Holistic Construction Automation with Modular Robots: From High-Level Task Specification to Execution

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for construction automation using modular robots, enabling high-level task specification, robot morphology optimization, and autonomous execution tailored to specific construction tasks.

Contribution

It introduces a holistic, automated approach integrating BIM and modular robotics for task-specific robot configuration and execution in construction environments.

Findings

Successfully optimized robots for drilling and spray painting tasks in simulation.

Demonstrated robust autonomous drilling execution in real-world experiments.

Framework effectively handles calibration errors and environment variability.

Abstract

In situ robotic automation in construction is challenging due to constantly changing environments, a shortage of robotic experts, and a lack of standardized frameworks bridging robotics and construction practices. This work proposes a holistic framework for construction task specification, optimization of robot morphology, and mission execution using a mobile modular reconfigurable robot. Users can specify and monitor the desired robot behavior through a graphical interface. In contrast to existing, monolithic solutions, we automatically identify a new task-tailored robot for every task by integrating \acf{bim}. Our framework leverages modular robot components that enable the fast adaption of robot hardware to the specific demands of the construction task. Other than previous works on modular robot optimization, we consider multiple competing objectives, which allow us to explicitly model the challenges of real-world transfer, such as calibration errors. We demonstrate our framework in simulation by optimizing robots for drilling and spray painting. Finally, experimental validation demonstrates that our approach robustly enables the autonomous execution of robotic drilling.