Currently in testing, a robotic system developed at Purdue University to work in construction settings incorporates innovative mechanical design with advances in computer vision sensing technology. This emerging robotics technology is intended to help construction companies and contractors build at lower cost, in less time and with higher quality.

"Our work helps to address workforce shortages in the construction industry by automating key construction operations," said Jiansong Zhang, an assistant professor of construction management technology in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. "On a construction site, there are many unknown factors that a construction robot must be able to account for effectively. This requires much more advanced sensing and reasoning technologies than those commonly used in a manufacturing environment."Purdue University innovators developed and are testing a novel construction robotic system that uses an innovative mechanical design with advances in computer vision sensing technology to work in a construction setting. Source: Purdue University

The custom end effector design created by the Purdue team lessens the amount of equipment required to complete a particular task. The robotic system allows material to be placed and fastened in one operation using the same arm.

In addition, with computer vision algorithms developed for the project, the system can sense building elements and match them to building information modeling (BIM) data in various environments, as well as keep track of obstacles and safety hazards

"By basing the sensing for our robotic arm around computer vision technology, rather than more limited-scope and expensive sensing systems, we have the capability to complete many sensing tasks with a single affordable sensor," Zhang said. "This allows us to implement a more robust and versatile system at a lower cost."

The work, created with the help of undergraduate researchers in Zhang's Automation and Intelligent Construction (AutoIC) Lab, was featured at the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology 2021 Technology Showcase: The State of Innovation and was developed with support from the National Science Foundation.

The innovators are currently looking for partners for continued development and commercialization of their technology.