Analyzing Some Aspects of Robot-oriented Design Approach at Material Handling and Manipulation Systems of On-site Automated Construction Technologies

Abstract

The construction sector is one of the fields of industries where automation and robotics are the least widely applied in our present day. This is in consequence of some characteristics of the construction industry, like the unique nature of the establishments, and the uncontrolled environmental circumstances on-site. However, with the present development level of robotics and with the spread of applications of AI-based technologies there is considerable chance for acceleration of development in this sector too. For the development of automated construction operations, it is essential to understand the most important principles in this regard, like robot-oriented design (ROD). In the present paper analysis of on-site automated construction technologies, which are already in use in the construction industry, is conducted, considering how the ROD approach prevails over the material handling and the applied manipulation types. In the case of material feed, there are still many technologies, where manual material handling is performed even if the technologies are applied on a relatively high level of autonomy. Regarding the automated construction processes the applied types of manipulations and the types of joints are analyzed. Robotic arms with various joint types are widely used in many industries. In the case of automated construction technologies, however, some joint types are more frequently applied than others. In the present paper, statistics are given about the occurrence of the various types, and an attempt is made to reveal the background of the observations.