Digitized construction with robotic microfactories for a resilient society

The project builds upon the innovation idea "Robotized Temporary Micro-factories" and the project "Digital Transformation of Construction Sites." It focuses on recommendations from the synthesis report "Innovations and New Applications 2019-2021":- Investment in autonomous/semi-autonomous automatic systems that can "understand, operate in, and process" different environments within the construction industry and eliminate heavy, repetitive, and dirty work tasks.- Further development of the project "Digital Transformation of Construction Sites" where AI, digital information management, visualization with VR, and digital design & manufacturing come together as a whole.The micro-factory concept is a solution to make robot automation available on-site to start using robots under controlled conditions, utilizing the efficiency of prefabrication facilities in production and the flexibility of on-site construction, along with the climate benefits, primarily reduced transportation.

The smart sensor-controlled robots to be developed and demonstrated in this project offer many possibilities, and the next step after this project is to explore how the micro-factory concept can be used to reuse/recycle construction materials on-site.In the innovation idea "Robotized Temporary Micro-factories," the project team has developed a virtual micro-factory based on existing technology within the wood industry´s prefab manufacturing and traditional industrial manufacturing (such as automotive, shipbuilding, and aviation).

In this project, the team aims to enhance the micro-factory concept to make it more attractive for future applications.

Among other things, the project team will develop a robot more suited for construction, with extended reach (allowing for a single robot in the micro-factory concept), lower weight, more energy-efficient, and with components for the arm system made from recycled materials.

The innovation idea focused on an exterior wall as the project team wanted to choose a significant building component and see if it was feasible in a micro-factory.

This project will examine how other building components can be manufactured using smart programming and flexible fixtures (fasteners, pressure elements, quick clamps, and/or sliding guides) and develop a tactile interior wall together with a selected group from Emrahus LSS-hem in Skåne to demonstrate how robots can be used to improve the perceived environment.The project is carried out by a team with extensive experience in interdisciplinary collaboration and systems thinking: LTU contributes expertise in industrial processes, LTH in sensor-controlled construction robot research, Cognibotics in novel energy-efficient and lightweight robots, Fojab in improving the perceived environment, Emrahus as a seeking and need-owning party that already takes a holistic approach from design to management of their LSS accommodations and desires better control during the construction phase (currently done with local construction contractors), Peab with the perspective of a major builder, and finally, Prodtex, which applies its automation and digitization expertise from the aerospace, automotive, and shipbuilding industries where the benefits of digitizing the entire production process have been observed in recent years, particularly in the US and England.With this project, the project team aims to remove certain barriers to gender equality in the workplace, where the robots themselves can create a more gender-neutral working environment and eliminate heavy, dirty, and hazardous tasks.

With the new value chains being developed during the project, there will be no room for the power and macho culture that often exists in the workplace today. Decisions will be based on facts. To ensure this, an equality plan will be developed during the project.

The plan will be based on Smart Built Environments´ Equality Guide and the SBUF report "A gender-equal construction process for an attractive construction indu