Construction Automation and Robotics

今天美国建筑业面临的两大挑战是(1)在建筑工程和管理领域缺乏女性教育者和从业者，(2)建筑业生产率的下降。拟议的研究计划将通过以下方式解决第一个问题：(1)积极招募女性工程专业学生(在研究生、本科和高中水平)从事教育、研究和建筑职业；(2)由教职员工、行业专业人员和高级研究生指导研究生研究实习生；以及(3)为研究生研究实习生提供研究、教学、技术写作和陈述技能方面的培训。第二个问题将通过指导研究生研究实习生扩大大学正在进行的建筑自动化和机器人研究来解决。这项研究将导致开发一种计算机辅助设计/施工(CAD/CAC)系统，该系统能够：(1)从可施工性的角度评估CAD模型；(2)为项目选择合适的自动化施工设备；(3)为自动化设备的操作生成有效的工艺计划；以及(4)生成设备级控制指令。这项跨学科研究将促进灵活的自动化技术在美国建筑业的实施，从而提高其在全球市场上的竞争力。

Two major challenges facing the U.S. construction industry today are (1) the lack of women educators and practitioners in the field of construction engineering and management and (2) the decline of productivity in the construction industry. The proposed research program will address the first concern by (1) proactive recruitment of women engineering students (at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels) to pursue education, research, and careers in construction; (2) mentoring of Graduate Research Trainees by faculty members, industry professionals, and advanced graduate students; and (3) providing training to Graduate Research Trainees on research, teaching, technical writing and presentation skills. The second concern will be addressed by guiding the Graduate Research Trainees to expand upon the ongoing research in construction automation and robotics at the University. This research will result in the development of a Computer-Aided Design/Construction (CAD/CAC) System capable of: (1) evaluating CAD models from the perspective of constructability; (2) selecting suitable automated construction equipment for a project; (3) generating efficient process plans for operation of the automated equipment; and (4) generating equipment-level control instructions. This interdisciplinary research will facilitate the implementation of flexible automation technologies in the U.S. construction industry and will thereby improve its competitiveness in the global marketplace.