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Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (T3.0)
Research
Associated Projects
AP 29 – AR-Informed Collaborative Timber (Pre-)Fabrication

AR-Informed Collaborative Timber (Pre-)Fabrication

Associated Project 29 (AP 29)

MRK II – FLEXIBLE (PRE-)FABRICATION IN TIMBER CONSTRUCTION VIA AR-INFORMED HUMAN ROBOT COLLABORATION WITH MULTIPLE MACHINES AND HUMAN CRAFT

The timber prefabrication industry is moving away from craftsmanship towards higher levels of automation. In this context, the role of craftspeople has received little attention. Their ability to identify problems and act flexible with hand tools continues to make them a valuable asset, especially in the low-volume production of SME prefabrication facilities. Developments in robotic technologies and advances in augmented reality (AR) allow rich, real-time communication between human and robotic actors, opening up new possibilities for flexible, adaptive and efficient production processes. This project aims to bring together craftspeople and large-scale automation technology through AR-informed human-robot collaboration to carry out complex, collaborative (pre-)fabrication processes.

The research project explores novel flexibilisation strategies for the collaborative production of building components with multiple human and robotic actors. Concepts for safety and work zone systems will also be proposed. The approach counters the progressive reduction and exclusion of human craftsmanship contribution in the full-automation paradigm. It aims to develop an agile, competitive manufacturing strategy for organisations that cannot afford extensive automation, and to help craftspeople thrive in value-added activities in the construction industry.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Prof. Achim Menges
Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD), University of Stuttgart

RESEARCHER
Dr. Felix Amtsberg (ICD)
Xiliu Yang (ICD)

PARTNERS
müllerblaustein HolzBauWerke GmbH
BEC GmbH

FUNDING
Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR) im Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung, Innovationsprogramm Zukunft Bau

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

2023
1. Amtsberg, F., Yang, X., Skoury, L., Sousa Calepso, A., Sedlmair, M., Wortmann, T., & Menges, A. (2023). Multi-Actor Fabrication for Digital Timber Construction. ECAADe Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.417
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @inproceedings{Amtsberg2023, author = {Amtsberg, Felix and Yang, Xiliu and Skoury, Lior and Sousa Calepso, Aimée and Sedlmair, Michael and Wortmann, Thomas and Menges, Achim}, booktitle = {eCAADe proceedings}, collection = {eCAADe 2023}, doi = {10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.417}, issn = {2684-1843}, publisher = {eCAADe}, series = {eCAADe 2023}, title = {Multi-Actor Fabrication for Digital Timber Construction}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.417}, year = 2023 }
2. Yang, X., Sousa Calepso, A., Amtsberg, F., Menges, A., & Sedlmair, M. (2023). Usability Evaluation of an Augmented Reality System for Collaborative Fabrication between Multiple Humans and Industrial Robots. Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1145/3607822.3614528
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @inproceedings{Yang2023, abstract = {Semi-automated timber fabrication tasks demand the expertise and dexterity of human workers in addition to the use of automated robotic systems. In this paper, we introduce a human-robot collaborative system based on Augmented Reality (AR). To assess our approach, we conducted an exploratory user study on a head-mounted display (HMD) interface for task sharing between humans and an industrial robotic platform (N=16). Instead of screen-based interfaces, HMDs allowed users to receive information in-situ, regardless of their location in the workspace and the need to use their hands to handle tools or carry out tasks. We analyzed the resulting open-ended, qualitative user feedback as well as the quantitative user experience data. From the results, we derived challenges to tackle in future implementations and questions that need to be investigated to improve AR-based HRI in fabrication scenarios. The results also suggest that some aspects of human-robot interaction, like communication and trust, are more prominent when implementing a non-dyadic scenario and dealing with larger robots. The study is intended as a prequel to future work into AR-based collaboration between multiple humans and industrial robots.}, address = {New York, NY, USA}, author = {Yang, Xiliu and Sousa Calepso, Aimée and Amtsberg, Felix and Menges, Achim and Sedlmair, Michael}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Symposium on Spatial User Interaction}, day = 13, doi = {10.1145/3607822.3614528}, isbn = {9798400702815}, location = {<conf-loc>, <city>Sydney</city>, <state>NSW</state>, <country>Australia</country>, </conf-loc>}, month = {10}, pages = {1–10}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, series = {SUI '23}, title = {Usability Evaluation of an Augmented Reality System for Collaborative Fabrication between Multiple Humans and Industrial Robots}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3607822.3614528}, year = 2023 }
2022
1. Yang, X., Amtsberg, F., Skoury, L., Wagner, H. J., & Menges, A. (2022). Vizor, Facilitating Cyber-physical Workflows in Prefabrication through Augmented Reality. CAADRIA Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2022.2.141
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @inproceedings{yang2022vizor, author = {Yang, Xiliu and Amtsberg, Felix and Skoury, Lior and Wagner, Hans Jakob and Menges, Achim}, booktitle = {{CAADRIA} proceedings}, doi = {10.52842/conf.caadria.2022.2.141}, publisher = {{CAADRIA}}, title = {Vizor, Facilitating Cyber-physical Workflows in Prefabrication through Augmented Reality}, url = {https://doi.org/10.52842%2Fconf.caadria.2022.2.141}, year = 2022 }

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Achim Menges

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Phone: +49 711 685 82786

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AR-Informed Collaborative Timber (Pre-)Fabrication

MRK II – FLEXIBLE (PRE-)FABRICATION IN TIMBER CONSTRUCTION VIA AR-INFORMED HUMAN ROBOT COLLABORATION WITH MULTIPLE MACHINES AND HUMAN CRAFT

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

2023

BibTeX

BibTeX

2022

BibTeX

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

DATA SETS

Achim Menges

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AR-Informed Collaborative Timber (Pre-)Fabrication

MRK II – FLEXIBLE (PRE-)FABRICATION IN TIMBER CONSTRUCTION VIA AR-INFORMED HUMAN ROBOT COLLABORATION WITH MULTIPLE MACHINES AND HUMAN CRAFT

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

2023

BibTeX

BibTeX

2022

BibTeX

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

DATA SETS

Achim Menges

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Formalities

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