PEDRO MARTINS CARVALHOARCHITECTURE + RESEARCH

Brick Tower2015

Research Prototype
Robotic Assembly + Manual Assisted Assembly
Research Paper
@DFL With José Pedro Sousa, Pedro Varela, Daniel Almeida, Rui Oliveira and Cristina Gassó
The Brick Tower experiment was developed to compare two assembly techniques: a robotic and a manual one, aided by a video projection technique. To assure the same geometric conditions in both situations, the geometry of the Tower was thought with central symmetry in order to be made out of two identical parts. Thus, using computational design, the surface information of half of the Brick Tower was converted into an assembly of bricks to be fabricated with both processes. The robotic assembly experiment was the first one. The programming was based on previous tests, the setup used the vacuum gripper tool and included a wooden ramp to serve as a brick dispenser. Initially, a basin with glue was used to dip the bricks before placing them in the structure, but this automated process was abandoned because it wasted too much glue. The manual assembly implied fixing a video projector over the table. Using parametric design, the sections of the different bricklayers were generated and then conveniently deformed in perspective, to ensure the right proportion of each unique projection. In both experiments, due to limitations in moving heavy weights in the Laboratory, the material used were EPS bricks cut with the size of the ceramic ones. In both scenarios, the glue was manually placed over the bricks.

This test proved the highest precision and speed of the robotic fabrication process. However, in those circumstances where this technology is not available, the proposed manual system can be an interesting option to overcome the human limitations when interpreting and assembling irregular brick structures. Both experiences contribute to keep alive the art and traditions of brick construction today.
(in RobTech - Robotic Technologies for a Non-Standard Design and Construction in Architecture)

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