Between May 23rd and 26th, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia and Tecnalia will present at the Future Arena of the Barcelona Building Construmat the project On Site Robotics, whose goal is to build a clay pavilion on site in only four days.

Combining technological advances in robotics, natural materials and CAD/CAM software, the aim of the project is to bring automation to the construction site, as well as allowing the production of high-performance buildings and their monitoring in real-time during the construction.

The 3D Printing System presented in On Site Robotics, is introduced to 3D print large scale construction parts, and even small scale buildings, made from 100{9109d278f27679b0d72ba26d1dbf285952fc93361903e26181bc35932131a14a} natural materials. This system includes the cable robot Cogiro with an integrated CNC control, which is able to automate the movement of the 3D extruder with precision.

Thanks to the use of cables operated by servo-controlled winches with easy assembly, maintenance and reconfiguration, the printing can happen in a very wide range of workspaces, and even directly on the construction site.

The system also integrates an extruder and a natural, biodegradable, recyclable and local clay-based extrusion material, based on the Pylos project. In addition, a custom script integrated in the CAD software allows to easily translate the complex forms of 3D design in the robotic trajectories.

The process of 3D printing in situ requires a continuous monitoring of the state of the deposited material, the three-dimensional structure, as well as the environmental conditions that might influence its behavior.

That’s why the On Site Robotics scenario integrates the use of drones programmed to fly autonomously. Their objective is to participate in the workflow, monitoring the development through multispectral cameras, which, thanks to computational processes, offer thermal information of the drying state of the structure.

The system developed in On Site Robotics aims to revolutionize the construction sector, reducing production costs and offering the inviting possibility to customize the final product, that can be built on site or close to the site of construction.