Automating Concrete Construction: Sustainable social housing in Colombia

Abstract

The construction industry is a major source of carbon, and the main culprit is concrete. In addition, productivity for the construction sector is poor, and concrete construction in particular is labour intensive, slow, and costly. This paper introduces ongoing research addressing these two fundamental issues. First, by developing an integrated framework for automating manufacturing of reinforced concrete building elements through computation and robotic technology, and second by adapting such framework to the specific technical and socioeconomic contexts of Colombian construction, specifically for social housing.