As the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry’s digitization accelerates, digital technologies and their relation to design and construction are reaching a new level of complexity. Data integration is becoming the quest of ad hoc digital tools, and workflow automation is gaining momentum. These global developments are forcing the built environment to implement drastic changes in how construction projects are designed and produced. In this context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) gained momentum in design practices through its ability to frame construction workflows in a digital environment. On the other hand, interest in Robotic Manufacturing (RM) for industrialized production has significantly increased thanks to the opportunities it offers to improve productivity. However, the joint use of BIM and RM in construction has not yet been sufficiently studied in the scientific literature. Moreover, each system is characterized by its software and proprietary file formats, implying a lack of technological interoperability between the BIM-RM dyad.
The present article-based thesis investigates the operationalization of robotics in construction. Specifically, it studies the technological integration of BIM and RM tools to operationalize industrial robots in construction systems. The literature review initially found that such integration is achievable through Computational Design (CD) tools. It also found that Off-Site Construction (OSC) is a suitable system for this technological integration. These findings were studied through the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, which demonstrated the technological interoperability of the BIM-CD-RM triad in OSC systems. This technological convergence gave rise to the Design-to-Manufacturing (DtM) framework, which was validated by a board of 16 evaluators.
Anane, W. (Author),
Iordanova (Supervisor) &
Ouellet-Plamondon (Co-supervisor),
16 Aug 2022Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Construction Engineering