Description

Advancements in robotic technology are ushering in a new era of autonomy in building construction, making it possible to employ soil–based materials through circular additive manufacturing. Multi–material additive manufacturing (MMAM) encompasses a variety of simultaneous material extrusion methods to characterize material properties but is currently constrained by the size of 3D printers (microscale) or the reach of multi–axis robotic arms (mesoscale).  

To extend the workspace of MMAM for soil–based materials, this research aims to:   

a) investigate different combinations of soil–based materials;   

b) explore the use of distributed, task–specific mobile manipulator systems;   

c) develop a control system to coordinate these mobile manipulators, plan the tasks and paths for each unit, and dynamically adapt material extrusion based on the properties of the materials.  

Program Development

A series of prototypes were produced by coordinating a mobile manipulator and extrusion platform, utilizing real–time path and flow–rate control. The system featured a UR5e robotic arm mounted on a Husky mobile base, connected to a pump that extruded soil–based ink. 

The research project was presented at the 3CAV Symposium on May 3, 2023, at the University of Virginia.

Project Team

Ehsan Baharlou; Ji Ma; Tomonari Furukawa

Image Credit

Computational Tectonics Lab, University of Virginia, 2023