Dry Stacking for Automated Construction with Irregular Objects

Vivek Thangavelu, Yifang Liu, Maira Saboia, Nils Napp

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

We describe a method for automatically building structures from stacked, irregularly shaped objects. This is a simplified model for the problem of building dry stacked structures (i.e. no mortar) from found stones. Although automating such construction methods would be ideally suited for disaster areas or remote environments, currently such structures need to be built by skilled masons. No practical methods for automating the assembly planning process are known. The problem is challenging since each assembly action can be drawn from a continuous space poses for an object and several local geometric and physical considerations strongly affect the overall stability. We show that structures that are built following a stacking order for perfect bricks can accommodate a limited amount of irregularity, however, their performance degrades quickly when objects deviate from their ideal shape. We present a strategy for stacking irregular shapes that first considers geometric and physical constraints to find a small set of feasible actions and then further refines this set by using heuristics gathered from instructional literature for masons. The proposed method of choosing assembly actions allows construction with objects that contain a significant amount of variation.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2018
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages4782-4789
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9781538630815
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 10 2018
Externally publishedYes
Event2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2018 - Brisbane, Australia
Duration: May 21 2018May 25 2018

Publication series

NameProceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
ISSN (Print)1050-4729

Conference

Conference2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2018
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityBrisbane
Period05/21/1805/25/18

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