Research
Ongoing Research Projects
Manufacturing of Buildings
Human-In-The-Lead Construction Robotics
(Ongoing Funded Research Project)
Collaborative Research: FW-HTF-RM: Human-in-the-Lead Construction Robotics: Future-Proofing Framing Craft Workers in Industrialized Construction
PI (Alwisy), 2023/10 - 2026/09
Total Budget: $963,165
Collaborative Research. UF Lead Organization ($699,570), Penn State ($263,595).
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2326159&HistoricalAwards=false
Industrialized construction (IC) can address the pressing productivity and safety issues facing the construction industry by transferring many tasks to offsite manufacturing facilities that leverage the power of advanced robotic technologies. However, highly customizable building designs, the inherent variability in construction materials, and labor-intensive construction tasks complicate the integration of traditional craftwork and robotic automation. This research aims to address these challenges by introducing a revolutionary approach to human-robot collaboration, named Human-in-the-Lead Construction Robotics (HiLCR). The proposed HiLCR empowers craft workers to take the lead in industrialized tasks that require design-making or fine motor control, while leveraging the fundamental physical capacities of industrial robotic arms in a support role. HiLCR will ensure that advanced technologies and machines serve as tools that nourish the ingenuity of craft workers instead of suppressing it. This balanced approach of HiLCR will help future workers overcome the looming crisis of job loss to machines, one of the greatest workforce fears caused by the current trends in automating human-centric tasks. Furthermore, HiLCR can reduce potential physical barriers to entry into the construction industry by delegating manual work that requires certain physical abilities, such as hand dexterity and lifting of materials, to the robotic system.
Industrialized Construction Engineering (ICE) Program
(Ongoing Funded Research Project)
ICE Director, DCP College (Alwisy)
Total Budget: $4,000,000
With $2.5 Million in Strategic Funding Million from Autodesk, UF Plans to Advance the Field of Industrialized Construction Engineering
University of Florida faculty and students will help advance the field of industrialized construction engineering with $2.5 million in strategic funding from the office of UF President Ben Sasse.
Working together, UF’s College of Design, Construction and Planning, and the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering will seek to revolutionize how the world conceptualizes, designs, and builds affordable and resilient buildings and civil infrastructure.
“The construction and engineering industries are rapidly changing with advances in technology, and we need to adapt and evolve to keep up with that pace,” Sasse said. “The Industrialized Construction Engineering (ICE) project will help UF’s experts use tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic automation to transform the way we design and build.”
The College of Design, Construction and Planning will use its future 50,000-square-foot Bruno E. and Maritza F. Ramos Collaboratory to harness the power of AI, design automation, and robotic construction to enhance productivity, safety, and quality in residential and commercial construction.
“This funding gives us an excellent opportunity to partner with the College of Engineering to make UF the premier institution for industrialized construction,” said Chimay Anumba, Ph.D., dean of the College of Design, Construction and Planning. “There will be huge societal benefits as we can tackle productivity, safety, quality, and resilience issues in the construction project delivery process.”
UF’s Center for Advanced Construction Information Modeling and the Smart Industrialized Design and Construction Lab will expand their educational offerings and research related to emerging technologies for the design, construction, and maintenance of civil infrastructure.
“The Industrialized Construction Engineering program represents a pioneering, multidisciplinary initiative that will revolutionize the construction sector by reconceptualizing education, research, and industry outreach,” said Aladdin Alwisy, Ph.D., the director of the Smart Industrialized Design and Construction Lab.
https://news.ufl.edu/2024/01/advancing-construction-engineering/
Autodesk Gifts DCP & HWCOE $1.5 Million For Industrialized Construction Engineering
(By Kyle Niblett)Less than three weeks after University of Florida President Ben Sasse announced $2.5 million in strategic funding to advance the field of Industrialized Construction Engineering (ICE), Autodesk announced Tuesday a $1.5 million gift to the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning and UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering to establish the world’s first-ever industrialized construction department.
Leaders from both colleges gasped just before lunchtime when Autodesk COO Steve Blum shocked the room with the surprise announcement. As an industry leader in changing how the world is designed and made, Autodesk pledged to provide all UF students and educators free access to their industry-leading software and technology. The goal is to strategically build a pipeline of skilled ICE laborers in the state of Florida.
Robotic Station for Offsite Manufacturing of Building in IDC
(Ongoing Funded Research Project)
Future of Construction: Human-Robot Collaboration
(Patented) Flexible, Multifunctional Prefabrication End-Effectors for Industrialized Construction
Simplifies the Integration of Industrial Robots for the Automation of the Prefabrication and Manufacturing of Construction Components
IP Details:
https://www.onscope.com/ipowner/en/ip/ptwo/US2023061826.html
This flexible, multifunctional framing end-effector promotes the shift towards smart, robotics-based automation of construction tasks by streamlining the manufacturing and fabrication of a wide range of construction components. The early attempts to utilize industrial robotic arms are hindered in the construction industry by the inefficiency associated with the single-use robots that can perform a single function, such as nailing or grabbing and moving materials, and the complexity of interchangeable end-effectors and tools. Since employing individual robots for a singular task is expensive, having a series of robots for multiple construction projects significantly increases costs and unnecessarily complicates construction jobs. It is desirable for the construction industry, whose market is likely to reach a value of $196 billion by 2026, to have efficient and functional automation systems and methods for construction procedures by taking advantage of the speed, accuracy (quality), and cost-saving of advanced industrial robots.
Advantages
Eliminates the need for multiple human laborers, decreasing labor costs and addressing the skilled-labor shortage
Decreases the number of robots necessary for a construction project, reducing the cost and complexity of the project
Supports a multifunctional robotic workstation, improving the speed, accuracy, safety, and reliability of construction procedures
Robots Lend a Helping Hand
DCP - PERSPECTIVE - Alumni Magazine
(Article Written By Joey Mazzaferro)The first thing most people think about robots and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the technology will replace the need for humans in the workforce. However, that is not the case in Dr. Aladdin Alwisy’s Smart Industrialized Design and Construction (IDC) Lab.
Dr. Alwisy, an assistant professor in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, aims to have his patented robotic technology work as a supplement to humans, not replace them.
“We don’t want a fleet of robots to come and take over human jobs,” Alwisy said. “We want to find balance between robots and the job and make sure we improve productivity without losing human jobs.”
Alwisy’s strategy is the opposite of the automotive industry. Instead of mass production with each robot having a specialized task, he focuses on his robots being multifunctional since the construction industry necessitates being flexible and agile. This strategy also comes with the bonus of being more cost-effective than the traditional assembly line.
“Instead of spending millions of dollars on a long production line to produce a wall panel or series of wall panels, the system that we have can do the exact same thing for less than half a million dollars,” Alwisy said. “Based on our preliminary estimates, the return on investment can be as early as three to six months.”
"Read more at DCP alumni magazine, Perspective!"
Robotic Construction and Sustainability Themes of 2023 DCP Residential Summit
(By Kyle Niblett)Dr. Alwisy spent his portion of the Summit teaching current and future professionals about his first-of-its-kind Robotic Station, which has the capability to save companies millions of dollars and time.
“Framing is a bottleneck task where you have to wait days or even weeks to build a single house,” Alwisy said. “Our new patented station can now frame it within 90 minutes. A community that takes six months now to frame, will only take a weekend.”
"Read more at DCP News"
EDUCATION
Micro-credential and regular courses on IC
(Ongoing Funded Research Project)
DCP, UF Engineering Sign Agreement with Autodesk Inc. to Drive Student Success and Innovative Integration
UF students will benefit the most from Autodesk further enhancing their strategic partnership with DCP and Engineering. The $150,000 given to DCP will help the college develop micro-credential and regular courses on IC, eventually leading to a certificate and graduate degree in industrialized construction. The gift from Autodesk will also help fund peer mentors for UF Engineering’s First Year Design and Society course.
Cost Analysis
Evaluation of the Cost Impact and Benefit of 2024 IBC Prescriptive Code Changes
(Ongoing Funded Research Project)
Completed Research Projects
Manufacturing of Buildings
Safe Human-Robot Collaboration For IC
(Completed Funded Research Project)
Enhancing safety in human–robot collaboration through immersive technology: a framework for panel framing task in industrialized construction
This study proposes a framework for mapping the work zones of human–robot collaboration in a fenceless environment by dynamically assessing the safety of panel framing task. Following ISO/TS 15066:2016 guidelines, the proposed framework employs mixed reality technology and machine learning prediction models, by means of a neural network, to map safe zones in the panel framing workstation. The proposed framework can support the factory floor planning process during the strategic planning phase by determining the size of robotic stations according to the mapped work zones (i.e., safe zones). As such, this research facilitates the use of robotics and enhances automation in industrialized construction by providing valuable insights into safe robotics integration.
Robotic Workstation optimization
(Completed Funded Research Project)
Wood/Light Gauge Steel Framing
CNC Machine Development
(Completed Funded Research Project)
Wood/Light Gauge Steel Framing
Onsite Assembly of Buildings
Virtual/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) For Onsite Assembly of Industrialized Construction
(Completed Funded Research Project)
VR/AR Training & Safety/Productivity Analysis
Desing for Manufacturing of Buildings
Automating the drafting & Design for manufacturing
(Completed Funded Research Project)
A BIM-based automation of design and drafting for manufacturing of wood panels for modular residential buildings
This research introduces a systematic methodology for automating the drafting and design for manufacturing of wood-framed panels for modular residential buildings. It utilizes 2D computer-aided design (CAD) drawings to automatically generate BIM and construction manufacturing BIM; subsequently, shop drawings for the wood-framed panels are developed according to the platform framing method. The proposed framework is incorporated into a computer application called MCMPro, which is developed using visual basic application within CAD environment. Reduced design cost, improved layout accuracy and enhanced productivity are expected advances of MCMPro.
Performative Analysis of Buildings
Drivers of housing purchasing decisions: a data-driven analysis
(Completed Funded Research Project)
Design-Driven Data Analysis
This research utilizes survival analysis and the Cox proportional-hazards regression (CPHR) to analyze condo sales data provided by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton (RAE) (Alberta, Canada).
The analysis of the provided data shows that the listed price, building age, appliances, and condo fees have less effect on the time a condo spends on the market compared to the condo’s physical features, such as construction material, interior finishing, heating type and source.
Framework for Energy-Based Decision Support System (DSS) for Residential Construction Projects
(Completed Funded Research Project)
Energy-Based Generative Design
The proposed TCEng is utilized during the design stage to evaluate the available energy systems, and the selected energy system will be monitored during building operation in order to verify and modify TCEng. Advances are expected in terms of reduced fuel consumption, reduced CO2 emissions, and promotion of automation in building construction.
A General Contractors Based Automated 3D CAD Model-Based Decision Support System (DSS) for Off-Site Construction Projects
(Completed Funded Research Project)
Target Cost Modelling
The proposed research establishes novel solutions for the standardization of best practices by front-loading the 3D-virtual model with information, where a comprehensive model of the project is developed dynamically and interactively as the design/construction matures. Advances are expected in terms of increased productivity, enhanced automation, materials optimization, and the mitigation of risks throughout the manufacturing and construction process.