Robot-based construction automation: An application to steel beam assembly (Part II)

The construction industry involves many dangerous and messy environmental factors which cause poor working conditions for construction laborers. Replacing human laborers with robotic systems has many advantages such as increased quality, productivity and safety. The current trends in construction with high-rise buildings have accelerated attempts to employ robotic technologies in the construction industry. Recently in South Korea, a robot-based construction automation system for high-rise buildings was finished with successful field application results. This project is composed of a few subprojects involving construction and robot technologies. Among several parts of the project, this paper deals with the development of a robotic transport mechanism administrated by the robot research group of the project. This system consists of a cross-wired lift and a rail sliding mechanism. Each system performs a vertical and horizontal transfer of a robotic beam assembly (RBA) system which is discussed in a companion paper, ‘Robot-Based Construction Automation: An Application to Steel Beam Assembly (Part I).’ This paper accounts for the designs, functions, specifications and structural analyses of each system and presents an RBA control system, including a human–machine interface to operate the integrated system. The real prototype of the proposed system was manufactured and intensive tests were conducted in a test bed. In addition, a field application test was added for evaluating the feasibility in real construction sites. We showed the possibility of replacing human laborers with the robotic system in high-rise building construction.