Abstract
Soil stabilization is a fundamental component of nearly all construction projects, ranging from commercial construction to environmental restoration projects. Previous work in autonomous construction has generally not considered these essential stabilization and anchoring tasks. In this work we present Romu, an autonomous robot capable of building continuous linear structures by using a vibratory hammer to drive interlocking sheet piles into soil. We report on hardware parameters and their effects on pile driving performance, and demonstrate autonomous operation in both controlled and natural environments. Finally, we present simulations in which a small swarm of robots build with sheet piles in example terrains, or apply an alternate spray-based stabilizing agent, and quantify the ability of each intervention to mitigate hydraulic erosion.
Highlights
Pile driving, the task of sinking posts or similar building elements firmly into the ground, is a ubiquitous part of nearly every construction project
They form retaining walls allowing for prefoundation excavation. They provide slope stabilization in uneven terrain, used in contexts like highway construction. They can aid with restoration of degraded environments in the form of check dams [1], as well as addressing problems associated with sea level rise such as erosion, inundation, and salinity intrusion by forming structures such as bulkheads, perpendicular groins, offshore breakwaters, and seawalls [2], [3]
In this paper we present a design and prototype for a novel autonomous sheet pile driving robot, named Terramanus ferromurus or Romu
Summary
The task of sinking posts or similar building elements firmly into the ground, is a ubiquitous part of nearly every construction project. Sheet piles, interlocking linear building elements made from bent sheet material (typically steel) and driven vertically into the earth, are used in a variety of contexts. In urban construction, they form retaining walls allowing for prefoundation excavation. They form retaining walls allowing for prefoundation excavation They provide slope stabilization in uneven terrain, used in contexts like highway construction. In ecological applications, they can aid with restoration of degraded environments in the form of check dams (walls anchored in the ground that mitigate erosion by slowing water velocity during storm surges) [1], as well as addressing problems associated with sea level rise such as erosion, inundation, and salinity intrusion by forming structures such as bulkheads, perpendicular groins, offshore breakwaters, and seawalls [2], [3]. We present a simple control algorithm based on following topographical contours, and evaluate its effect in an erosion scenario, showing that it significantly reduces soil displacement and overall loss
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