Functional requirements, technical specifications and economical feasibility on masonry robotic theme have been investigated. Two alternatives are discussed: a modular SCARAbased system and a six D.O.F. articulated configuration. Market prices of $ 310 000 and $ 350 000 respectively have been estimated for the systems with a payback period of 6 years with realistic partition wall sizes. Economic analysis shows that a critical factor in the feasibility of such automatic masonry systems is the partition wall size due to manual preliminary works, which require rather constant amount of time. To reach a proper technical and economical feasibility, partition wall as the end product has to be restricted. The results of the study will be used for planning future research projects.
The following is a review of the current status and future plans of the research concerning tower crane operations, carried out by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). Firstly, an empirical time-motion study of crane operations on building sites is described. The results can be used for creating a crane selection guideline in a textual or knowledge based form and in crane automation ideas evaluation. Secondly, the current crane automation research results carried out by VTT are summarized and possible applications to a tower crane are characterized. Thirdly, some of the future activities in crane automation research in VTT are discussed. In those studies an integrated approach to crane automation problems will be applied, where development of the site's overall order, systematic construction management methods, knowledge or simulation based crane selection methods, adaptation of building components and crane automation will be gradually combined on the way to the long term goal: a highly automated building frame erection system.
This paper reports on the results of a Norwegian-Finnish feasibility project on construction robotics, carried out in 1988. The aim of this project was to determine and evaluate the most suitable robotization themes from the point of view of the construction industries in the respective countries. Functional requirements and preliminary technical solutions were charted for seven themes: crane automation ; automation of the prefabrication of facade components; robotization in inner works; equipment for materials handling on site ; masonry robotics ; concreting automation ; and measurement, positioning and navigation techniques in construction.
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