SUPERVISOR: Benjamin KROMOSER

PROJEKT ASSIGNED TO: Maria GEORGIADES

This thesis focuses on the integration of industrial robots in the assembly of timber-frame elements and their automation. The overall aim of the research is to develop an automated manufacturing process for fully recyclable prefabricated facade elements, to support the thermal refurbishment of existing buildings. This enables the reduction of time consuming and resource wasting demolition work by reusing the existing structures as well as promoting circularity of renewable raw materials.  
The automation and digitalization of the process chain are current and essential topics in the timber construction sector. As this sector lags behind significantly in terms of automation, timber construction companies have already begun to incorporate industrial robots into their workflow to increase their productivity. They offer numerous advantages, including flexibility, precision, efficiency and robustness. Highly flexible workflows are necessary to adapt to customized construction sites. The utilization of robots provides a new opportunity to rethink existing housing production methods, due to their versatility in handling various tasks and applications.  
Tests and simulations will be conducted to compare current manufacturing concepts with robot-based approaches.

Figure 1: Robot Laboratory ©Christoph Panzer