B4 - Eduardo Borja - Group E

             From the topics given, Maria and I thought that Robotics in construction was quite interesting. It is something that is starting to develop and can actually be the future of construction. From our research we established that there are many aspects of construction that could benefit from robotics. We started out with a broad idea on what our project could be but decided to research robotics that will actually build a vertical structure.

            The category of robotics in general is an interesting topic and is one that definitely will evolve in the future. The fact that we are aspiring Engineers makes this topic really interesting. This project was chosen mainly to analyze the effects that robotics will have in the construction industry. It will be interesting to compare and contrast what robots can contribute vs. what humans contribute to the construction industry. I believe it could also be interesting to determine which human disciplines could be affected due to the introduction of robotics in the construction industry. Also, I believe one of the greatest effects robots will have in the construction industry is the fact that they will help speed up mundane and repetitive processes like laying concrete blocks or bricks.

            One aspect of intelligent buildings could be optimizing the work force. One benefit that could be huge with robotics is the fact that these machines could take over low-value, repetitive, mundane work. Human job force can be efficiently redirected to high priority work in order to have a successful facility.

            Since this topic involves a lot of research and not many robots have been implemented in industry, it is hard to obtain conclusive results. Some robots are prototypes and have done small projects while other robots are still just ideas. Most of the information we could obtain will be some sort of speculation. For example, it can be said that some robots will eventually take over human jobs but it is hard to say actually how many jobs would actually be taken.

Resources:

1.     http://www.gizmag.com/hadrian-brick-laying-robot-fastbrick/38239/

2.     http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/article/robotics_automating_construction_and_building

3.     http://buildingrobotics.com/blog/the-year-ahead-intelligent-building-trends-to-watch-in-2016/

Comments:

Mohammed Alqallaf: Mohammed, I found your topic really interesting. An additional two floors is certainly a major addition. The benefits of using BIM are getting stronger and stronger in my opinion. The cost schedule would be something quite tedious if Revit wasn’t there to help you guys out. Good luck with your senior design!

Karan Sagar Sinha: Karan, the topic you chose I believe is quite interesting and will definitely have a great impact in the construction industry. If a machine can print onsite any design, there will be a great satisfaction regarding the ease of constriction of the structure. Good luck with your project!