Breaking Ground: Construction of the Cooperative Robotic Gantry Setup Begins

Construction kicked off this week with the demolition of the existing CMU walls, clearing the way for the next phase of development. In the coming weeks, the old slab will be removed and replaced with a new, precisely leveled slab featuring robust footings to support the gantry structure's columns.

This setup will be pivotal to our lab’s mission of advancing automated construction technologies. Upon completion, it will be one of the largest heavy-payload cooperative robotic systems housed in a research facility in North America. The gantry will initially feature two 6-axis robots, each capable of handling up to 200kg, suspended from the beams of the cartesian gantry. These robots, with their flexible range of motion, will cover a large build volume, making the system an ideal platform for research in large-scale, multi-robot manufacturing of building components. Additionally, it will allow us to explore innovative ways humans and robots can collaborate efficiently in prefabrication and dynamic construction environments.

I look forward to sharing updates as construction progresses! For now, check out some photos of this week’s progress, and stay tuned for more exciting developments in the months ahead.