Robotic Design Construction

Yuchen Liu

MIT SMArchS Thesis in Design and Computation, 2009
Robotic Construction Simulation

This animation was created as part of Yuchen Liu's SMArchS thesis at MIT

Movie info: QuickTime, 3 minutes 9 seconds, 360x240 pixels (3.5Mb)

* Video is playing at 4x speed.

         

Thesis Abstract

"Robotic design construction : digital fabrication strategies for freeform masonry casting and mobile assembly"    (June 2009)

The paradigm shift in digital fabrication encourages architects to incorporate the knowledge of using innovative materials and novel tools to solve problems in design and construction. Looking at robotic facilities and natural mud as fabrication media, this thesis experiments methods of digital design fabrication for freeform masonry construction by robotics. Two robotic prototypes of stereotomy are presented, through which robotic fabrication techniques and automation processes for on-site construction are explored.

Any laminated sheet-material found at the site can be used for making the molding system to cast bricks. Natural mud is available everywhere. Complex masonry construction work can be easily organized and quickly finished by the programmed robots, that lay bricks out of the mold with precision.