RAF: Robot Aware Fabrication - Hand-motion Augmented Robotic Fabrication Workflow and Case Study

Abstract

Fabricating process with robotic awareness and creativity makes architect able to explore the new boundary between digital and material world. Although parametric and generative design method make diverse processing of materials possible for robots, it's still necessary to establish a new design-fabrication framework, where we could simultaneously deal with designers, robots, data, sensor technology and material natural characters. In order to develop a softer system without gap between preset program and robot's varying environments, this paper attempts to establish an environment-computer-robot workflow and transform traditional robotic fabrication from linear to more tangible and suitable for architects' and designers' intuitive motion and gesture. RAF (Robotic Aware Fabrication), a concept of real-time external enhancement fabrication is proposed, and a new workflow of HARF (Hand-motion Augmented Robotic Fabrication) is developed, where motion sensor captures designer's hand-motion, filter algorithm recognizes the intention and update the preset program, robotic controller and RSI (Robotic Sensor Interface) adjusts robot's TCP (Tool Center Point) path in real time. With HARF workflow, two case studies of Hand-motion robotic dance and Free-form concrete wall are made.