US-UK Cooperative Research: Integration of Robotics Software Modeling with Computer-Based Design and Management Information Systems for Architecture and Construction

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This award will support collaborative research in civil engineering and computer science between Dr. Boyd Paulson, Stanford University and Drs. George Fleming and Ken McCallum, University of Strathclyde, Scotland. The aim of the project is to better integrate robotics in the construction industry with current computer-aided design management information and production systems. Since the early 1980's, researchers have sought to apply robotics in the construction industry. However, no unifying theory and few guidelines exist for defining and communicating knowledge about designs and field operations in a way that can be effectively utilized by such machines. Thus far, most of the "robots" in actual field applications have either been tele- operated machines remotely controlled by humans, or have been so narrowly focused and highly specialized that automation could be implemented only via procedural programs designed to anticipate all of the robots' limited requirements. In this joint project, the investigators will aim to design, assemble and develop a theoretical framework and experimental software for a general core of "intelligence" common to diverse types of autonomous machines. The research will consist of several interrelated projects to simulate the cognitive behavior of robot agents and to build a knowledge environment simulator in which to test prototype agent software as it evolves. The project will benefit from the complementary expertise of the US and British investi- gators in computer-aided design. The results of this research will provide computer-based concepts to help integrate construc- tion field processes into the other phases of the project life- cycle, such as planning, design and operations. 8922441 GOULD This award will support collaborative research in biophysics between Dr. Robert Gould, Middlebury College and Dr. W. Terence Coakley, University of Wales, Cardiff. The objective of the project is to exploit the use of ultrasound to segregate and isolate large particles of biological interest. When an ultrasonic standing wave field exists in a liquid-filled chamber, suspended particles of a given type will tend to collect at positions in the chamber about a half wavelength apart. The ultrasonic phenomena of radiation pressure and acoustic streaming associated with a standing wave field produce forces and torques on objects in suspension. Strengths of the forces and torques on a given particle depend mainly on the size and shape of the particle and on the acoustical properties of compressibility and density of the particle, relative to the corresponding properties of the suspending liquid. Thus particles differing in acoustic properties will tend to collect in different positions in the chamber. Methods for collecting particles in suspension with which most biologists are familiar, such as centrifugation, dielectrophoresis and application of magnetic fields, tend to cause particles to migrate to one or two sites. Ultrasound offers a unique capability to concentrate particles at many discrete locations in the suspending phase. This project aims to utilize the differences in the forces and torques on different types of particles to diverge them, one type from another, so they may be harvested and studied separately. The results of this research will provide important information regarding the applicability of ultrasound to a variety of biological systems. The project will benefit from the complementary expertise of the two investigators, as well as their past history of fruitful collaboration.