Type

In-person lectures, discussions and tutorial sessions; Live demonstration and working with mobile robots

Venue

Please note: the workshop takes place at the Large Scale Construction Robotics Laboratory in Waiblingen. There will be a bus transfer from Keplerstraße 17.

Participants who want to take part in the AAG 2023 Socializing Tour have to leave the workshop earlier and return to Stuttgart individually via public transport.

Workshop objectives

Participants will be introduced to ABMS in general and then more specifically to approaches to translating architectural construction systems into digital agent systems. The workshop will also involve the transferring of principles learned from digital explorations of ABMS to a physical mobile robotic system. After a series of digital experiments, the participants will be involved in the implementation of their models for the design and control of the physical mobile robots.

Participants requirements

Required skills: Advanced knowledge of Grasshopper and being comfortable with programming in C# or Python.
Required software: Rhino3D and Grasshopper
Required hardware: Personal laptop

Workshop description

The use of agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) to study the dynamics of complex systems has increased significantly among various scientific fields in the last decades. The application of ABMS in disciplines related to Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) has specifically seen a rise for its ability to capture the various levels of complexity inherent to the field, leading to more sustainable building designs and construction processes. In parallel to the increasing investigation of ABMS in architecture, there is a growing interest in collective robotic construction (CRC). CRC involves the utilization of small, generally custom mobile robots for the assembly of structures, which have increasing robustness, adaptivity and level of autonomy compared to existing proposals for automation in construction. Recognizing the potential impacts and fundamental link of the two approaches, the workshop will focus on cyber-physical agent-based models for swarm construction. In more detail, participants of this workshop will: (i) learn the theoretical concepts of ABMS, (ii) be introduced to and explore a software framework for experimentation with agent-based systems for design and fabrication processes and (iii) participate in the implementation of a cyber-physical fabrication loop for the control of a wheeled robot CRC system (see Figures) at the Distributed Robotic Platform of the Large Scale Construction Robotics Laboratory in Waiblingen

In the first half of the workshop, participants will be introduced to ABMS in general and then more specifically to approaches to translating architectural construction systems into digital agent systems. This will be done with hands-on tutorials in Rhino3D/Grasshopper using ICD’s interactive agent-based modeling framework ABxM. The second part of the workshop will involve the transferring of principles learned from digital explorations of ABMS to a physical mobile robotic system. An agent-based model derived from the iconic flocking example will be provided to the participants as a template for further development of custom behaviors for the physical robots. These custom behaviors will rely on the collection of sensor information external to the digital simulation. After a series of digital experiments, the participants will be involved in the implementation of their models for the design and control of the physical mobile robots. As such, the workshop participants should have advanced knowledge of Grasshopper and be comfortable with programming in C# or Python.

This workshop is relevant to the themes of digital design and simulation, and novel fabrication techniques that are highlighted for AAG 2023. During the introduction and experimentation with ABxM, the participants will learn how ABMS can be utilized for the creation of complex architectural geometries. This will include showcasing how geometric investigation can be explore by providing examples from research at the ICD and helping the participants to develop their own models of architectural systems. Participants will also learn how to transfer notions of behavioral systems to physical robotic systems for real-time operation, a promising approach for the deployment of novel robotic construction automation systems. In such, the participants will become familiar with notions of bottom-up design processes, in which path planning or choreography of the robots is derived through the interactions they make with each other and their environment. Another topic addressed in this workshop will be the processing of sensing information and the discussion of how such information can affect physical fabrication systems. Therefore, the target audience of this workshop would be relatively broad. However, it is probably best suited for members in the AEC industry who are interested in ABMS, CRC, or more generally automation in construction.

Target group

Members in the AEC community who are interested in Agent-Based Modelling and Simulation (ABMS) and/or Collective Robotic Construction (CRC); All academic levels

Number of participatns max.

20

Duration and Procedure

His current research at ICD is part of the EXC 2120: Cluster of Excellence IntCDC – Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture. As part of the Cluster, Sam’s current research is interested in the creation of bespoke distributed robotic systems for on-site construction. His work explores the notion of the minimal machine required to create complex spatial assemblies and specifically on the co-design of the machines and the design of structure they produce.

https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/team/Leder/

Tobias studied architecture at the Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany and at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia as part of the US-EU Joint Consortium for Higher Education. He received his diploma-engineering degree in 2005.

He has been invited studio critic at Columbia GSAPP, Harvard GSD, Pratt Institute, AA London and has taught various workshops on computational design and digital fabrication, among others at University of Sydney as part of the Robotics in Architecture Conference in 2016, at Monash University in Melbourne (MADA) in 2014, at the University of Porto (FAUP) in 2013, at TU Vienna as part of the Robotics in Architecture Conference in 2012, at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara (METU) in 2011, the University of East London (UEL), or the master course at the Dessau Institute of Architecture (DIA).

https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/team/Schwinn/

Before joining ICD, Lasath worked as an Architectural Graduate at Fitzpatrick + partners in Sydney and as an Architectural Project Designer at Menges Scheffler Architects. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Civil) and a Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Sydney. Lasath additionally holds a Master of Science in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research (ITECH) from the University of Stuttgart.

Together with his colleagues Simon Lut and Tim Stark, he developed a master’s thesis: “Joint Effort : Robot-team enabled carbon fibre joining strategies for lightweight wood construction.“ The research demonstrated the benefits of co-designing a timber component, joint and multi-robotic system to establish a load-bearing, robot-specific and connection-driven building system. The thesis has been awarded the “IntCDC Master’s Thesis Grants 2020” and „Dr. Artur-Fischer-Stiftung Award for Technology, Processes and Methods in Construction“ in 2021.

https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/team/Siriwardena/

Prior to joining ICD, Mathias worked as an architect in Austria and the Netherlands. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Vienna University of Technology as well as a master’s degree with distinction from the ITECH Master program at the University of Stuttgart. For his master’s thesis “Self-Choreographing Network”, which he developed together with his colleague Valentina Soana, he received a scholarship for a research residency at the Autodesk Technology Center in Boston.

His current research at ICD is affiliated with the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1244 “Adaptive Building Skins and Structures for the Built Environment of Tomorrow”. Within this framework, he develops computational strategies for the interactive design and cyber-physical operation of adaptive architectural structures – aimed at unlocking the architectural opportunities arising from the conception of buildings as robotic systems.

https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/team/Maierhofer-00001/