Robot assembly system for computer-integrated construction

Resumen

The construction industry demands a productivity increase that cannot be attained by means of traditional methods for masonry that have already reached their system limits and cannot contribute to further effectiveness. Further rationalisation can only be achieved by the reduction of labour and construction times. Therefore, a certain innovative leap is required by a system approach that combines the already existing construction technologies with new information, automation and robot technologies. An integrated automation system has been developed in the European ESPRIT III Robot Assembly System for Computer Integrated Construction (ROCCO) Project. Industrial partners and research centres from Germany, Spain and Belgium that are linked to the construction industry and robotics have formed the consortium. Block assembly tasks are performed by means of two robotics systems. One of the many challenges of these systems is related with the development of the control approach of large-range robots with hydraulic actuators. Conventional control strategies, based on PID or PD controllers and linear models, are unsuitable and prove completely inefficient for these robots. New control methods are necessary in order to achieve high performance with a reasonable time-consuming algorithm, useful in a real time control system. The most significant aspects related to the development of these robotic systems and their control systems are presented in this paper.