Curtain wall installation for high-rise buildings: critical review of current automation solutions and opportunities

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference PaperOther

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In the construction of high-rise buildings, the conventional methods for the on-site installation of prefabricated facade modules require considerable manual handling. This unsafe and inefficient practice can be solved through automation. This paper critically reviews automated Unitized Curtain Wall (UCW) installation and discusses opportunities for future development, as found in adjacent fields. A generalized solution to the installation of UCW modules is applied to analyze the conventional method in safety, economic efficiency, and logistic viability. Recent automation solutions control wall module vertical transport trajectories with guide rails or redundant parallel cables. Both approaches specialize in capability, leaving many installation scenarios unautomated. Opportunities for improvement exist in efforts to automate crane operations by development of robotic crane end effectors. Localization in uncertain conditions for automated feature detection can be improved by dynamically changing the operator interface. Directions to improve safety and efficiency of UCW on-site installation are identified and recommendations are presented.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2020
Subtitle of host publicationFrom Demonstration to Practical Use - To New Stage of Construction Robot
PublisherInternational Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)
Pages393-400
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9789529436347
Publication statusPublished - 2020
EventInternational Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction 2020 - Virtual , Kitakyushu, Japan
Duration: 27 Oct 202028 Oct 2020
Conference number: 37th
https://isarc2020.org (Website)

Conference

ConferenceInternational Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction 2020
Abbreviated titleISARC 2020
Country/TerritoryJapan
CityKitakyushu
Period27/10/2028/10/20
Internet address

Keywords

  • Assembly
  • Automation
  • Construction
  • Control systems
  • Curtain wall
  • Facade
  • High-rise building
  • Installation
  • Robotics
  • Tower crane

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