-
ment surge had been under way or
some years, wh|ch |n, |nd|v|dua| cases
has a|ready |ed to Computer-A|ded
Manuactur|ng (CAM) and |n some
approaches to Computer-lntegrated
Manuactur|ng (ClM) o pre-abr|cated
concrete parts. We today are thus |n
the phase o promot|ng |ex|b|e
product|on system us|ng robot|c ce||s
wh|ch cou|d execute var|ous tasks such
as sett|ng mo|ds, p|ac|ng re|norcement
bars or mats d|str|but|ng concrete or
var|ous products such as |oor, roo,
wa||, beam and co|umne|ements.
Earthmoving
lndustr|es such as m|n|ng and
construct|on |n wh|ch earthmov|ng
p|ays a undamenta| ro|e are constant|y
under pressure to |mprove product|v|ty,
e|c|ency, and saety. A|so, automat|on
o |e|d worthy earthmovers |s a d||cu|t
prob|em. These mach|nes must operate
|n unstructured, dynam|c, outdoor
env|ronments, oten |n poor v|s|b|||ty
cond|t|ons androughweather. However,
ater decades o |ncrements |n s|ze and
power, pract|ca| ||m|ts have been
reached and now automat|on |s be|ng
sought or urther |mprovements. Com-
put|ng techno|ogy has a|so reached
the stage where ast, compact and
rugged components can match the
bandw|dtho sensory data.
Beyond the |ndustr|a| arena, wh|ch
|s mot|vated ma|n|y by econom|c
cons|derat|ons, automated earthmov|ng
mach|nes are needed |n works|tes that
are hazardous or humans. For examp|e,
NASA |s |nterested |n sett|ng up Lunar
and Mart|an hab|tats or humans, and |t
|s expected that automated excavators
w||| do much o the work beore humans
arr|ve. Another examp|e |s |n the
remed|at|on o waste s|tes where
chem|ca| and nuc|ear wastes are
stored. The cyc|e o operat|on or a u||y
autonomous mach|ne |s: sense, p|an,
Automated Excavator
The user-|nterace o the 3-D contro| system o excavator
Autonomous whee| |oader
Automation and Robotics
45 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - March 2012
Pad|o Em|tter
GPS Pos|t|on
Pos|t|on
Em|tter
Co|or
M|crocamara
Pos|c|on
Sender W|re
Handhe|d
GPS
M|crophone
Headphones
Antenna
D|erent|a|
Correcc|on
W|re
To / From
Contro|
Center
M|crocamara
Batter|es
vo|ce & lmages
Commun|cat|on
Antenna
and execute. F|rst, an automated
mach|ne must sense |ts own state and
the wor|d around |t. Next |t must use th|s
|normat|on a|ong w|th a descr|pt|on o
a goa| to be ach|eved to p|an the next
act|on to be taken. F|na||y, the act|on
must be executed v|a the mechan|sm.
Apart rom these app||cat|ons,
automat|on and robot|cs have extens|ve
app||cat|on |n t|mber and stee| produc-
t|on. lt |s w|de|y used or on s|te and o
s|te we|d|ng act|v|t|es and to produce
and erect structura| stee| components.
A|so, now |t |s be|ng put to use |n
construct|on management and ma|n-
tenance systems.
Barriers and future of automation and
robotics inconstructionindustry
Typ|ca||y |n manuactur|ng |e|d,
robots are stat|onary and product moves
a|ongtheassemb|y||ne. Thusautomat|on
|s eas|er to |ncorporate because each
product |s |dent|ca| w|th respect|ve
tasks done over and over. However,
construct|on robots ace w|th d|erent
demands than convent|ona| |ndustr|a|
robots. They must move about the s|te,
because bu||d|ngs are stat|onary and
o a |arge s|ze. Construct|on robots are
a|so aced w|th chang|ng s|te cond|-
t|ons and must be reprogrammed w|th
each newcond|t|on. They must be ab|e
to unct|on under adverse weather
cond|t|ons |nc|ud|ng var|at|ons |n
hum|d|ty and temperature. Add|t|ona||y,
they are constant|y exposed to dust
and d|rt on the s|te. Thus, there |s a
need to deve|op a robot|c system or
u||-sca|e exper|mentat|on or rea||st|c
assessment o automat|on |n the
construct|on |ndustry. ln recent years,
many prototype robots have been
deve|oped, but ew pract|ca| examp|es
canbeoundonconstruct|ons|testoday.
Due to the h|gh comp|ex|ty o the
construct|on process and the stagnat|ng
techno|og|ca| deve|opment a |ong-
term preparat|on |s necessary to adapt
automat|on to advanced construct|on
methods. Arch|tects, eng|neers and a||
other part|c|pants o the construct|on
process have to be |ntegrated |n th|s
adaptat|on process. The short- and
|ong-term deve|opment o automat|on
w||| take p|ace step-by-step. lt |s a|most
|nev|tab|e that |nte|||gent mach|nes w|||
|nd the|r way |nto construct|on. W|thout
quest|on, both the ragmentary nature
and the s|ze o th|s |ndustry make |t
unrecept|ve to revo|ut|onary changes.
ln add|t|on, there are many |nst|tut|ona|
barr|ers. Desp|te these acts, there are
s|gns that orecast a trans|t|on per|od |n
construct|on, and they are becom|ng
more and more v|s|b|e.
Countr|es ||ke SA and Japan have
been the p|oneers |n |ead|ng the
research and deve|opment o auto-
mated systems w|th the European
n|on o||ow|ng not ar beh|nd. lnd|a
though, st||| has a |ong way to go to
contr|bute to th|s rap|d|y evo|v|ng
techno|ogy. A|though the u||y automated
construct|on s|te |s st||| a dream o
some c| v| | eng| neers, research
deve| opments have shown the
prom|se o robot|cs and automat|on |n
construct|on.
Comp|ete|y equ|pped he|met or better saety and operat|on
Carpentary a|d wearab|e robot
Transportab|e we|d|ng robot |n an |ntegrated
automated bu||d|ng construct|on s|te
Automation and Robotics
46 The Masterbu||der - March 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.|n