Smart component-oriented method of construction robot coordination for prefabricated housing

TLDR

Robotic construction research has advanced for individual tasks, but robots still cannot coordinate to perform multiple tasks, and realistic design requires more complex BIM and accurate robot models for broader collaborative simulation. The study aims to enable robot coordination in prefabricated construction by proposing a component‑oriented approach. The authors employ a smart construction object (SCO) framework that assigns task states and requirements to components, enabling multiple robots to assemble prefabricated housing, and demonstrate this in a BIM simulation where diverse robots build a steel frame.

Abstract

Although achievements have been made in research on robotic construction for specific construction tasks, robots are still not capable of working together to accomplish multiple construction tasks. To achieve this goal it is necessary to study how to realize robot coordination in prefabricated construction. In this paper, we propose a component-oriented robot construction approach. Using the smart construction object (SCO) approach, diverse construction tasks are assigned to robots by assigning state and requirements to the components to drive multiple robots for the assembly of prefabricated housing. Within a prototype BIM simulation environment, we implemented multiple different robots to complete the construction of a steel frame based on the SCOs. For more realistic robot-base construction design, the next step is the introduction of more complicated BIM models and more accurate robot models to enable collaborative simulation of a wider variety of prefabricated construction processes.