A new CEN Workshop is being established to build upon the innovative outcomes of the R&I project RobétArmé, funded under the Horizon Europe programme. Targeting a step-change in Construction 4.0., the RoBétArmé architecture follows the three shotcrete application phases (inspection and metal printing, construction repair and surface finishing) aiming at automatizing particularly laborious construction tasks of shotcrete application through a highly digitalized robotics solution, which is robust and versatile enough to perform autonomous shotcreting in diverse construction environments e.g. tunnels, buildings, bridges, retaining walls, etc.
According to the World Economic Forum, the construction industry currently accounts for about 6% of the world GDP and is expected to reach around 14.7% in 2030, which means that the construction sector plays a key role in any country's economy. At the European level, construction is a strategically important sector for the economy, involving a wide range of stakeholders and companies, providing 18 million jobs.
The demand for construction automation is increasing globally due to several factors such as scarcity and high costs of skilled labour, the need for new infrastructures, and the requirement for maintaining ageing structures. Despite the popularity of shotcrete technology, which is known for its cost-effectiveness, manual application persists even with significant mechanization. To address this challenge, the European project RoBétArmé has developed an innovative robotic system with advanced perception, cognition, and digitization capabilities, aiming to automate all phases of shotcrete application.
The CWA, backed by existing relevant standards in each specific domain, is aimed indeed at providing a description of new technologies regarding collaborative construction mobile manipulators, consisting of:
- an Inspection-Reconnaissance mobile manipulator (IRR) with cognitive perception capabilities that fuse multimodal sensors or the high precision modelling of the construction site endorsed with a metal additive manufacturing (AM) manipulator to address fast, high precision modelling and rebar reinforcement in the preparatory phase and
- a Shotcrete and Finishing mobile manipulator (SFR) to perform wet and dry shotcrete through concrete spray-casting, relied on visual guided robotic manipulation and human-robot shared control to address autonomous shotcrete application and surface finishing during the construction and finishing phase, respectively.
The kick-off meeting for the Workshop is planned to take place remotely on the 26th February 2025 from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. (CET). Please, send the attached registration form to the Workshop secretary (UNI) Fabrizio Tacca (fabrizio.tacca@uni.com).
All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft Project Plan using the commenting form below, to the Workshop secretary (UNI) Fabrizio Tacca (fabrizio.tacca@uni.com) by February 21st, 2025.
For more technical details, please refer to the draft Project Plan, which contains all relevant technical information. Additionally, comments or observations can be submitted via the dedicated commenting form below.
Download the documents:
- Workshop description and draft Project Plan
- Agenda of the kick-off meeting
- Registration form to the kick-off meeting
- Commenting form
