ROBOTIC PLATFORM FOR ON-SITE CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION BASED ON AUTONOMOUS TOWER CRANE
The aim of this project is to extend the cyber-physical construction platform developed in the previous Research Project RP8-2 consisting of a tower crane with image-based sensor network, a spider crane and novel gripper systems of both platforms, to autonomously perform assembly tasks. Building on this foundation, the project explores the broader potential of autonomous cranes embedded in a digital construction environment enhanced by augmented reality.
Autonomous cranes integrated into a digital environment presented with augmented reality have huge potential for future construction sites. We aim to merge physical and digital processes for enhanced safety, efficiency, human-machine and machine-machine collaboration. Real-time capable scanning of dynamic environments combined with semantic understanding yields a digital twin for simulation, planning and human-machine interfaces.
Building on this foundation, we advance tower crane autonomy for contact-rich assembly and safety-critical disassembly tasks. This includes collision-free and dynamically feasible trajectory generation under uncertainty, explicit consideration of rope dynamics and load swing, and robust/adaptive control for reliable tracking despite disturbances and parameter changes. Contact situations are detected and predicted using multi-modal sensing and observer-based methods, enabling structure/parameter adaptation of control and trajectory replanning during interaction events. Learning-based components complement model-based methods to improve performance and generalization in complex, changing site conditions. To further increase productivity and flexibility, we also address rope-guided collaboration with other machines and robots.
Finally, augmented reality interfaces leverage the semantic digital twin to support teleoperation, supervision, and planning by visualizing site state, resources, and planned motions directly in context—closing the loop between autonomous execution and human oversight.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr. h.c. Oliver Sawodny
Board of Directors
Institute for System Dynamics (ISYS)
Cluster of Excellence IntCDC
Prof. Dr. Dieter Schmalstieg
Principal Investigator
Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems (VIS)
Cluster of Excellence IntCDC
RESEARCHERS
M. Sc. Eva Menrad
Doctoral Researcher
Institute for System Dynamics (ISYS)
Cluster of Excellence IntCDC
M.Sc. Jan Kolberg
Doctoral Researcher
Institute for Visualization and Interactive Systems (VIS)
Cluster of Excellence IntCDC
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2025
- Schreck, A., Burkhardt, M., Kropp, C., & Sawodny, O. (2025). Herausforderungen einer vertrauenswürdigen Automatisierung von Turmdrehkranen. Bautechnik, 102, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/bate.202400073
2024
- Schüle, J., Burkhardt, M., Gienger, A., & Sawodny, O. (2024). Towards Automated Construction: Visual-based Pose Reconstruction for Tower Crane Operations using Differentiable Rendering and Network-based Image Segmentation. 2024 IEEE 33rd International Symposium on Industrial Electronics (ISIE), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISIE54533.2024.10595817
2023
- Burkhardt, M., Gienger, A., Joachim, L., Haala, N., Sörgel, U., & Sawodny, O. (2023). Data-based error compensation for georeferenced payload path tracking of automated tower cranes. Mechatronics, 94, 103028––. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechatronics.2023.103028
- Burkhardt, M., Gienger, A., & Sawodny, O. (2023). Optimization-Based Multipoint Trajectory Planning Along Straight Lines for Tower Cranes. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCST.2023.3308762
- Burkhardt, M., Joachim, L., Gienger, A., Haala, N., Sörgel, U., & Sawodny, O. (2023, August). Rotation Control of a Novel Crane Gripper with Visual-Inertial Feedback. Proceedings of 2023 IEEE 19th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE).
- Collmar, D., Walter, V., Koelle, M., & Soergel, U. (2023). FROM MULTIPLE POLYGONS TO SINGLE GEOMETRY: OPTIMIZATION OF POLYGON INTEGRATION FOR CROWDSOURCED DATA. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, X-1/W1-2023, 159–166. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-1-W1-2023-159-2023
- Haala, N., Zhang, W., Joachim, L., Skuddis, D., Abolhasani, S., Schwieger, V., & Soergel, U. (2023). Zum Potenzial von SLAM-Verfahren für geodätische Echtzeit-Messaufgaben. Allgemeine Vermessungsnachrichten (Avn), 163–172. https://gispoint.de/artikelarchiv/avn/2023/avn-ausgabe-052023/7879-zum-potenzial-von-slam-verfahren-fuer-geodaetische-echtzeit-messaufgaben.html
- Schneider, P. J., Yang, C.-H., Li, Y., Koppe, M., Soergel, U., Pakzad, K., & Rudolf, T. (2023). DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB PLATFORM TO VISUALIZE PS-INSAR DATA IN A BUILDING INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, X-1/W1-2023, 869–873. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-1-W1-2023-869-2023
- Zhang, X., Lin, D., Xue, R., & Soergel, U. (2023). TARGET-GUIDED LEARNING FOR RARE CLASS SEGMENTATION IN LARGE-SCALE URBAN POINT CLOUDS. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLVIII-1/W2-2023, 1693–1698. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLVIII-1-W2-2023-1693-2023
2022
- Burkhardt, M., Joachim, L., Lerke, O., Thomas, M., Schwieger, V., Haala, N., & Sawodny, O. (2022). Kran. Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt.
- Joachim, L., Zhang, W., Haala, N., & Soergel, U. (2022). Evaluation of the quality of real-time mapping with crane cameras and visual SLAM algorithms. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLIII-B2-2022, 545–552. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIII-B2-2022-545-2022
- Thomas, M., & Sawodny, O. (2022). Flatness-based feedforward and modal model-predictive state-feedback control of a double pendulum bridge crane. The 9th IFAC Symposium on Mechatronic Systems & the 16th International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control, 24–29.
- Wolff, F., Uchiyama, N., Burkhardt, M., & Sawodny, O. (2022). Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with Non-Equidistant Discretization Time Grids for Rotary Cranes. 2022 13th Asian Control Conference (ASCC), 1753–1758. https://doi.org/10.23919/ASCC56756.2022.9828180
2021
- Burkhardt, M., & Sawodny, O. (2021). Towards Modeling and Control of a Crane-Collaboration for the Automated Assembly of Timber Structures. IECON 2021 - 47th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/IECON48115.2021.9589787
- Burkhardt, M., & Sawodny, O. (2021). A graph-based path planning algorithm for the control of tower cranes. 2021 American Control Conference (ACC), 1736–1741. https://doi.org/10.23919/ACC50511.2021.9482797
- Rauscher, F., & Sawodny, O. (2021). Efficient Online Trajectory Planning for Integrator Chain Dynamics using Polynomial Elimination. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6, Article 3. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=9403885
- Thomas, M., Werner, T., & Sawodny, O. (2021). Online trajectory generation and feedforward control for manually-driven cranes with input constraints. 2021 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA).
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
2023
- Burkhardt, M., Joachim, L., Gienger, A., Haala, N., Sörgel, U., & Sawodny, O. (2023). Datenbasiertes Korrektursystem für Lastpositionsfehler von automatisierten Turmdrehkranen in Absolutkoordinaten. Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt.
- Kölle, M., Walter, V., Shiller, I., & Soergel, U. (2023). Efficient and Accurate Tree Detection from 3D Point Clouds through Paid Crowdsourcing. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2308.14499
2022
- Ackermann, S., & Joachim, L. (2022). Simulation und Auswertung eines photogrammetrischen Bildverbandes aus Krankamerabildern. 42. Wissenschaftlich-Technische Jahrestagung Der DGPF, 297–303. https://doi.org/10.24407/KXP:1796047422
2021
- Joachim, L., Ackermann, S., Haala, N., & Soergel, U. (2021). Using Crane Cameras for Workspace Mapping and Monitoring for an Autonomous Tower Crane. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Machine Control & Guidance, 47–53. http://mobilearbeitsmaschine.de/downloads.html?file=files/MCG2021/MCG2021_Conference%20Proceedings_Web.pdf