Lights-Off On-Site Timber Construction

The research aims to develop core technologies for automated on-site timber construction with a primary focus on automating the on-site positioning, joining, and gluing of large-scale timber elements.

In recent decades, the timber construction industry has significantly gained importance and competitiveness through the development of digital processing technologies in prefabrication. However, on construction sites, these components are still largely assembled 'manually' and relate to limited efficiency. The project aims to develop, integrate, and test processes and construction systems that enable a high degree of automation on the construction site, making it possible to utilize every dry hour for building construction. Ideally, a construction crane on the site can lift timber components for 168 hours per week, while human assistance is limited to conventional 40-hour workweeks.

For this, the project explores the application of a multi-scalar robotic team to enhance traditional construction equipment with digital control systems and innovative, distributed clamping robots. The comprehensive system implementation seeks to improve the construction process and expand architectural design possibilities in timber structures.

ICD Institute for Computational Design and Construction, University of Stuttgart

Nils Opgenorth, Hans Jakob Wagner, Prof. A. Menges

Züblin Timber GmbH